Work. Family. Life.

Wondering about the proposed new Early Learning & Child Care Act for PEI?

Here is what would not need to be licensed under the new Act.  What do you think? How do you feel about licenses being able to be "sold"?  Do you think this will lead to enhanced quality of early care and learning?

 

Early Learning & Child Care Consultations - Really?

Last week (November 17) Minister Doug Currie announced in the PEI Legislature notice of the Early Learning and Child Care Consultations that are currently underway.  He made this announcement with less than one day's notice to the actual consultation meeting that was being held in Charlottetown.  Shortly after, on Twitter, Island parents began asking questions related to what the consultation was all about and why there was such short notice given by the Minister. Parents wondered how they could learn more about what was happening.

Here is an excerpt from the Hansard which outlines what the Minister said.

Is this the only public consultation that is happening with respect to this newly proposed Act? If you are interested in learning more about the proposed Act where do you get more information?  What experts are guiding this consultation process?  How long is the consultatation being held for....or was that it - one night?

Since I am a long time advocate regarding early learning issues on PEI, I decided that I had better check into these issues further.  So, I have tweeted @dougcurrie a number of questions related to the Act.  I am hopeful he will respond.  I also thought it best to see what the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development have posted on their website related to the consultation process. Upon visiting the government webpage for more information I have discovered that there is actually very little content available. A few fact sheets but nothing that explains the actual consultation process.  No timeline.  No guide regarding what to consider.  Not much. The link where one can make comments or suggestions related to the proposed Early Learning & Child Care Act actually takes you to a form where you can report problems related to the PEI government website - it actually has nothing to do with the actual consultation process. Wow...now that's reassuring.  I definately feel like my comments and feedback will make it to the right place.

So, while these consultations may be well intentioned they actually appear to lack information, substance, proper process or much else. This is truly disappointing as these proposed changes (whatever they actually are) will likely have serious impact on the Early Learning & Child Care field, parents and families on PEI.

Is this actually how proper public consultation is done?

Update: The Minister tweeted me this morning with a telephone number for me to call to request more details.  I will do this today.

Charlottetown, The Guardian: Local News | Province unveils plan to revitalize early childhood sector today

The province’s long-awaited plan to revitalize the early childhood sector will finally be released to the public today.
The Early Years Report will reveal government’s plan to help the struggling sector and detail how $7 million dedicated to the sector in the recent provincial budget will be allocated.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie has been loath to give any details about the plan before the official release of the report, but he did say the strategy would include a boost in wages for early childhood educators.
Early childhood educators, daycare operators and parents have been eagerly awaiting this strategy since last July when Kindergarten Commissioner Pat Mella’s report on the rollout of kindergarten into the public school system was released.
The move of kindergarten into schools has created a major strain on the early childhood sector.
Over 100 early childhood educators (ECEs) have left P.E.I. daycare centres to take better-paying jobs in the public system as kindergarten instructors. That has left a concerning gap in licensed educators for Island daycares.
Now many centres, especially those in rural P.E.I., are facing imminent closure if financial support and trained teaching staff isn’t injected into the sector soon.
But there are also parents who are concerned about children who don’t attend childcare centres. They are hoping government’s early childhood development strategy will include supports for all children on P.E.I., regardless of whether they attend daycare.
“We’re really hoping to see much more reference to a comprehensive approach to the early years,” said Jane Boyd, president of the childcare advocacy group Parents for Choice and Quality.
Many parents can’t afford to put their children in licensed childcare facilities, so if the government focuses its support only on the sector of early learning operators and educators, children who attend unlicensed centres or who stay home with parents will fall through the cracks, Boyd said.
“We really hope there will be components of the government’s early learning action plan that will address the needs of those children too because, let’s face it, the majority of children on P.E.I. are not in licensed childcare … there are so many young vulnerable children on P.E.I. and we remain concerned about what is the plan so that there is a comprehensive approach that reaches all children.”
Sonya Corrigan, executive director of the Early Childhood Development Association (ECDA), told The Guardian last April she hopes government’s early childhood plan will help make quality childcare more accessible for all families.
 “Children and families deserve to have access to early learning opportunities in all communities,” Corrigan told The Guardian when the provincial budget was released in April. “Unfortunately affordability has been a huge barrier to that as well as access to service, so we hope that as we go forward we’re going to put systems in place that will eliminate the affordability factor and increase accessibility.”
The plan will be announced at a 10 a.m. news conference at Park Royal Church in Charlottetown.

via www.theguardian.pe.ca

Release of Early Years Report

From Parents for Choice & Quality Blog

Parents for Choice & Quality have obtained the following information regarding the release of The Early Years Report. Child care centres began to receive invitations in the mail this morning.

