EARLY
CHILDHOOD
CARE POLICY
Public thematic report
Public policy evaluation
December 2024
2
Summary
The early childhood care policy covers all actions aimed at developing childcare solutions
for children under the age of three.
In the 1970s, the first subsidies were granted to parents to look after their children
(parental childcare) and to childminders. By supporting the work of individual childminders and
encouraging the development of nurseries for collective care, this policy was built around a
number of objectives in the early 2000s. A key priority has been to develop childcare options
to allow mothers to return to work shotly after childbirth.
This evaluation aims to answer three questions:
-
does the early childhood care policy enable the creation of appropriate, high-quality,
balanced provision across the country?
-
do public funding mechanisms make it possible to provide affordable childcare for all
families, while respecting the financial constraints of public bodies?
-
does formal childcare
1
make it possible to reconcile work and family life?
The investigation was supervised by an inter-jurisdictional panel consisting of the Court of
Auditors and the regional audit chambers of
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
,
Bretagne
,
and Pays
de la Loire
. It draws upon and expands on six regional reports, which were informed by surveys
conducted among stakeholders and organizations across six departments
2
.
Early childhood care policy measures
Early childhood care policy has evolved through successive stages, with shifting
objectives, a growing range of stakeholders, and increasingly complex systems.
A wide range of objectives and stakeholders
Childcare policy has always been driven by the goal of balancing family and professional
life, particularly to support women's employment. While supporting the birth rate was less
emphasized for the last two decades, it has recently regained importance alongside improving
childcare quality. However, these objectives are still not clearly prioritised.
A regularly reaffirmed principle, the free choice of childcare arrangements is understood
to mean that all types of childcare should be available to all parents. However, this principle is
sometimes interpreted as ensuring access to all forms of childcare without financial barriers
—
an unrealistic expectation given public funding constraints.
A large number of stakeholders are involved in developing and implementing early
childhood care policy: at national level, several ministries are involved, as well as the National
Family Allowance Fund (
Caisse nationale des allocations familiales, Cnaf
) and the agricultural
social security fund (
Mutualité Sociale Agricole, MSA
). At the local level, departments play a
targeted role through maternal and child protection services, while regions contribute by
training childcare professionals. Municipalities and inter-municipal bodies have diverse
1
I.e. childcare places supported and supervised by the public authorities. Formal childcare covers various types of
care: childminders employed directly by private individuals, home workers, childcare establishments for young
children (collective nurseries, family nurseries, multi-care facilities, micro- nurseries, day nurseries) and pre-school
nursery schools.
2
Bouches-du-Rhône, Ille-et-Vilaine, Hautes-Pyrénées, Hauts-de-Seine, Nièvre and Vendée.
3
responsibilities, including regulating supply and demand
—
now an optional duty
—
and, in some
cases, managing nurseries.
Predominantly public funding
Childcare is largely funded through public schemes that provide both direct and indirect
financial support. Some programs offer direct funding to childcare facilities, such as nurseries
benefiting from the Single Service Benefit (
Prestation de Service Unique,PSU
). Others assist
families by subsidizing childcare costs through programs like the Additional Childcare
Allowance (
Complément de Libre Choix du Mode de Garde/CMG
) or by granting tax credits.
Additionally, some schools accept children as young as two years old. The Shared Childcare
Benefit (
Prestation Partagée d’Éducation de l’Enfant
.Prepare
) supports parents who reduce or
interrupt their professional activity to care for their child.
Evolution of public funding for formal childcare and childcare provided by families
(2014-
2022, in €
billion)*
* Including Prepare
Source: Onape reports
In 2022, public funding for childcare amounted to €16.1 billion, representing nearly 90
% of
total childcare expenditures. This funding came from various sources: the family branch of the
social security system covered 59 % of the costs, local authorities contributed 17 %, and the
State provided 13 %. Families shouldered less than 8 % of the total cost, while employers
contributed 3 %.
A developed childcare offer combining various legal statuses and business models
By the end of 2022, there were 1.31 million formal childcare places available for
2.17 million children under the age of three, resulting in a coverage rate of 60.3 %.
