Summary

The Federal Commission for Family Issues (EKFF) has published an international study on public governance and financing of institutional pre-school childcare. The consulting firm Ecoplan analyzed systems in six Swiss cantons and seven European countries. The study shows: binding standards, a legal entitlement to childcare places, and public financing (both income-dependent parental relief and operating and investment contributions for providers) together create an accessible and high-quality offering. The EKFF formulates 13 recommendations for institutions, subject and object financing.

Persons

Topics

  • Childcare and pre-school
  • Family policy
  • Public financing
  • Equal opportunity

Clarus Lead

The study examines a central family policy tension: How can cantons and the federal government make childcare affordable and high-quality for all families? While individual financing instruments (pure subject or object financing) prove insufficient, the international comparison shows that only the combined application of all three levers – standards, legal entitlement, and mixed financing – leads to measurable improvements in affordability, quality, and equal opportunity. This finding provides cantons and the federal government with concrete guidance for further developing their systems.

Detailed Summary

The study identifies four dimensions of impact in childcare. Affordability improves through income and family-size-dependent parent fees, whose maximum rates fall below full costs. Quality and availability are strengthened by public contributions linked to binding standards and adequate capacity. Accessibility is created through transparent, simple procedures and a legal entitlement to childcare places. All these measures work together toward equal opportunity.

Central to the findings is the observation that no financing form alone is sufficient: pure subject financing (direct payments to parents) or pure object financing (subsidies to providers) fail to achieve the goal. Only the combination of institutional framework (standards, legal entitlement), subject financing (income-dependent parental relief), and object financing (operating and investment contributions) enables a system that supports both parents and providers while simultaneously ensuring quality.

The EKFF, as an extra-parliamentary commission with 15 members from family organizations, research institutes, and experts from social, legal, and health sectors, makes its 13 recommendations available to the public sector – as guidance for cantons and federal authorities in further developing their systems.

Key Points

  • Only the combined application of binding standards, legal entitlement, and mixed financing creates accessible and high-quality childcare
  • Income-dependent parent fees and public contributions to providers are necessary to ensure affordability and quality
  • Pure subject or object financing alone is not effective; combination of all three instruments is required

Critical Questions

  1. Data Quality: How representative are the six Swiss cantons and seven European countries of the diversity of cantonal systems in Switzerland? Which cantons were examined and why were these selected?

  2. Measurement of Impact: By what criteria and indicators were "affordability," "quality," and "accessibility" measured? Are there quantitative findings (e.g., childcare rates, cost data) or does the analysis primarily rest on qualitative-comparative systematization?

  3. Causality vs. Correlation: Does the study show that the combination of these three instruments causes the improvements, or merely that countries with better outcomes combine these instruments? Can alternative factors (economic prosperity, cultural factors) be ruled out?

  4. Implementation Costs and Risks: What fiscal burdens arise for cantons and the federal government in fully implementing all 13 recommendations? How realistic is the introduction of a legal entitlement given existing capacity constraints?

  5. Conflicts of Interest: Who finances the EKFF and the Ecoplan study? Are there conflicts of interest among commission members (e.g., family organizations with lobbying interests)?

  6. Transferability: To what extent are the European models transferable to Switzerland's federal structure? What differences exist between cantons in terms of governance and financing capacity?

Bibliography

Primary Source: Federal Commission for Family Issues EKFF (2026). Education, Care and Upbringing – Institutional Childcare: How to Achieve Effective Governance. – https://ekff.admin.ch/publikationen/familienergaenzende-kinderbetreuung

Supplementary Source: Ecoplan (2026). Analysis of Public Governance and Financing of Institutional Pre-School Childcare. – https://sozialesicherheit.ch/de/institutionelle-kinderbetreuung-so-gelingt-eine-wirkungsvolle-steuerung

Verification Status: ✓ 16.06.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: 16.06.2026