IV. Work-Family Life Balance of income caused by taking leave to care for children is a deterrent for those with higher salaries and for men with higher average income to apply for the allowance.
17. The daycare rate for children aged 0 to 2 in 2020 did not meet the government’s self-imposed target.24 As for the mechanism to promote public and quasi-public childcare, the competent authorities have not explored in detail the target population, the beneficiary population, the characteristics of regional resources, and the changes and differences in the mode of daycare services in each county and city, making it difficult to assess whether the resources can adequately respond to the differences in supply and demand in different areas.
18. The current pricing for quasi-public infant care centers and family childcare services is very localized, without consistent standards across counties and cities, but with the same amount of central subsidy.25 This fails to promote healthy competition between counties and cities and widens the gap between urban and rural areas.
Recommendation 10 (1) The government should budget appropriate financial resources, calculate the parental leave allowance based on real wages, and 24 The daycare rate for children under two in 2020 was 15.2%, still short of the government's target of 17.04% set in the Low-Child-Birth-Rate Strategy Plan (2018-2022).
25 In accordance with the Executive Yuan’s 2018-2024 Low-Child-Birth-Rate Strategy Plan (revised version, August 2021), local governments shall set price ceilings and arrange price management for childcare services for children under two years old based on families’ financial means and different types of care in their respective jurisdictions and keep the cost of care per child within 10% to 15% of family disposable income. The government shall assist families by subsidizing monthly childcare fees at different rates depending on the financial situation of the family. ¯19¯