May 25th, 2010
To Whom It May Concern:
In my initial letter to you, I indicated that soon we would be releasing The Early Years Report and government’s plan to revitalize and refocus early learning and child care for children from birth to age 4 on Prince Edward Island. I am pleased to inform you that we have completed our work and now, I invite you to participate in one of the following opportunities to learn more about the details of this plan.

The first opportunity for information will be a press conference, which is being held on Friday, May 28th at 10:00 am at the Parkdale Sherwood Headstart, located at 11 Christie Drive, Charlottetown.

Two information sessions are planned for Saturday, May 29th. Kathleen Flanagan will be on hand to present The Early Years Report and I will also be in attendance at these sessions. Senior staff from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will also be available to answer any questions you may have as we work to refocus the early learning system on PEI.

The information sessions will be held Saturday, May 29th at the following times and locations:
8:30 – 11:00 am
Carrefour de l’Isle-Saint-Jean
5 Acadienne Drive
Charlottetown
1:00 – 3:30 pm
Loyalist Country Inn
195 Harbour Drive
Summerside

Thank you for taking the time to raise issues and make suggestions. Your contributions have been invaluable in informing and assisting government. We have attempted to consider all points of view as we developed the plan and would appreciate your participation as we move this plan forward. I look forward to seeing you on Friday at the press conference or on Saturday at one of the information sessions.

Sincerely,

Doug Currie
Minister

via choiceandquality.wordpress.com

Reducing early vulnerability is the key to strong economic growth and development

 

From HELP website:

The government of B.C. has committed to lowering the provincial rate of early vulnerability to 15% by fiscal year 2015. This goal is both commendable and achievable.

With support from the Business Council of British Columbia, United Way of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Foundation, HELP has completed a groundbreaking research project that quantifies the costs and benefits of addressing early vulnerability in BC.

The resulting report 15 by 15: A Comprehensive Policy Framework for Early Human Capital Investment in BC dramatically illustrates why all of us – individuals, businesses and governments – should care about the real brain drain in BC today resulting from early vulnerability.

Here is the 2009 Strategic Plan for BC that shows the goal of reducing early vulnerability in young children to 15% by 2015.  See page 22 Download Strategic_Plan_Sept_2009

Beyond Boomercentrism

From Vancouver Sun, April 20, 2010 - Written by Paul Kershaw

Many Canadians tell a common story, about how we want our kids and grandchildren to have more than we do. I hear it from my parents and their friends, all fine members of the baby boom generation. As individuals, these people have worked hard, reared children -- they've contributed.

But, as a generation, whenever baby boomers tell the story about leaving more for those who come after them, the story is fiction, not fact.

Think about it. Canadian baby boomers are a generation that inherited little public debt. But as they ponder retirement, the federal and provincial debt loads both top 30 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Baby boomers inherited little environmental degradation. But they preside over a country that is now identified as a fossil fuel dinosaur by the international community.

Debt and global climate change are problems left for future generations to solve. This alone signals an issue of intergenerational justice that merits far more attention than it receives. Boomers consume beyond what they pay for, and beyond the pace at which the Earth can restock resources for those who follow.

Regrettably, these are not the only examples of intergenerational tension. Through no fault of their own, the potential of the next generation to address the challenging legacy left to them is being handicapped by a policy context largely designed and implemented by baby boomers.

How do we know what policy choices are compromising the ability of the next generation? For a decade, University of B. C researchers at the Human Early Learning Partnership, a world-renowned Global Knowledge Hub in research about the social determinants of child development, have worked with kindergarten teachers in almost all classrooms, in all school districts around the province. The data we collect show that 29 per cent of B.C. children are vulnerable before they reach kindergarten. By vulnerable, I don't mean that kindergarten kids aren't the next Mozart or Einstein. Rather, vulnerable children struggle with one or more age appropriate tasks, such as holding a pencil, climbing stairs, following instructions from teachers, getting along on the playground and knowing 10 letters.

