Study reveals children in precarious or mixed status families remain unable to access childcare and other key services

In a  (PDF file) Working Paper published by the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, and the Faculty of Community Services at TMU, researchers concluded that precarious status families in Toronto experience many challenges in accessing services their young children need. 

Precarious status families are those in which at least one person is potentially deportable.  Deportability applies to non-status and temporary residents. As a sanctuary city, the City of Toronto has committed to providing all its residents, regardless of legal status, with access to municipal services.

“We know that if even one member of a family does not have secure status, stable and predictable access to early childhood services becomes a challenge,” said Judith K. Bernhard, professor in Early Childhood Studies and the lead researcher on the Working Paper. “We have analyzed where the discrepancies lie between what policies state and families’ experiences in accessing services related to childbirth, childcare, parenting programs, and schooling for their children.”

The Working Paper examined literature and Sanctuary City policies to conclude that because of the tension between the presumed universality of children’s rights and the limited rights associated with boundaries established by citizenship, access is limited for children of precarious status parents, regardless of children’s place of birth. Researchers are calling for collaboration between all levels of government to provide children with the services needed and act in the best interests of children in Canada.  One way to reduce parents’ fear in accessing services is by providing permanent and secure status for the entire family.  Other options would be to extend access and ensure that Sanctuary City policies are fully implemented, in practice as well as on paper.

Bernhard collaborated with Julie E. E. Young from the University of Lethbridge and Luin Goldring from York University on the Working Paper. The research was supported by the Urban Sanctuary, Migrant Solidarity and Hospitality in Global Perspective (Soli*City) project.

For more information about precarious status families and the services their children require, read the  (PDF file) Working Paper.