The Role of Unlicensed Childcare Facilities in Providing Childcare Services in Naha City, Okinawa

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  • 沖縄県那覇市の保育サービス供給体制における認可外保育所の役割
  • オキナワケン ナハシ ノ ホイク サービス キョウキュウ タイセイ ニ オケル ニンカ ガイ ホイクジョ ノ ヤクワリ

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Abstract

The growing trend of generalization, decentralization, and multi-polarization in welfare policies has accelerated the diversification of childcare service providers in Japan. The deregulation policies of the central government and recent institutional reforms in the Japanese childcare system have also promoted the entry of private companies into childcare services. In particular, unlicensed childcare facilities operated by the private sector in Okinawa prefecture have played an exceptionally important role in the childcare system. However, such a condition is the result of a unique process, which is different from the current institutional reform. The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the childcare system of Okinawa prefecture and its background by focusing on unlicensed childcare facilities. In order to discuss the role of unlicensed childcare facilities in the childcare system of Okinawa prefecture, we examined the location, operation, and usage of childcare facilities by considering an example of Naha City. The great demand for unlicensed childcare facilities in Okinawa prefecture was reflected in the remarkable number of children on the waiting list of licensed daycare centers. This can be because of a high birth rate, a large number of working mothers, lagging childcare policies under the post-war American occupation, and the effect of the American system of preschool education in the prefecture. To examine the location, operation, and usage of childcare facilities in detail, we conducted interviews and questionnaire surveys of the unlicensed childcare facilities as well as of the parents using these facilities. The result of the analysis revealed that with respect to the location and contents of services, unlicensed childcare facilities complemented the public services provided by licensed daycare centers. Majority of the unlicensed childcare facilities were spontaneously established in response to the needs of the neighborhood and have maintained a kind of social community service. However, these facilities tend to be forced into unstable business owing to limited public subsidies. These findings imply that local problems of childcare services should be contextually examined by considering the existing resources and the production process of childcare system in each area.

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