You might think that child vulnerability is primarily a problem for the income-poor. But it's not. The majority of vulnerable B.C. children reside in middle-or upper-income households and neighbourhoods. Early vulnerability is a problem for mainstream families.

What is behind all this early vulnerability? The answer is that, compared with other countries, we don't invest much to support families to access the time, resources and community services they need to fulfil their caregiving and earning responsibilities. The fact is that Canada consistently places near, or at, the bottom of UNICEF and other international rankings of child care, early learning, work-life balance and family poverty policies. But most Canadians don't know this fact.

Why don't we know? Part of the reason is that we are a boomercentric society. Much of our policy debate is dominated by issues that speak to the aging demographic, especially medical care and pensions. It happened again at the end of March: Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that his government was revisiting whether the country's retirement income system needs improvement. Opposition members responded by lamenting the slow pace of government efforts to fix the alleged pension problem.

Pensions are being prioritized (again!) by the government and opposition alike, even though the finance minister concedes that the Canadian system is considered strong by international standards.

 Without doubt, we can and should ensure our pension system remains near the top of the international ranking. Baby boomers have every reason to desire a comfortable retirement. But where is the debate about policy issues for which Canada is ranked badly? We may have owned the podium at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but time and time again, research shows that we can't even see the podium when it comes to family policy for young kids. When do we question our poor standing on this issue in the House of Commons, or the legislature?

I believe boomers genuinely want to leave more to their children and grandchildren than they have enjoyed. The story they tell themselves is not intended to be fiction. Although the generation's record of accomplishment on this front is weak so far, and the debt and global climate change are massive problems they leave for the future, there remains time for boomers to fix one major intergenerational problem: They can undo decisions which tolerate nearly 30 per cent of the next generation reaching school in a vulnerable condition. For this, we must move beyond the boomercentrism that guides our priority-setting to invest in the smart family policy parents require now, and that children deserve.

Paul Kershaw teaches at the University of British Columbia. He is one of Canada's leading thinkers about family policy.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Beyond%20Boomercentrism/2927373/story.html#ixzz0myTG4K6R

via www.vancouversun.com

Province will help fund daycare transition as full-day learning rolls out - The Globe and Mail

The Ontario government will provide financial assistance to daycares as they lose students to the all-day kindergarten program, and will allow schools to finish out their contracts with independent childcare providers.

The announcement came yesterday as the legislature passed a law that will require school boards to offer full-day learning to 4 and 5-year-olds and Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky promised to give schools a little wiggle room to finish out pre-existing daycare contracts.

“We recognize that there may be boards who perhaps have contractual arrangements, or whatever, and that they require some transition time and we will make accommodation for them for a short period of time,” she said.

Meanwhile, millions of dollars will go toward helping daycares cope with a shrinking base of clientele. A little over $5-million in operating subsidies will be dispersed to daycares next year, as the early learning program is launched in about 600 schools. The annual subsidy will grow to a peak of $51-million over the 5 years that the program is rolled out to more than 4,000 schools across the province.

“These are new dollars to stabilize childcare as a result of the 4 and 5-year-old who will be moving from childcare to the education system,” said Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten.

An additional $12-million will be doled out to non-profit daycares to help them renovate their facilities and gear them to younger children.

The full-day learning program will be optional to parents and available everywhere by the fall of 2015. It will pair teachers with early-childhood educators in the classroom throughout the school day, and provide extended-hour programs for a small fee.

via www.theglobeandmail.com

Get kids learning early, or pay later, say experts

B.C. should follow Ontario by implementing early learning classes or suffer heavy social and economic damage down the road.

That was the message from experts at an early care conference at SFU's Wosk Centre for Dialogue on Tuesday -- the same day that Ontario passed a bill to implement North America's first full-day early learning classrooms for four-and five-year-olds.

Dr. Charles Pascal, special adviser on early learning to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, told conference delegates "there is a big social and economic payoff" in investing in early learning.

University of B.C. Prof. Paul Kershaw presented his new study on "developmentally vulnerable" children, which shows 29 per cent enter kindergarten in B.C. at a learning disadvantage. The study calls for a $3-billion per year investment in early learning and support of young families in B.C.

Vulnerable children come up short in 104 benchmark tests taken in kindergarten, measuring physical, social, emotional and language skills.

