News: March 2013 Archives

Parents Spend More Learning Time with Young Daughters than Sons: Study
Source: The Toronto Star, March 28, 2013

Excerpt: "Canadian parents spend more time reading, telling stories, singing songs, drawing, and teaching new words and letters to their pre-kindergarten-age daughters than their sons, according to a working paper by two Canadian economics professors."

Early Learning Programs Need More Funding — Day Care Group
Source: Harold News, March 26, 2013

Excerpt: "About two dozen people protested outside Province House Tuesday morning, calling on the government to provide funding for early learning.

Kathleen Couture, chair of the Nova Scotia Child Care Association, said members “are protesting something that’s been protested since 1968: Nova Scotia needs an early learning and care system.”

End of Training Grant Bad for Child Care, Advocates Said
Source: Calgary Herald, March 26, 2013

Excerpt: "Ending a grant worth thousands of dollars every year to child-care centres across Alberta will hurt providers trying to offer the best care and could lead to higher fees for families, advocates said Monday.

A coalition of child-care providers, joined by Public Interest Alberta, urged the province to reinstate the Quality Enhancement Training grant, eliminated as part of the in the 2013-14 budget."

6 Tax Tips for Parents
Source: CBC News, March 25, 2013

Excerpt: "In January, Ottawa paid out more than $2 billion in GST tax credits, child tax benefits and universal child care benefits. To ensure you get your share of those and other benefits and tax deductions, we've compiled a rundown of some of the things to think about when it comes to your kids and your taxes — from birth to when they leave the nest."

One Look at Quebec Daycare Reveals Poor Quality
Source: 24 Hours Vancouver, March 24, 2013

Excerpt: "Making daycare both affordable and accessible seems to be a never-ending debate.

One of the long-standing suggestions promoted by various groups is a publicly funded daycare system. That’s what the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. is currently pushing the government to adopt. They’re proposing the Ministry of Education set up and run daycares across the province for kids aged one to six."

Winning Grades
Source: The Economist, March 23, 2013

Excerpt: "The first year of school in America, known as kindergarten, usually begins between the ages of five and six. Among rich countries such a late start is something of an anomaly. Barack Obama believes it is an economic and social problem; his education secretary goes as far as to say that it is “morally indefensible”. This statement has some support, as it is clear from research into vocabulary that youngsters from poor families enter kindergarten well behind their peers—a disadvantage that usually lasts a lifetime. Children from households on welfare knew 525 words by the age of three, while the offspring of professionals had mastered 1,116."

Yes, Public Preschool is a Smart Investment
Source: The National Institute for Early Education Research, March 22, 2013

Excerpt: "Early education and care programs have two goals — child care so parents can work or go to school and education so children learn and grow optimally.  Unfortunately, much of what is called child care in the United States is what others would call "child minding.""

Pre-K Goes to Washington
Source: Source: The National Institute for Early Education Research, March 22, 2013

Excerpt: "President Obama launched early childhood education into the national spotlight in February when in his State of the Union address he proposed “working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America.” Since then, the early education field has been debating best practices, funding models, and making sure the mainstream media accurately presents the compelling research case for pre-K."

The Role of the Public Sector and Carework in Wealth Creation: Background for Debates Around the Upcoming Ontario Budget
Source: CHNET-WORKS!, March 11, 2013

Excerpt: "Much like caring work, the role of the public sector in the creation of wealth is regularly undervalued and even disregarded. Due to this, the focus in policy debates is on public sector spending, with the 'necessary' conclusion that the amount of spending must be reduced within the context of provincial and federal budget deficits."

No Easy Lessons in Assessing Preschool Payoff
Source: The Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2013

Excerpt: "The trendiest investment idea isn't a stock or bond. It's preschool.  Some education researchers say early childhood learning gives the best bang for the buck, with healthy returns in many areas. Children who participate end up having better college-attendance rates, higher employment and larger incomes than similar children who don't, according to several studies. The government saves money from their lower crime rates and reduced use of social programs."