Approximately 11 % of parents received financial support through Prepare, while 29 % of
parents had neither access to a childcare place nor financial assistance.
4
Evolution of the overall childcare provision and the number of children under three
years old (excluding parental leave)
Note: data from Onape (French National Early Childhood Observatory) on the number of
children under the age of three is different from that from INSEE, which is lower. The latter
would reduce the theoretical balance not covered. For the sake of consistency between all
Onape data, number of children and number of places available, the analysis based on Onape
data is used here.
Source: Onape annual reports. Calculated by the Court of Auditors
Childminders, approved by the maternal and child welfare authorities and employed by
parents, can each look after up to four children. In 2022, the 236,000 childminders offered
684,000 childcare places, or more than half of all formal childcare places, but the number of
such places is falling sharply.
Nurseries, where the number of places has increased by a quarter since 2013, provide
almost 40 % of formal childcare. In addition to contributions paid by parents, nurseries under
contract with the Family Allowance Funds (
Caisse d’allocations familiales
,CAF
) and receiving
funding through the Single Service Benefit (Prestation de service unique, PSU), must secure
additional funding, either through municipal subsidies or employer contributions in exchange
for reserving childcare places for their employees.
The so-
called ‘Paje’ micro
-nurseries, which are mainly run by companies in the
commercial sector, do not receive funding under the single service benefit, but families do
receive assistance under the additional childcare allowance (
Complément de libre choix du
mode de garde, CMG
) included in the childcare benefit for young children. The fees charged
to families using these micro-
nurseries are freely set, up to a maximum of €10 per hour.
Pre-school childcare, which has seen a significant decline, now represents just 5.3 % of
formal childcare places while care provided by in-home childcare professionals (which has
remained stable) accounts for 3.5 %.
Does the early childhood care policy enable the creation of appropriate,
high-quality, balanced supply across the country?
Over the past decade, the demand for childcare services has increased significantly,
both in terms of accessibility and quality.
Insufficient provision and growing regional inequalities
Local early childhood care policies have led to a diverse but unevenly distributed range
of services, failing to meet one-fifth of families' demand. This shortage is the result of an overall
lack of supply, compounded by regional disparities: areas with higher living standards tend to
have more collective childcare facilities, while those with lower living standards rely more on
individual childcare.
5
Rate of coverage by municipality according to family standard of living in 2020
Source: French High Council for Families, Children and the Elderly, Accueil des enfants de
moins de trois ans : relancer la dynamique, 2023
The increase in supply is primarily driven by the for-profit sector, which is expanding
'Paje' micro-nurseries in areas with higher family demand, often at the expense of poorer and
rural regions. To achieve a more balanced distribution of services nationwide, the proportion
of public funding should be significantly adjusted based on both regional coverage and wealth
levels.
Changes in the distribution of collective childcare places (2018 and 2021)
Source: Court of Auditors based on Onape and Cnaf data
The large number of childminders leaving the profession and the shortage of qualified
childcare professionals in nurseries are holding back the maintenance and, even more so, the
development of childcare provision for young children. These effects, partly mitigated by the
fall in the birth rate, undermine, in the eyes of stakeholders, the public authorities' objective of
creating 200,000 formal childcare places by 2030.
6
Families often receive incomplete information on available options and unclear
allocation procedures
Despite the wide range of information channels, families are not usually fully aware of
the different types of childcare available, their location, and the associated costs. The
complexity of the system hinders access for socially or culturally disadvantaged families,
particularly those seeking childcare for the first time and those with the lowest levels of
education.
The processes for allocating places still lack transparency, which means that applications
cannot be treated fairly. For a variety of reasons, the most financially secure families, those
requesting longer periods of childcare, those benefiting from places reserved by employers or
those whose child was born in the spring have a better chance of obtaining a place in collective
childcare.