The vulnerable "are much more likely to enter the criminal justice system," suffer poor health, drop out of school and underperform in Canada's economy, Kershaw said.

Kershaw calculates that neglecting to reduce the "child vulnerability debt" will cause B.C. to forgo 20 per cent in GDP growth over the next 60 years, which amounts to trillions of dollars wasted.

The study followed 140,000 children from across B.C. over 10 years.

via www.theprovince.com

Vernon Morning Star - Coffey breaks ECD dilemma

It’s an investment opportunity like no other. A chance to secure a brighter economic future by investing in tomorrow’s community leaders, today.

It’s called Early Childhood Development (ECD), and rather than measuring the return on investment in dollars and cents, Charlie Coffey, a director with the Council for Early Child Development, calls it a return on society.

At a Wednesday breakfast meeting at Best Western Vernon Lodge, Coffey, a retired executive for government affairs and business development for RBC, spoke to local community leaders about the importance of investing in ECD.

The first six years of a child’s development are crucial for lifelong learning, health and behaviour. More specifically, these formative years are where children develop cognition, language, motor skills, adaptive skills and social-emotional functioning.

Using recent research, Coffey explained the potential benefits of supporting ECD, and the pitfalls of choosing to ignore it. Citing a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, he explained how a $1 investment in high-quality early childhood learning can yield a $17 return down the road.

“If we don’t get it right in the early years, there’s a huge cost later on... incarceration, dropouts, special education, intervention programs, those sorts of things,” said Coffey, who also spoke in Salmon Arm on his Okanagan visit.

“If you want an idea of what your economy will look like in 15 years, take a look at what you’re investing in ECD today.”

An advocate in this field for more than 15 years, Coffey says Canada has dropped the ball in its support of early child development programs.

In a review of 14 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, Canada, investing just 0.25 per cent of its GDP, ranked last in terms of spending on early childhood education and care. By comparison, Denmark topped the chart at 2 per cent, eight times more than Canada.

In UNICEF’s Report Card on early child education and care in the world’s 25 affluent most nations, Canada was last again.

“When I read that, I was a bit angry. Why are we allowing this to happen?” asked Coffey. “There should be more significant change than what we are seeing in this province and country.”

On a provincial level, things aren’t much better. Research conducted by the University of British Columbia’s Human Early Learning Partnership shows that 29 per cent of children entering kindergarten don’t meet the developmental benchmarks needed to thrive in the classroom.

The study also indicates children coming from low economic backgrounds are most at risk, but the majority of vulnerable children in B.C. come from middle-class backgrounds.

To counteract this, the B.C. government is implementing its 15 by 15 policy, which aims to ensure 85 percent of all children entering kindergarten in 2015 will be ready to learn.

Coffey says the solution isn’t all that difficult. It’s just a matter of getting people on the same page.

“This is not complex. (We need) to show support for the people who are dealing with the community’s most precious resource, the children... getting different people at the same table.

“It might be uncomfortable for an ECD educator to meet with the chamber of commerce people. If you get the right environment, you can get the community focus together and talk about developing a vision.”

Lynne Reside, coordinator of the North Okanagan Early Childhood Development Coalition, says her organization is an ideal platform to get community leaders together. The range of attendees at Coffey’s speech was proof of that, as representatives from the school district, Interior Health, childcare agencies, the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and the City of Vernon were all there.

via www.bclocalnews.com

Ontario Passes Full-Day Learning Act

Ontario Passes Full-Day Learning Act

 

 

April 27, 2010 12:00 PM

McGuinty Government Also Takes Key Steps To Stabilize Child Care And Improve The Delivery Of Children's Services

Ontario is one step closer to implementing full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds across the province.

Earlier today, the legislature passed the Full-Day Early Learning Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010. The legislation included a number of amendments, such as clarifying the roles of teachers and early childhood educators in full-day early learning classrooms.

In addition, the government will address the need for child care centres to have the flexibility they need as four- and five-year-olds move into the integrated before- and after-school program.

Ontario is also supporting the child care sector and will help improve the delivery of other children's services in a number of ways, including:

• Providing stabilization funding. This will be phased in over the period of implementation, growing to $51 million annually at full implementation to help stabilize child care centres as four- and five-year-olds move into the full-day learning program.

• Providing $12 million over five years to help non-profit child care centres make retrofits and renovations to serve younger children.