• See also Economists Study Early Education (WSJ Blog, March 8, 2013)

Impact of Full-Day Kindergarten Examined With the Help of 700 Kids
Source: University of Toronto, OISE, March 2013

Excerpt: "It’s considered a blessing for couples who work full-time but all day kindergarten for Ontario isn’t without controversy and that’s one reason the full impact of this recent educational initiative is being examined closely by OISE professor Janette Pelletier, Director of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study (ICS)."

• For results of year one and year two please click here.

QC: Quebec Daycares Threaten To Close Over Cuts
Source: Montreal Gazette, March 16, 2013

Excerpt: "The Manitoba Child Care Association is sounding the alarm bells over the possibility that many day cares now operated in surplus classrooms may be squeezed out of local schools. Pat Wege, the association’s executive director, said her members are concerned about a resolution up for debate during the Manitoba School Boards Association’s convention, taking place this weekend. “The concern is that child care programs that are operating in surplus classroom space will be asked to leave the schools,” said Wege, adding her group estimates around 10,000 spaces could be affected."

• See also "School Division Pushes for Right to Convert Daycare into Classrooms" (CTV News, March 14, 2013).

Excerpt: "A new program will give children living in disadvantaged areas — whose economic and social circumstances make them susceptible to dropping out of school later — the chance to start kindergarten at age 4. "

Should Employers Accommodate Shift Workers With Childcare Needs?
Source: The Current, CBC, March 11, 2013 (audio)

Excerpt: "The issue of how people with young children manage shift work and what their employers owe them in terms of flexibility and accommodations has cometo a head because of Fiona Johnstone. She's a customs inspector who used to work irregular shifts at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Fiona Johnstone had a baby and took maternity leave. As she was getting ready to return to work, she asked for a "static" shift -- one that would predictably begin and end at the same time. The Canada Border  Services Agency refused her request ... and so she took her case to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and won."

Excerpt:  "New Brunswick's minister of education says the provincial government plans to enhance early intervention services, despite plans to close 10 intervention offices. Jody Carr was responding to concerns about the cuts raised late last week by several parents of special needs children. Early intervention programs offer home-based support and education for parents whose children are at risk of developmental delays. Carr says a request for proposals went out last fall to replace the current 17 agencies with seven, to match the number of new school districts. The changes are part of integrating early childhood development with public education and are meant to be an improvement to in-home services, Carr said."

Excerpt: "Premier Christy Clark said she would not bow to protesters who descended on her office Saturday, calling on British Columbia to subsidize a $10-a-day daycare plan.  While nearly 200 people demanding cheaper childcare marched to her constituency office in Vancouver, Clark told CTV News that publicly funded, $10-a-day daycare would amount to some $2-billion in taxpayer funds, and that the province doesn’t have the money to make that happen."

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Excerpt: "Not many would take issue with President Obama’s recent call to make high-quality preschool a reality for more U.S. kids. Even before Obama announced his intentions, both Democrats and Republicans had already lined up in their home states to push preschool programs, with more than a dozen states considering bolstering early education."

The Perry Preschool Study and Head Start
Source: Preschool Matters…Today, March 8, 2013

Excerpt: "This guest post is an open letter in response to The Wall Street Journal editorial "Head Start for All".  Your Review & Outlook "Head Start for All" (Feb. 25) makes several incorrect claims about the HighScope Perry Preschool Study. As director of the study, I’d like to set the record straight."

• See also "Head Start for All" (The Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2013)

Excerpt: "Why are children so, well, so helpless?....One idea is that our distinctive long childhood helps to develop our equally distinctive intelligence. We have both a much longer childhood and a much larger brain than other primates."

Excerpt: "The Child Care Advocacy of Canada is writing to you in your capacity as the shapers of Canada’s social policy through social programs, intergovernmental and individual fiscal transfers and taxation policy. Specifically, we are writing to urge you to take leadership and work together in the interests of Canadians to bring Canada’s 20th century child care and early childhood education conditions into the 21st century."

Think Child Care is No Longer a Women’s Issue?
Source: Childcare Resource and Research Unit, March 6, 2013

Excerpt: "On this International Women's Day,  think again....  Here are ten indications that Canada's lack of action on universal child care continues to have a profound impact on women in all regions of Canada-- across the life span, across diverse groups and across the economic spectrum: 1. If "child care is the ramp that provides equal access to the workforce for mothers..."