Improving the quality of childcare is difficult to implement and evaluate
Improving the quality of childcare, which has become a priority, is hampered by the
shortage of early childhood professionals and the coexistence of regulatory frameworks with
requirements that are sometimes inconsistent with the development of childcare provision, in
particular small-scale collective childcare,
Maisons d’assistantes maternelles
(shared facilities
used by several childminders
3
)
and "Paje
”
micro-nurseries.
The order of 19 May 2021 relating to family services includes regulatory advances and
an “early childhood” sector committee, established in 2021, supports efforts to improve quality.
The checks on childcare facilities carried out by the maternal and child protection
services in the departments and by the Family Allowance Funds (
Caisses d’allocations
familiales, CAF
) mainly concern health and safety issues, in the case of the former, and
management issues, in the case of the latter. These checks do not take sufficient account of
childcare quality criteria and do not allow for a comparative evaluation of the quality of
provision, pending the introduction of a common, harmonised quality control reference
framework, which is currently being prepared.
Quality still insufficiently taken into account in public funding allocated to childcare for
young children
For collective childcare, the notion of quality encompasses a broad field, going beyond
bringing buildings up to standard, staffing levels (i.e. the number of children per adult) or staff
training levels. However, a definition of the cost of quality, which presupposes a detailed
understanding of the components of the cost price of different types of facilities, is still lacking.
For individual childcare, the amount of the childcare supplement is not linked to the
quality of the service provided by the childminder due to the lack of a benchmark.
The 2023-2027 Objectives and Management Agreement (
Convention d’objectifs et de
gestion, COG
) for the family branch incorporates this quality objective through specific funding
for collective childcare establishments, an approach that needs to be expanded.
A poorly managed public policy with fragmented regulation
Childcare policy is currently characterised by a high degree of complexity and a lack of
coordination between the national and local levels, which impact on the clarity of the actions
taken and the evaluation of the results achieved. Despite being at the heart of the objectives
3
Up to four childminders working on the same premises.
7
pursued, the supply of and demand for childcare for young children are insufficiently known at
local level and, in some respects, at national level, in terms of both quality and quantity. As a
result, it is not possible to measure how well they match up, which weakens the forward-looking
dimension of this policy.
The creation of a public service for early childhood by law no. 2023-1196 of 18 December
2023 for full employment paved the way for coordinated governance at local level. It gave the
new organising authorities (the municipalities) and departmental coordination bodies (the
departmental family services committee) the first tools for regulating childcare.
The multitude of players and legal provisions, as well as the scale of public funding,
would justify a shared political strategy based on prioritised objectives and national steering.
In response to the first evaluation question, the Court notes that, due to a lack of
coordinated policy direction and despite its already high level of development, the supply of
childcare does not meet all of the demand from families and that the outlook in this respect is
uncertain. Regional inequalities in access to childcare places are considerable and are
becoming more pronounced. Information on the supply and allocation of places is incomplete
and unclear. Finally, the tools needed to evaluate and compare the quality of childcare are still
lacking.
Does the financing make it possible to offer childcare solutions that are
accessible to all families and sustainable for the public sector?
The early childhood care policy should provide financial conditions that enable all families
to have access to the childcare facilities available nearby, while keeping public spending under
control.
Out-of-pocket expenses that influence the choice of childcare arrangements
Families on modest incomes generally make less use of formal childcare arrangements.
The cost of childcare can be a deterrent, whether it's provided by a childminder, a ‘Paje’ nursery
or home-based childcare.
Collective childcare in establishments financed by the single service benefit tends to be
more accessible to them, whereas childcare in the homes of childminders offers the greatest
number of places, spread throughout the country and closest to families. This leads to a form
of childcare specialisation, with certain types of childcare, such as home-based childcare,
being effectively reserved for high-income families.
8
Out-of-pocket expenses in 2023 for a family with two working parents, depending on
the type of childcare for a full-
time child, after tax credit (in € per month)
Sources: Onape based on Cnaf, Social Security Department
The difference in out-of-pocket expenses for families is particularly important between
nurseries financed by the single service benefit and childcare provided by a childminder. The
latter is considerably more expensive for low-income families. The reform of the childcare
supplement, which will come into effect in 2025, will bring the out-of-pocket expenses of these
two types of childcare closer together and help to reduce this inequality of access, which is
incompatible with the objective of free choice of childcare method.