• Transferring child care policy and program responsibilities to the Ministry of Education from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to facilitate smoother transitions for children from the child care system to the education system.

• Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten, assisted by Dr. Charles Pascal, will take the lead to bring about integrated services for parents of infants and young children so they can access them in a more co-ordinated, timely and efficient way.  

Full-day early learning is a key part of the government's Open Ontario plan to strengthen education in Ontario. It will increase student achievement, build a stronger workforce and help break the cycle of poverty.

QUICK FACTS

 

• Full-day learning will be offered in nearly 600 schools in September 2010.
• Teachers and early childhood educators in full-day learning classrooms will be guided by the new Full-Day Early Learning - Kindergarten Program.
• Subsidies will be available, based on need, for some families who need help with the cost of the extended-day program.
• The full-day early learning program will be supported by a team of teachers and early childhood educators with approximately 26 kids per classroom.

via www.news.ontario.ca

I will be attending the Inspiring Innovation Symposium for the next 2 days - watch for live tweets

Early years evalution sessions now taking place on PEI

April 21, 2010

EARLY YEARS EVALUATION SESSIONS NOW TAKING  PLACE ACROSS THE PROVINCE

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI -- Students entering kindergarten next fall are in schools across the province over the next two weeks to undergo Early Years Evaluation (EYE) sessions.  These sessions will help identify children who may require some supports to increase their chance for success at school, said Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, Doug Currie.

       “The ability to read is a fundamental skill for a child’s success at school and, ultimately, for their long-term health and well-being,” said Minister Currie. “The aim of EYE is to assess a child before they enter kindergarten so we have an early indication of whether or not a child may have literacy challenges.  It will also assist us in providing advice to parents.”
       The Early Years Evaluation has two components. The first component is in progress across the province this week and is administered to all children before kindergarten. The second is done twice during the school year and is administered by the student’s kindergarten teacher.
       The first component takes about 30 minutes per student to complete.  It is administered by a team of retired and substitute primary school teachers.  This assessment requires the child to perform age-appropriate tasks.  Results are generated for each student and are shared with the parent before their child begins kindergarten.
       The first component of the EYE assessment measures:
•       Awareness of Self and Environment
•       Social Skills and Behaviour and Approaches to Learning
•       Cognitive Skills
•       Language and Communication
•       Physical Development
       The second component of the EYE assessment is an observational survey and takes 10 minutes to complete.  This survey will provide a framework that kindergarten teachers can use during the first few months of school to structure informal assessments on the same developmental areas as the first component of the EYE.  It will also provide a baseline for future assessments.
       The EYE assessment provides class level reports and can be used to help teachers plan their instruction.  Reports can also be generated at a very high level to assess the needs of the kindergarten population at a class, school, district or provincial level. These reports will help administrators identify where resources are required.
       “We know that literacy skills are linked to future success at school and the later a child is identified as needing support the more difficult it is to catch up.  That is why it is important to ensure the needs of Island children are identified as early as possible through tools like the EYE,” said Minister Currie.
       Previously, Prince Edward Island did not have a universal screening tool to flag issues in kindergarten age children.  Many universal screening tools were considered by an inter-provincial sub group made up of assessment and early childhood specialists.


-30-

For more information, contact Maureen Flanagan-LeClair, Education and Early Childhood Development by email at mxflanagan-leclair@gov.pe.ca or phone (902) 368-6449.

Parents for Choice & Quality writes to Minister Currie

Parents for Choice and Quality Society
RR#3, Montague
Summerville, PE C0A 1R0

April 20, 2010

Hon. Mr. Currie
Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development
P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE
C1A 7N8

Dear Minister Currie,

You may recall our grassroots group Parents for Choice and Quality, which began in 2008 when your Department attempted to change the Child Care Facilities Act and Regulations without proper public consultation. At that time, we were concerned about a number of the proposed changes; which included the potential for a cap to be placed on the approval of new child care licenses. As a group consisting of mothers, fathers, grandparents, child care centres, industry professionals and concerned citizens of PEI we voiced our concerns and your government heard us by not only extending the consultation process but by ensuring that a cap on new child care licenses did not occur.

Since our initial involvement with this issue, our group has grown into a formal not for profit organization whose goals include:

• Providing leadership that supports children and families in achieving their full potential.
• Supporting the development and operation of a range of quality, community based service choices and opportunities related to early childhood development, education, child care and other family related issues; and
• Providing a voice and leadership for children and families, by keeping their needs on the on the agendas of legislators.

