Garantire i servizi nella crisi : i processi di ibridazione dei servizi comunali per l'infanzia

Austerity policies aimed at local governments produced a staff shortage in Early Education and Care (ECEC) services run by Italian municipalities. Because of widespread opposition to outsourcing to private providers, an increasing number of municipalities are transferring ECEC services to new entities called “institutions”, “special firms” or “foundations”, which are partially free from the legal constraints on hiring and personnel spending. These agencies are owned or controlled by the municipalities but they have managerial freedom and, in some cases, a distinct public or private legal status. Available case studies shed light on current ECEC re-organisation processes, and the relevant changes in the employment regulation. Hiring of new employees is made on the basis of private sector contracts. Most clearly this reflects the ongoing hybridisation of municipal ECEC services, that increasingly share some features of both public and private organisations. So far these transformations have not undermined municipalities' crucial contribution towards universalism in childcare policy - which is badly needed in the Italian welfare system. However, worsening employment conditions may determine a decrease in the traditional high quality of municipal ECEC, undermining their ability to be a reference model for service quality enhancement in the whole sector.