Time to Scrap the Universal Child Care Benefit
Source: Toronto Star, March 5, 2013

Excerpt: "Next month, the federal government will introduce another austerity budget. More public sector jobs will be eliminated, and more services will be cut, all in the name of restoring Canada’s fiscal health.  The government will present itself as the guardian of the public purse, respectful of provincial jurisdictions, and focused on helping working families. The opposition will disagree. And no one will talk about the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), an indefensible program that has cost Canadians approximately $15 billion since it was first introduced in 2006."

Description: "Matt Galloway spoke about the effects of the labour dispute between teachers and the province, with Charles Pascal. He is a Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education."

Daycare Spaces Could Become Harder to Find, Industry Warns
Source:  CTV Kitchener, March 4, 2013

Excerpt: "Waiting lists for daycare spaces in Ontario are already long, but daycare officials are warning they could get even longer by this fall. In Wellington County, childcare services director Luisa Artuso says the culprit for wait lists likely to balloon is ultimately full-day kindergarten."

Excerpt: "The B.C. child care system is failing families, workers and business: child care fees are high, quality spaces are rare, and business pays the price. Work-life conflicts among employees with preschool-age children cost $600-million annually in employee turnover, absenteeism, and health care premiums. B.C. also has the lowest workforce participation in Canada for mothers with children over age three. It’s time for politicians to support a universal, accessible and publicly funded $10 per day child care system, a plan also supported by B.C. business groups."

US: Don’t Forget Full-Day Kindergarten
Source: Early Ed Watch, New America Foundation, February 21, 2013

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A Cluster on Mental Health & A New Topic on Anxiety and Depression
Source: Centre of Excellence in Early Childhood Development, March 26, 2013

Description: ""Mental health" is our first cluster of topics and papers from the Encyclopedia. All these documents are connected in one way or another to the mental health of mothers and children. The new topic Anxiety and depression completes this cluster.

Research now shows that mental health issues often have their roots in early childhood. Mental disorders include a wide range of conditions, such as depression, anxiety, phobias, substance abuse, schizophrenia, and developmental disorders such as disruptive behaviour, autism, mental retardation and dementia. About 10% of the adult population worldwide will report having some type of mental or behavioural disorder at any point in time. "

• Mental Health Cluster
• Anxiety and Depression Topic

Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy
Source: Society for Research in Child Development

Description: "Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy calls for placing early childhood development at the top of the global policy agenda, enabling children to achieve their full developmental potential and to contribute to equitable economic and social progress worldwide. The volume presents evidence-based programs and policies for advancing the positive development of young children across the globe, focusing on developing countries. An international ensemble of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners present evidence from multiple disciplinary, sectorial, and analytical perspectives, emphasizing the importance of scientific findings in promoting child development and addressing programmatic challenges to quality, sustainability, measurement, finance, and capacity

• See attached PDF for ordering information

Parents and Their Preschoolers
Source: Freakonomics, March 19, 2013

Description: "A working paper from economists Michael Baker and Kevin Milligan advances another possible explanation for the lagging academic performance of boys."

• See working paper pdf

Child care spending: "Under Budget 2013, funding for child care is $269.7 million, an increase of $5 million. Families will continue to be supported through child care subsidy benefits that offset the cost of child care. Also, funding will continue to be available to eligible programs and staff to support high quality child care through wage top-ups and professional development and the recruitment and retention of qualified child care staff. Human Services, like all ministries, was asked to examine operations to ensure that we are using our resources as effectively as possible to get the best possible results for Albertans. The Quality Funding grant, administered under the Alberta Child Care Accreditation Funding Program, will no longer be provided as of April 1, 2013. This change will ensure key supports and incentives continue to be in place. Wage top-ups of up to $6.62 per hour; benefit contribution grant to offset the mandatory employer contributions on the wage top-ups; professional development of up to $1,000 per year; and staff attraction incentive allowance of $2,500 per year will continue to be available."