The single service benefit that finances nurseries provides low-cost childcare, but
suffers from a number of shortcomings
This financing method allows children to be cared for regardless of family income. The
financial contribution from families is calculated on the basis of a national scale and the number
of hours included in the contract signed by the parents with the nursery.
However, financing nursery operations on the basis of the time children spend in the
nursery can create administrative burdens and may lead the managers of the facilities
concerned to favour occasional, poorly organised care, to the detriment of the quality of service
provided and the well-being of both children and staff. It would be preferable for childcare
organisations to be financed by the Family Allowance Fund (
Caisses d’allocations fam
iliales,
CAF
) on a flat-rate, half-day basis.
Efficiency margins that need to be leveraged
The financial contributions requested from families for the care of children in nurseries
financed by the single service benefit increase in line with family income, but are subject to a
ceiling on resources. The gradual increase in this ceiling, which has been underway since
2019, must be continued.
More generally, care by a childminder, which is one of the least costly forms of childcare
for the public purse, should be further encouraged. However, at present, a large and growing
proportion of public spending on childcare is allocated to nurseries financed by the single
service benefit, even though this is the most expensive form of childcare for the community.
9
Public spending by type of formal childcare (2022)
Source: Court of Auditors based on data from the French High Council for Families, Children
and the Elderly and Onape. Calculation after breakdown of tax expenditure by type of childcare
Greater financial involvement by employers in the provision of childcare for their
employees' young children would be justified, in particular to make certain occupations or
sectors with high recruitment pressures more attractive. A tax advantage, the family tax credit,
is currently granted to companies that apply for it when they reserve and finance nursery places
for their employees' children. It would be preferable to phase out this benefit and redeploy the
corresponding resources to develop childcare provision in under-serviced areas.
In response to the second evaluation question, the Court of Auditors notes that public
financing of the policy does not, in its current state, ensure equal access to childcare for all
families, particularly given the significant disparities in out-of-pocket expenses and effort rates
between families, to the detriment of those on the lowest incomes.
Public spending appears to be poorly controlled. Public financing favours nursery care,
which is undeniably more popular among parents but also more expensive. A number of
projects already in place or under consideration, such as increasing the number of adults per
child in nurseries or the creation of 200,000 childcare places envisioned by the government
between now and 2030, could increase the cost to the public purse by several billion euros a
year. Choices will have to be made to ensure that spending is sustainable for the public purse.
Does formal childcare make it possible to reconcile work and family life?
Achievement of the objective of reconciling work and family life was analysed according
to the professional situation of the parents.
Most working parents find it easier to reconcile work and family life
The more parents work, the more their children are in formal childcare, up to 82 % in
cases where both parents work. However, the employment rate for mothers with young
children decreases as the number of children increases, dropping to 46 % for those with three
or more children, compared to 84 % for women overall.
The number of hours worked by these mothers also decreases upon their return to work.
Over a third of mothers with two children, including one under the age of three, work part-time.
These trends are not observed among fathers.
10
Employment rate of parents with young children
NB: INSEE's Employment surveys were updated in 2013; break in data series: the scope of the
Employment surveys was extended to include overseas departments and regions from 2014.
Source: Repss 202
Companies provide varying degrees of support for employees returning to work after
maternity or parental leave. Any assistance provided by the employer in the form of a parenting
support policy
4
is linked to the need to attract and retain employees of parenting age. The rise
of remote working has opened up new possibilities in this area.
Use of formal childcare according to family characteristics (December 2019 and 2021)
Source: Onape 2023 report (families receiving CAF benefits)
Difficulties with non-standard working hours and families undergoing social or
professional reintegration
The need for childcare for young children when parents are working non-standard hours
5
is insufficiently known and covered, in terms of both quantity and quality. The offer is not very
appealing to early childhood professionals. Collective childcare seems less suited to these
particular situations. Home-based childcare solutions offered by associations and mutual
insurance companies are preferable but costly. Few employers are willing to contribute to the
4
Definitions vary but cover Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and nights, at least between 9pm and 6am.