We write to you again now as we hear that critical changes to the early learning and care sector are expected to be announced shortly. While we applaud your Government for it’s commitment to this issue and for the anticipated investments that will be made in ECE wages, direct grants and infant spaces, we are also very concerned on a number of levels.

We understand that the concept of placing a freeze on new child care licenses (or a cap on spaces) may once again be back on the agenda. This is of exceptional concern to us, as we know that it will do nothing to ensure choice or quality for Island families or children. We strongly feel that any cap on spaces puts the needs of child care operators before the needs of families. You will
recall a 2006 policy decision that Government made which put the needs of child care operators before the needs of Island kindergarten children. The Kindergarten funding policy placed a cap on any new funded spaces and resulted in limited Kindergarten choices for families as well as a shortage of funded spaces in some communities. We are concerned that the same situation may transpire in the child care sector, but on a much broader scale, if a freeze or cap is placed on any new child care spaces or licenses being approved. Further, given the broad range of quality levels that exist across the Province, combined
with the significant loss of qualified Early Childhood Educators from the field due to the Kindergarten transition, we caution that any such a cap or freeze may in fact protect and entrench low quality programs. Can you please provide us with
written assurance that a freeze or cap will not be placed on new child care spaces or licenses as a result of the anticipated investments that your government plan to make in the sector?

The consultation process for the “Framework for Early Childhood Development in Prince Edward Island” seems to have been both rushed and flawed. With no open public consultation, the process seems to have been designed to primarily serve the needs of the early childhood sector. We acknowledge the opportunity to participate in an online parent survey, but suggest that this was rushed and the deadline tight. We understand that parent focus groups were hosted, but were by invitation only. We wonder if the needs of the sector might have actually overshadowed the needs of Island families in this process?

There is no doubt that the early learning and care sector needs an immediate crisis intervention plan, but to expect a 5 Year Action Plan to come out of the consultation process that took place is unreasonable. Further, we continue to be confused about if the process has been about developing a framework for the sector alone or about developing a vision for the early years in PEI.
On November 12, 2009 the following statement was made as part of the PEI Throne Speech:

“In the coming year, my Government will build on this work through a comprehensive review to establish a vision and long-term strategy for the healthy development and well-being of Island children and their families.”

Later that same month, a Press Release from the PEI Government stated:

“The provincial government announced in the Speech from the Throne that it will soon initiate a wider process to establish a vision and long term strategy for the early childhood sector. This will bring parents, early childhood educators and partners together to identify what we want for our children, and how we can work together towards a vibrant, sustainable early childhood sector in Prince Edward Island.”

We wish to point out that the “development of a vision and long-term strategy for the healthy development and well-being of Island children and their families” is actually very different than the “establishment of a vision and long term strategy for the early childhood sector”. While we strongly support addressing the critical issues that the sector is facing, we are concerned that so many aspects of addressing the early years will be missed should the main focus of the strategy be about stabilizing the sector alone. We have long maintained that Prince Edward Island urgently needs a comprehensive, broad based early years strategy that addresses the needs of ALL young children (not just those who are in child care programs.) Can you please clarify in writing if the scope of the “Framework for Early Childhood Development in Prince Edward Island” process is about producing a vision and long term strategy for Island children OR about the producing a vision and long term strategy for the early childhood sector?

In closing, we find ourselves questioning if there is not a conflict of interest in hiring a consultant to complete the “Framework for Early Childhood Development in Prince Edward Island” who also has close family connections to the ownership and operation of a child care centre? Please provide us with written assurance that no conflict of interest has occurred in any aspect of the work completed to date and that the written report will be one that is unbiased. In addition, we are looking for reassurance that the needs of Island children and families have been fairly considered; given that the consultant is so closely connected to the very sector they are making key policy recommendations about.

We look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible.