• Budget main page.
• See the Alberta Human Services backgrounder for Budget 2013 for a description of separate streams of funding to child care and to early child development.
• See the Operational Plan for details on funding for all child-related spending including child care, ECD and private schools:

AB: Alberta’s Social Policy Framework
Source: Government of Alberta, February 28, 2013

Description: "Alberta’s Social Policy Framework—is a vision for social policy that defines who we are as people and communities, one that reflects our aspirations for a province that offers all Albertans the opportunity to reach their potential and to benefit from the highest possible quality of life."

• See also

Description: "The early years of life, into the first few grades of school, are widely recognised to be the most critical period for learning and lifelong achievement. Investment in these early years is also known to be highly cost-effective, and indeed one of the most promising approaches to reducing poverty and achieving equity. Getting things right in early childhood can eliminate a lot of more intransigent problems later on.  Yet, in one of the great ironies of development, strong early childhood programming and appropriate support for the first few years of primary school are the exception rather than the rule."

CCPA Alternative Federal Budget 2013
Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, March 11, 2013

Excerpt: "On March 12th, the CCPA released the Alternative Federal Budget 2013: Doing Better Together. This year's AFB shows how growth-killing austerity can be replaced by a plan that strengthens the economy, leads to a better quality of life for all Canadians, and eliminates the deficit by 2016."

AB: Budget 2013, Responsible Change – Operational Plan
Source:  Alberta Government, March 7, 2013

Relevant Highlights: "Child Care: The budget is nearly $270 million in 2013‐14, a $5 million or 1.9% increase from 2012‐13. This budget maintains full child care subsidies for families with a household income of less than $50,000, as introduced in Budget 2012.

Early Childhood Development: As part of the government’s focus on early childhood development, Human Services will provide $89 million in 2013‐14 for early intervention and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder initiatives. Human Services, Health and Education will continue to work together with community partners to promote healthy starts for children.

Private Schools: The budget is $206 million in 2013‐14 to support accredited private schools and private operators that provide Early Childhood Services programs for children as young as two and a half years of age."

• See also Alberta Budget page>

An Overview of Discourses of Skilled Immigrants and "Canadian Experience"
Source:  CERIS Working Paper No. 98, March 2013

Description: "Young families are squeezed on all sides. Today’s young mothers and fathers need to work harder and longer than did their parents, while erosion of Canada’s social safety net has left them struggling to survive. Young families, including newcomers to Canada and Aboriginal families (who experience Canada’s most extreme inequality) need good family policy, but especially childcare. Child care enables parents to get the education/training they need to access good jobs and should allow mothers and fathers to work without enduring years-long child care wait lists or breaking the family budget. Child care makes it more possible for low income or sole support parents (who are mostly women) to take advantage of opportunities for advancement. At the same time, all parents can better balance work and family if they can be confident that their children are safe, thriving and happy."

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CUPE Nova Scotia: 2013 Survey on Attitudes Towards Child Care
Source: Environics Research Group, 2013

Description: "CUPE required a survey to measure impressions of residents of Nova Scotia regarding public services and child care. Specifically the survey covered: Preferences for a child care service model for Nova Scotia (this report)."

• See also > "Poll: Nova Scotians Want Province Involved in Child Care Article" (Chronical Herald, March 7, 2013)

The Woman Question: Why Child Care is Still a Women's Issue
Source: Susan Prentice, March 2, 2013

Description: "Powerpoints from Susan Prentice's presentation at the "A-word": Challenging advocacy in the fight for a Canadian childcare system conference held on March 1st at Ryerson University in Toronto. Susan Prentice is a professor of sociology at the University of Manitoba."

Toward Universal Learning: What Every Child Should Learn
Source: Brookings Institution, February 2013

Description: "Towards Universal Learning: What Every Child Should Learn was prepared by the Learning Metrics Task Force (LMTF), which is co-convened by UNESCO‟s Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution. The Task Force received guidance from a technical working group comprising of 37 experts from early childhood, primary and post-primary education, as well as feedback gathered through global consultation from more than 500 stakeholders in 57 countries."

• See also "Toward Universal Learning: What Every Child Should Learn" (Brookings blog, Feb 19)

InBrief: Early Childhood Mental Health
Source: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, February 2013

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