11
financing or organisation of formal childcare for young children during non-standard working
hours.
The development of childcare for the children of job-seeking parents is covered by
national schemes such as the nurseries aimed at professional integration (
Crèche à vocation
d’insertion profe
ssionnelle, Avip
) and the aid paid by the employment agency France Travail
to single parents. However, the very limited use made of these schemes has led the Court to
propose that Avip nurseries be replaced by bonuses allocated to nurseries catering for the
children of jobseekers. Additionally, numerous local initiatives have been developed, some on
an experimental basis. While some of their results are noteworthy, the question of their
sustainability remains.
Little support for parental childcare
Maternity leave for the first two children is short in France, compared with OECD
countries average and the recommendations of the International Labour Organization. It is
sometimes extended by less well-compensated medical leave. According to surveys carried
out for the Court as part of this evaluation, the majority of employers and employees would be
in favour of extending maternity leave by one month, which would free up 35,000 childcare
places. The net cost of such a measure has been estimated by the Court at €3
50 million per
year.
In addition to maternity and paternity leave, parents can take parental leave to reduce or
interrupt their professional activity and look after their child. The Shared Child-rearing Benefit
(
Prestation partagée d’éducation de l’enfant
/
Prepare
), paid to them in such cases at a rate of
€450.67 per month in 2024, is in significant decline and very rarely used by fathers.
However, the development of parental childcare, which is less costly for the public purse
than formal childcare, could reduce the demand for childcare and partly compensate for the
non-replacement of childminders. Based on the results of a survey of parents carried out at its
request, the Court examined the possibility of more attractive and shorter parental childcare
payments, which would be favoured if childcare were shared between the parents. Given the
shortage of childcare professionals, this measure would reduce the need for formal childcare
by around 70,000 places. The net cost would be around €360 million per year. T
his type of
approach, which can be implemented quickly, also has the advantage of being reversible if the
drop in the birth rate persists.
The cost of these scenarios must be considered in light of the €3 billion required to create
200,000 additional childcare places by 2030, in line with the Government's 2023 target,
assuming the availability of necessary staffing resources. Alternatively, the Court's scenario
predicts an increase of up to 105,000 childcare places in the short term.
In response to the third evaluation question, the Court notes that early childhood care
policy enables most working parents, especially women, to reconcile work and family life.
However, current arrangements struggle to meet the childcare needs of parents with
non- standard working hours and jobseekers. Support for parental childcare, through an
extension of maternity leave or a reform of the benefit paid to parents on parental leave, is
worth considering.
In the light of these findings, the Court makes nine recommendations, based on four
guidelines:
1.
The adjustment of childcare capacity to the demand expressed by families must be
organised.
Early childhood services, which are responsible for supporting professionals and
facilitating monitoring by the organising authorities, should be developed in order to provide
better support for families. Publicising the rules for allocating nursery places would also help.
12
If the emphasis continues to be on increasing the supply of childcare, and given that
20 % of demand is not being met, a rapid response to the shortage of professionals is required,
as is the promotion of childcare arrangements that are less costly for the public purse, such as
childminders. The reduction in demand could result from higher compensation for parental
childcare. The development of parental childcare and individual childcare would limit the risk,
in the long term, of an oversupply of facilities if the birth rate continues to fall.
Finally, the distribution of public financing from the family branch should take greater
account of a region's capacity to develop childcare provision, depending on the wealth of its
population, the local authority concerned and businesses. The proportion of financing linked
to activity, through the single service benefit, could be reduced accordingly.
2.
The quality of childcare, whose positive effects on children's well-being are widely
emphasised, can only be improved through measures that reform the overall system of
collective and individual care, rather than merely declaring it a priority.
Better management of quality objectives, combined with coordinated monitoring of
compliance with these objectives, would contribute to this. Similarly, the way nurseries are
funded must not encourage management that undermines the quality of childcare, particularly
when the quest for maximum occupancy leads to an increase in occasional care and puts
teams under pressure.