Yours truly,

Jane Boyd, President
April Ennis, Vice-President
Parents for Choice and Quality Society
www.choiceandquality.wordp

ress.com
(Information on our 2008 work on these issues can also be found here

http://yourkids.wordpress.com/)

cc MLA’s, Editor – The Guardian, Editor – The Journal Pioneer

Here we go again...why placing a cap on child care spaces on PEI is NOT the answer

So "informed rumour" has it that the Government of PEI may once again be considering placing a cap on child care spaces or a freeze on any new child care licenses as part of the anticipated announcements that are coming related to the early learning sector.  Why am I not surprised?  This idea seems to keep resurfacing as though it is the answer that is going to save the child care and early learning sector on PEI. Being an Early Childhood Educator myself I do agree that there are a great many changes that are happening in the sector that are serious.  Yes, it is a challenging time - HOWEVER - let me once again spell out why placing a freeze on new spaces is not the answer:

While there are many programs on the Island that offer high quality services to families and children, the truth is that there are also some who are not of this standard.  In the areas where this exists - and if these are the only programs in that community - it means that families virtually have no other child care choice.  If they require child care to work or attend school they are faced with having to "settle" for what is available.   By placing a cap on spaces, PEI will be protecting programs that may be of a lesser quality. Unfortunately, there is no easy or politically correct way to state this, but it is the reality.  By protecting all programs, there will be virtually no incentive for programs to improve or enhance their offerings. Why would they need to?  It is not like there will be any new competition coming into the area for parents to make comparisons to.  With all that we know about the importance of the Early Years, creating a system that actually protects marginal quality early learning environments is NOT appropriate nor acceptable. Simply put, this is not in the best interests of children or families.  We must do all that we can to ensure that ALL Island children have access to high quality early learning experiences in all Island communities.  This is critical to ensure school readiness and the ability for children to meet the necessary learning outcomes later in life. Further, if no new programs are allowed to come into an area then parental choice will eventually become much more limited than it already is. This is not a good thing either.  Child care, as it stands today, is a market based system and it would not be appropriate for the government to start limiting where or when new services can be created or opened.

It is critical that Prince Edward Island look at the much larger picture of how the Early Years are being addressed and supported overall.  PEI needs an Island wide Early Years Strategy.  I have written about this multiple times.  Let's be clear, there is much work to be done to ensure that young children and their families have access to all of the necessary supports and services that they need as their children grow - this includes access to high quality, affordable child care.

Government energies would be better spent implementing ways to improve program quality levels, attracting more qualified early childhood educators to the Island, reaching out to families whose children are not in licensed child care programs and by ensuring that all Island children have access to a full range of early learning opportunities and services BEFORE they reach the public school system.   These things would accomplish far more than would placing a cap on new child care spaces and program openings.

Here is some further history on this issue - which has been an ongoing challenge for several years now.

You may recall the recent posts on this blog regarding the issue of capping child care spaces on Prince Edward Island.  In one of these posts I noted:

"So - let's just be clear on something here - placing a cap on the number of child care centres will protect child care operators NOT children.  Placing a cap on spaces is only about the needs of operators - it is NOT about the needs of children and families.  Placing a cap on spaces is absolutely NOT the way to enhance the level of quality of early learning environments on PEI."

After Parent's for Choice and Quality wrote letters to the editors of several Island papers we were contacted by Stephen Brun who writes for the Eastern Graphic.  He was interested in our concerns related to capping spaces.  Last week he wrote a follow-up article about all of this.  I have placed a copy of the article below. You will note that one of the quoted child care operator feels that Parent's for Choice and Quality is somewhat uninformed about what is involved with operating Island child care facilities.

“Those people really don’t know how much we go out of our way to help parents and children, “ Ms Brown said. “I guess what we’re saying is, walk a mile in our shoes. If I was the only centre in the this area, then it wouldn’t be an issue. If there gets to be centres where there aren’t enough kids and they all close, what choice to parents have then?”

I feel that it is important to state that as President of Parents for Choice and Quality, I am clearly aware of the great many concerns and challenges that Island child care operators are facing. The provision of child care and early learning  programs is both challenging and complex. I do truly believe that there are many Operators who do all that they can to help children and families.  They care - I understand that and I admire them for that. It is important to note that I, myself, have been an Operator and Supervisor of child care on Prince Edward Island.  Given this, I have a full understanding of what it means when a program is not filled to capacity and how this can place services at risk.  Despite knowing all of this, I still feel that placing a cap on the number of spaces available on the Island is not the answer. 

Below is a copy of the story that ran in Eastern Graphic in March 2009 on this issue.

