A Study On Government Responsibility In Public Childcare Services For Infants And Toddlers Aged 0-3 In Less Developed Areas

In recent years,as the division of labour in the labour market has changed and family sizes have become smaller,childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3,which were originally in the private sector,have gradually become a public issue.During the14 th Five-Year Plan period,families with infants and toddlers will be an important target group for the implementation of the "three-child" policy,and their willingness to have children and their demand for childcare services will greatly influence whether the new population policy can be successfully promoted and implemented.Against the backdrop of rising demand for infant and toddler care,how best to ensure the quality development of public childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3 years is an important issue for the government and the community.The study of government responsibility for public childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3 in less developed regions will help to establish a sound childcare service system,boost the fertility rate and,more importantly,protect the "softest group" of infants and toddlers aged 0-3.Through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews,the author selected families of infants and toddlers aged 0-3 years old,heads and teachers of public childcare institutions and relevant government staff in the four main urban areas of Lanzhou City as respondents to analyse in depth the current situation of public childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3 years old in Lanzhou City.The analysis revealed that the current development of public childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3 in Lanzhou city is plagued by problems such as a policy system that has not yet been established and the content is general and unclear;a single source of funding for running the institutions and a high threshold for subsidies;few special publicity activities and low market participation;and a lack of a unified evaluation system and formal supervision.With the support of responsible government and the new public service theory,the root cause of the above problems is the lack of government responsibility,which is reflected in the imperfect top-level design,the lack of special regulation and long-term planning,insufficient financial investment and weak support for public childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3,the lack of awareness of government services and incomplete organisational guidance,the blurred boundary of regulatory responsibility,and the inadequate evaluation and assessment system.The government’s service awareness is not strong and its organisational guidance is not comprehensive;the boundary of regulatory responsibility is blurred and the assessment and evaluation system is not sound.Finally,the four levels of policy protection,financial support,organisational guidance and supervision and management are used to propose countermeasures and suggestions for optimising government responsibility in public childcare services for infants and toddlers aged 0-3 in less developed regions.