The switch from a single service benefit, paid by the Family Allowance Fund (
Caisses
d’allocations familiales
/CAF
) to nurseries on the basis of the number of hours of childcare
provided, to a flat-rate payment per half-day of childcare, should ease the administrative
burden on facilities and moderate the trend towards higher occupancy rates, which are
detrimental to the quality of childcare.
3.
Structuring the management of childcare policy is a priority. The lack of such a structure
reduces the ability to anticipate rapidly changing circumstances, particularly in terms of
demographics. It does not allow the necessary choices to be made between numerous
and sometimes contradictory objectives, and allows multiple tools, particularly financial
tools, to produce poorly controlled effects.
Drawing up a national strategy in conjunction with the players in the sector would make
it possible to prioritise objectives and make consistent budgetary choices. The strengthening
of local governance, initiated by the departmental family services committees and the law of
the 18
th
of December 2023 for full employment, which designated the municipalities as
organising authorities for the care of young children from 1 January 2025, should continue as
part of the implementation of the public service for early childhood.
4.
Financing arrangements must operate more efficiently and fairly, for both individual and
collective childcare. The tax credit for companies reserving nursery places for their
employees finances a form of queue-cutting for the benefit of the latter. Its abolition is
recommended, without affecting the possibility of making reservations.
Family contributions to nurseries financed by the single social benefit and their ceilings
should be revalued annually, with a view to ensuring fairness.
13
Recommendations
Improve the balance between supply and demand
1.
In order to develop nurseries financed by the single service benefit in under-serviced and
underprivileged areas, increase the proportion of family branch financing linked to the
specific characteristics of the region in which the nursery is located (coverage rate and
wealth of the region) and reduce by the same amount the proportion of financing linked to
activity (
ministry of solidarity, autonomy and gender equality, ministry of the budget and
public accounts
, National Family Allowance Fund -
Cnaf
).
9.
In order to reduce the demand for childcare, extend maternity leave by one month and
increase parental leave compensation, which would be paid for a shorter period (
ministry
of solidarity, autonomy and gender equality, ministry of the budget and public accounts,
National Family Allowance Fund - Cnaf
).
Improve the quality of childcare for young children
2.
Introduce, within the quality standards, alert thresholds related to the minimum costs of
services, particularly regarding staffing and meals
(
ministry of solidarity, autonomy and
gender equality, National Family Allowance Fund - Cnaf
)
.
3.
Centralise and publish the results of checks on childcare methods carried out locally and
implement a system of scaled sanctions in the event of non-compliance
(
ministry of
solidarity, autonomy and gender equality, National Family Allowance Fund - Cnaf
)
.
7.
Calculate the single service benefit not on the basis of an hourly cost price, but on the basis
of a half-day cost price
(
National Family Allowance Fund - Cnaf, ministry of solidarity,
autonomy and gender equality
).
Define a strategy and organise management
4.
Develop a national interministerial strategy, the fruit of consultation with all those involved
in early childhood care policy, on the supply, quality, financing and attractiveness of early
childhood professions
(
general secretariat of the Government, ministry of the budget and
public accounts, ministry of solidarity, autonomy and gender equality, ministry of national
education, ministry of partnership with the territories and decentralisation, National Family
Allowance Fund - Cnaf
)
.
5.
Provide nationwide coverage of local, multi-year planning documents relating to the care of
young children, in line with the departmental family services schemes
(
ministry of solidarity,
autonomy and gender equality
)
.
Improve equity and distribution between financing bodies
6.
Revise annually the national scale of family contributions to the single service benefit,
including its ceiling
(
National Family Allowance Fund -Cnaf, ministry of solidarity, autonomy
and gender equality, ministry of the budget and public accounts
)
.
8.
Subject to the redeployment of equivalent resources to develop provision in under-serviced
areas, abolish the family tax credit by the time of the next objectives and management
agreement to give operators time to adapt their economic models
(ministry of the budget
and public accounts, ministry of solidarity, autonomy and gender equality,
National Family
Allowance Fund
-
Cnaf
)
.