Putting Children First Early Child Development Initiative
Province-wide Learning Initiative
What is the Learning Initiative?
The initiative is based upon a large body of research: the first six years of a child’s life are crucial for biological, psychological and social development. The human and economic costs of failing to make the most of these years are staggering.
This Community Partnership brings together those interested in improving the ability of communities to increase our understanding of what children aged 0-6 years need in order to develop properly and to improve services for them and their families.
Key principles
· Increase community’s ability to enhance opportunities for children
· Ensure that all families are able to access necessary supports and services
· Community mapping (gathering resources, information) determines and assists
in developing and enhancing services, supports and opportunities for young children and families
· Strategies are based upon evidence of “what works”
· Culturally sensitive
Ultimate Goals of Project
· A community partnership to bring together all sectors of the community focusing on young children up to the age of 6 and their families
· A learning initiative at the community level, to develop a comprehensive, integrated, child and family support system for children and their families from preconception through to school entry
· Increase Early Childhood Development Instrument scores
· Improve children’s health and behavior
Funding for this initiative is provided by the Ministry for Children and Family Development and Success By 6 (United Way of the Lower Mainland). Sea to Sky Putting Children First is administered through Sea to Sky Community Services Society. Contact Julia Black, Coordinator, at 604-815-9115 or email:
julia_black@hotmail.com
Backgrounder
The Sea to Sky Putting Children First Initiative (PCFI) was created in 2002 thanks to funding from the Ministry for Child and Family Development and today receives funding through MCFD , the United Way of the Lower Mainland and the Success by 6 Initiative.
As a province-wide learning initiative, we bring together representatives from community services, health, education, literacy, etc. to facilitate better coordination and collaboration in our work for children 0-6 and their families living in the Sea to Sky Corridor. Our local planning team has been spearheaded by a dedicated group of service providers, educators, parents, health providers and community members.
Our geographic scope includes the communities of Brittannia Beach, Squamish Nation, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Mount Currie First Nation, N’quatqua First Nation, Birken, Darcy, and the lower lakes First Nation communities of Skatin, Tipella, Douglas, and Samahquam.
We envision a future where the community shares responsibility in providing safe, inclusive environments that empower children and families to be whole- physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Further, we envision a community that provides support and early childhood development services that are accessible to children and families, create capacity and build upon existing capacities that exist within communities, and are family centred.
We are working to ensure that all parents of young children have access to the necessary supports, resources, skills, information and services to meet the physical, emotional, social and cognitive needs of their children, allowing their children to reach their full potential.
Over the last several years planning team activities have focussed on building local capacity to respond to the needs of young children and their families. Projects have included:
• Outreach Early Childhood Development Information and Health Screening Clinics
• Bringing Baby Home
• HighScope Curriculum Model Mentoring Program
• Early Childhood Education Funding for Professional Development
• Annual Early Childhood Development 2-day Conference
• Partnering with Ready-Set-Learn events in local schools
• Community Health Fairs & Kindergarten Fairs
• Parent/Child Mothergoose
• Translation and Interpreter Services for Families
• Community Education (access for community members to provincial workshops & conferences)
• The Stone Soup Project- food security projects throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor (such as the development of community gardens)
Projects undertaken by the PCFI planning team specifically target identified local community needs, in addition to evidence-based needs captured through the Early Developmental Indicators researched by the Human Early Learning Partnership (UBC) in our region.
In our marketing campaign to support families better, we have developed numerous resources which include:
• our website – www.seatoskychildrenfirst.ca
• Asset, EDI and SES maps
• Sea to Sky Putting Children First Resource and Developmental Directory
• Early childhood development calendars (available in several languages) and
• Reusable cloth bags available to families at all of our events.
Recently we initiated the development of local early childhood development planning teams in Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish to enhance community capacity building at the local level, and to better inform Corridor-wide activities.
We have a regional coordinator who is the face of Early Childhood Development in the Sea to Sky Corridor and whose ultimate goal is capacity building to ensure that our communities’ needs are met, our strategic plan goals and objectives are realized and that community input is provided in the delivery of services.
We have developed the 2009-2012 Putting Children First Initiative Strategic Plan to focus the planning team and communities on expanding participation in making things better for young children and their families, as well as moving forward towards a more accessible and seamless service delivery system for children 0-6 and their families.
“It takes a community to raise a child”
