To improve the quality of childcare, the government plans to enhance child-to-minder ratios, aiming for a maximum of five babies per minder by 2027, and one minder for every eight toddlers and seven children in mixed groups.

The new plan also focuses on increasing the number of income-based childcare places, which currently account for 82.4% of the total, although specific details on the increase are still unclear.

The funding will be distributed to local authorities based on their needs, allowing municipalities up to five years to demonstrate the effective use of these funds, a significant extension from the previous one-year requirement.

The Flemish government is taking significant steps to address the ongoing shortage of childcare places and staff, introducing a new plan led by well-being minister Gennez.

Currently, Flanders and Brussels have 93,260 childcare places available, but an estimated 29,000 additional places will be necessary by 2034 to ensure that 80% of the population can participate in the workforce.

Despite these efforts, the childcare sector continues to face staff shortages, with 733 vacancies reported at the end of December 2024, a trend that has persisted since 2021.

An investment of 100 million euros is set for 2025, with intentions to boost this funding to 150 million euros by 2028 and approximately 200 million euros annually starting in 2029.

Of the total funding, 10 million euros will be earmarked for innovative projects that foster collaborations between childcare initiatives and kindergartens.