Falling birth rates and continued obstacles to female employment in many countries point to the need for family policies to shift their emphasis from cash benefits to other forms of family support, such as childcare. The CNAF has made childcare a priority in much of its work. It has implemented financing arrangements for childcare facilities which, with the support of local and regional authorities, have resulted in the development of a national childcare network which is upheld as a model by many.

To encourage freedom of choice, the CNAF also provides a range of services to improve the information available to families on their rights and to facilitate their search for childcare solutions. The mon-enfant.frWebsite, launched in March 2009, provides families with personalised information 24 hours a day, regardless of their home or work address, and includes information on over 10,000 collective childcare centres, almost 2,500 childminding teams and hundreds of childcare facilities. A collaborative project, dozens of partner administrations, federations and networks contributed to the site’s creation and continue to provide updated information.

The contact details of the childminders are included on the Website and a cost simulator for collective childcare is available. The Website provides regularly-updated information regarding the number of places available, which enables families to make the most appropriate choice according to their personal circumstances and the local context. The Website is constantly updated with the aim of improving the service provided to parents.

In addition, this new information platform helps to reduce pressure on the family allowance fund offices, as users find information online instead of contacting the CNAF offices in person or by telephone. Last but not least, the creation of this national information Website enables important economies of scale, as local authorities will not need to develop their own childcare information systems.

Innovative approach

The mon-enfant.fr Website is a particularly innovative and useful tool for the various partners involved in childcare policy (local and regional administrations and councils, associations, companies, and other social security institutions). It meets the needs of childcare professionals by providing them with accurate and comprehensive information for their activity, and it enhances the service provision of the family benefit fund. Above all, the www.mon-enfant.fr site meets the needs of parents wishing to reconcile their family and work lives: Prior its creation, parents had to consult a number of different sources to obtain the necessary information for their choice.

Key factors for success

One important element contributing to the success of this unique Website was the involvement of a wide range of partners at the national and local level, who contributed to the design and implementation of this major project. The CNAF experience highlights the importance of partnership, particularly at the local level, as a factor in a project’s success.

Another important factor was that its implementation had a solid legal basis and the data collection was subject to a precise and secure process in full conformity with France’s stringent privacy legislation. Eight local user groups were charged with monitoring the functionalities and reporting back on the developments and adjustments.

Feedback

Media reports confirm overall user satisfaction with the Website, which now attracts over 100,000 visitors each month, and the launch of a new version in June 2010, combined with new functionalities in the coming months, is expected to attract increasing numbers of users.

As a result of feedback from users, more detailed statistics are being made available to the information providers to assist in the targeting of data, which is largely contributed at the local and regional levels. Increased attention is also being given to highlighting local and innovative childcare solutions on the Website.

CNAF managers recognize that new challenges remain. France’s relatively high birth rate (800,000 births per year) coincides with the expected retirement of a significant proportion of childcare professionals before 2015. The Website is therefore expanding the information aimed at future childcare professionals, as this is an area with strong job-creation potential.

The importance of “good practice”

Although major differences in national contexts exist and although the driving forces behind choices concerning programme delivery can be varied and complex, information sharing on “good practices” presents, at the very least, opportunities for learning about specific solutions to what may be considered common problems.

The collection and dissemination of good practice examples enables actors involved in social security to build a culture of exchange about “what works” and, equally important, to diffuse understanding about “why, how and under what conditions”. However, and cognizant of their own specificities, it remains with national authorities to decide on what is worth learning from such examples, and how such learning should ultimately inform choices about policy design and implementation and programme delivery.

Importantly, by providing ISSA member organizations with greater access to knowledge about the experiences of others, organizations should be better able to reach informed decisions on the choices appropriate for their own circumstances.

(1) The ISSA Good Practice Award for Europe was given to the CNAF in March 2010 for the creation of the www.mon-enfant.fr Website.

Brochure: ISSA Good Practice Award – Europe 2010: Competition results >>