Good practice

Suíça – Programa Federal de Apoio a Creches — Ajuda Financeira para Cuidados Infantis Extrafamiliares (2003–2026)

Switzerland · Bern · See the Switzerland profile

O programa federal suíço de subsídios a creches (desde 2003) cofinanciou ~63.000 novas vagas de cuidados extrafamiliares até 2020, ajudando pais — sobretudo mães — a conciliar trabalho e família. Prorrogado até 2026, o Conselho Federal prepara uma lei permanente sucessora.

~63,000

Novas vagas de acolhimento cofinanciadas (2003-January 2020)

~100,000 across ~3,200 facilities

Total nacional de vagas de acolhimento (2020)

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV / OFAS)
Period: 2003–present
Keywords: government, early childhood education, social policy

Context

A Lei Federal suíça sobre o Apoio Financeiro à Guarda de Crianças fora do Ambiente Familiar (em vigor desde 1 de fevereiro de 2003) concede subvenções de arranque a cantões, municípios e organizações sem fins lucrativos para criar vagas de acolhimento infantil regulamentadas, partindo da premissa explícita de que a incomportabilidade dos custos de guarda de crianças é a principal barreira estrutural à participação das mães no mercado de trabalho.

Results

Entre 2003 e janeiro de 2020, o programa cofinanciou aproximadamente 63,000 novas vagas de acolhimento, contribuindo para um total nacional de cerca de 100,000 vagas em aproximadamente 3,200 estabelecimentos. Um estudo revisto por pares, baseado num experimento natural que explorou a variação cantonal na oferta de acolhimento infantil, concluiu que o aumento da disponibilidade de acolhimento infantil aumenta significativamente as horas de trabalho remunerado das mães, fornecendo evidência causal que liga os resultados do programa a ganhos de igualdade de género.

Conclusions

O programa já foi prorrogado três vezes, a mais recente até 31 de dezembro de 2026, e o Conselho Federal está a elaborar uma lei permanente de substituição; 58% das mulheres suíças empregadas ainda trabalham a tempo parcial (2023).

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-23
Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV / OFAS) — accessed 2026-06-23
BSV — Financial Support for Childcare — accessed 2026-06-23
SWI swissinfo — Swiss parliament approves childcare allowance — accessed 2026-06-23
PMC 6214297 — Childcare and maternal employment: natural experiment in Swiss cantons — accessed 2026-06-23
Eurydice — Early childhood education and care funding in Switzerland — accessed 2026-06-23

Quality score: 85/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Quasi-experimental

Top 22% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

Federal start-up grant models for childcare exist in Austria, Germany and other OECD countries; Swiss design and BSV eligibility criteria are publicly documented and replicable.

Impact on gender equality1/1

~63,000 new regulated care places co-funded 2003–2020 (BSV); cantonal natural-experiment research (PMC 6214297) causally links childcare expansion to increased maternal employment hours.

Effectiveness1/1

Continuously operational for 20+ years and extended three times, consistently absorbing available grants each cycle.

Efficiency1/1

Start-up grants leverage cantonal and communal co-investment; federal contribution covers part of establishment costs, multiplying public expenditure impact.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

Peer-reviewed cantonal natural-experiment study (Bettendorf et al., PMC 6214297) provides causal evidence linking Swiss childcare supply expansion to gender employment outcomes.

Sustainability1/1

Active and extended to 2026; Federal Council drafting a permanent replacement law to institutionalise support.

Achievement / evidence1/1

~63,000 new places 2003–2020 (BSV); total regulated supply reached ~100,000 places across ~3,200 facilities by 2020.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

Reducing childcare gaps is explicitly framed as a work-family reconciliation and gender equality measure in the legal preamble and national equality strategy.

Curator validation0/1

Awaiting curator review.

Cite this

Evidoria. Suíça – Programa Federal de Apoio a Creches — Ajuda Financeira para Cuidados Infantis Extrafamiliares (2003–2026). Persistent ID: fb807710-29f7-4a83-856a-d494c8a6c358.

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