From Eastern Graphic - March 18, 2009

Capping daycare spaces not the answer, group says

By Stephen Brun

Placing a limit on the number of daycare centres that can open in the province could hinder the quality of care children receive, says a group representing some parents. Jane Boyd and April Ennis, directors of Parents for Choice and Quality, responded to a February 25 story in The Eastern Graphic which included some daycare operators in eastern Kings County calling on government to cap the number of centres that could open in a given area based on low enrollment numbers.

Ms Boyd said better steps need to be taken to ensure high-quality programming, rather than limiting a parent’s choice of daycare centres.

“If we reduce the number of centres, we reduce quality levels and we reduce parent choice,” she said. “I understand the concerns operators have and I’m very clear on what the issues are, but it’s like a pendulum – it can swing one way or the other. These are private service providers so, when it comes to legislated caps, there’s probably a line the legislation shouldn’t cross.”

Parents for Choice and Quality was created in February 2008 when the Province attempted to change legislation to cap child care space on the Island.

Part of a letter to the editor from the group, published in the March 4 Graphic, states: “To suggest that the government should change the legislation to allow for a cap on the number of child care spaces and centres in a given area is purely about the needs of the operators and is not about the needs of the children and families…it is absolutely not the way to enhance the quality level of early learning environments on PEI”.

Norma Brown, owner of Child’s Play daycare in Fortune, who was one of the operators to call for a cap, said the group’s assumption that the workers are protecting themselves is false.

“Those people really don’t know how much we go out of our way to help parents and children, “ Ms Brown said. “I guess what we’re saying is, walk a mile in our shoes. If I was the only centre in the this area, then it wouldn’t be an issue. If there gets to be centres where there aren’t enough kids and they all close, what choice to parents have then?”

Child’s Play is one of six daycares operating in roughly a 30-mile radius in Eastern Kings, including centres in Cardigan, Souris, St Peters, and Howe Bay.

Ms. Brown and other operators in the area also called for increased subsidies so parents could better afford to send their children to daycare, but feels a cap should have been put in place two years ago.

“I’ve been here 18 years and there is nothing I haven’t seen, but there are more daycares than there ever was in this area,” she said. “It’s not that we have a problem with the other centres, but it would be the same as opening another fish plant in Souris. The one that’s there is hanging on by the skin of its teeth as it is.”

While Ms Boyd agrees better subsidies are needed for parents, she said the Province would be better suited to ensure new daycares meet a higher standard of quality before they become licensed than the current standard. She said some members on the childcare board, who approve licence requests on PEI, are daycare operators themselves and could be in a conflict of interest.

“I’m not arguing and saying it’s all perfect, because clearly it’s not,” she said. “There is quite a difference in the degree of quality across the Island. It’s a pretty baseline level (of acceptance) on PEI. With high quality programs, parents will come to those and parents will drive distances for those.”

CBC News - Prince Edward Island - Childcare needs urgent, says Opposition

While the P.E.I. government has been focused on moving kindergarten into the school system, the province's early childhood education system is in danger of coming to pieces, says the Opposition.

The Progressive Conservatives focused on daycare in question period as the legislature returned for the spring session Wednesday. Since 2000, when kindergarten was first publicly funded on the Island, daycares have received government subsidies for teaching kindergarten. In September, those children are moving into the schools, and many businesses say they will miss that revenue.

"It's a huge concern. There's right now a risk of 30 to 35 centres that may be closed as early as June," said Opposition leader Olive Crane.

"We've been trying to get attention - for the parents, for the facility owners, for the staff across P.E.I. - for the last two years, and this government seems to not understand the crisis that's facing them."

No money has yet been set aside to help early childhood centers, but Minister of Education Doug Currie said there is some coming.

"There will have to be an investment. I don't have an exact figure," said Currie.

"Right now there's a volume of work that's being done, the impact analysis on the [money from five-year-olds being] taken out of the sector."

Currie said the government is also aware there is a need to look at somehow increasing wages for early childhood educators.

Crane said she is surprised by what she calls a lack of planning in early childhood education, and said it should be part of government 's whole prosperity strategy. Quality daycare, she said, is an essential component of getting people to work.

"We've seen a number of glossy documents," she said.

"Islanders, especially parents, employers have come to us as well, [and said] we need affordable, accessible childcare."

Currie said he can't make any commitment right now because the budget, which will not be delivered until later in the month, is still being written.

via www.cbc.ca