地域における子育て支援のあり方 : 英国のファミリーセンターを例として

抄録

Recently, the necessity of child care support is gradualy spread in Japan as one of preventative policies aganist birth-rate decline and familiy child care competence weakening. Community child care support centres and child and family support centres are resposibility for such policies, especialy the latter assume child protection rolles. But I think another aspects are needed in such provions. Namely, they need community-based, preventive, more comprehensive perspectives. As similar Japaniese provisions there are family centres in England.Its have community-based origins and comprehensive functions. Then, I tried to investigate the actual conditions and functions of family centres in order to compare with Japanese provisins. The research was carried out in family centres in Oxfordshire and community child care support centres in one Japanese city, thorough the questionnarire and the visit to some centres in both countries. The findings of this study suggest that Japanese centres are inclined to be instruction centres for women worried about care of their children, be inaccessible for disadvantaged families in community. I recommend that Japanese centres should be more community-based, comprehensive ones, and give families in community advocacy, empowerment for their welfare-being and self-confidences.