Governments of Canada and Yukon are improving quality, accessibility and affordability of early learning and child care for families

Governments sign a bilateral agreement

OTTAWA, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - The governments of Canada and Yukon are making significant investments in early learning and child care systems to ensure children get the best possible start in life while keeping programs and services community-centred. Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable Pauline Frost, Minister of Health and Social Services for Yukon, announced a three-year bilateral agreement that reaffirms their commitment to and support of the unique early learning and child care needs of Yukon. 

The agreement allocates slightly more than $7 million to Yukon over three years for early learning and child care investments. Yukon's Action Plan outlines how these funds will be invested. This funding will provide additional child care subsidy supports for grandparents who take care of their grandchildren, increase resources to assist Early Childhood Educators, help retain trained early childhood staff, and increase support to improve inclusive child care programming for children who are most in need.

Funding will help develop a curriculum that includes community-specific and culturally relevant programming that supports intellectual and social development, cultural awareness, Yukon First Nation languages and the French language. It will also help support the Franco-Yukonnaise community by providing more early learning opportunities for Francophone children who do not currently have access to child care in French.

The agreement represents a key deliverable on one of the Yukon government's enduring priorities: to adopt a people-centred approach to wellness that helps Yukoners thrive. Specifically, it delivers on the government's commitment to improve coordination of early childhood programs to maximize benefits for children.

This announcement follows a historic agreement on a Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, signed on June 12, 2017 by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care. The Framework sets the foundation for governments to work towards a shared long-term vision where all children across Canada can experience the enriching environment of quality early learning and child care.

By taking care of our children today, we're growing and strengthening the middle class for years to come. The bilateral agreement is supported by long-term Government of Canada investments in early learning and child care announced in Budgets 2016 and 2017, totaling $7.5 billion over 11 years, and is another step to help ensure that Yukon children get the best start in life.

Quotes
"Our government believes that every Canadian family should have access to quality and affordable child care that reflects their cultural and linguistic heritage, no matter where in the country they live. Today's agreement between Canada and Yukon is a big step towards ensuring that Yukon children get the best start in life, and we know that kids with quality early learning do better in school and in life."
? The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"Families have more options when child care is affordable and accessible?parents are able to work and children have greater opportunities to reach their potential. This agreement with the Government of Canada will help to make that a reality for more low- and middle-income families and in turn, benefit our economy. We will continue our work with families, First Nation governments, non-government organizations, the private sector and early childhood educators to provide quality care and education for children in Yukon."
? The Honourable Pauline Frost, Minister of Health and Social Services for Yukon

Quick Facts

• Federal Budgets 2016 and 2017 proposed to invest $7.5 billion over 11 years, starting in 2017?18, to support and create more high-quality, affordable child care across the country, particularly for families more in need. Of this investment:
• $95 million will go towards closing data gaps to better understand child care challenges and needs and track progress;
• $100 million will go towards early learning and child care innovation; and
• a portion will be dedicated to strengthening culturally appropriate early learning and child care for Indigenous children
  
• The federal government is working with each province and territory to enter into three-year bilateral agreements that will address the early learning and child care needs unique to its jurisdiction and funding allocation. Bilateral agreements with six other provinces and territories have been announced: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.
  
  
• Through the bilateral agreements, the Government of Canada will provide provinces and territories with $1.2 billion, over the next three years, for early learning and child care programs. Governments will report annually on progress made in relation to the Framework and bilateral agreements.
  
  
• In addition, a separate Indigenous Framework on Early Learning and Child Care is being co-developed with Indigenous partners to reflect the unique cultures and needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families.
  
  
• The Yukon Action Plan supports main areas of investment over three years, which align with the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. They are:
• Increasing the Direct Operating Grant for Whitehorse programs by 14.5 percent and rural programs by 34.5 per cent.
• Enhancing the quality of early learning and child care services.
• Improving the affordability and accessibility of early learning and child care.
• Testing and implementing innovative practices. These would include offering nine flexible child care spaces for children with parents suffering from addiction, and offering Handle with Care training to child care providers to promote the mental health of young children.
• Improving inclusive child care programming for children who are most in need and who have varying abilities.

Associated Link
Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework

Backgrounder

CANADA?YUKON EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE AGREEMENT

On June 12, 2017, Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care signed a Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. This is a significant milestone in which governments agree to work together to address some of the key early learning and child care issues across the country.

Governments will work towards achieving the shared long-term vision of the Framework where all children across Canada can experience the enriching environment of quality early learning and child care. They have committed to increase the quality, accessibility, affordability, flexibility and inclusivity of early learning and child care, with consideration for families that need child care the most.

The implementation of this framework, and a separate Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework to be co-developed with Indigenous peoples, is supported by federal investments announced in Budgets 2016 and 2017 totalling $7.5 billion over 11 years. Through bilateral agreements, the Government of Canada will provide provinces and territories with $1.2 billion over three years to address unique early learning and child care needs and allocate funding for each jurisdiction.

The governments of Canada and Yukon have signed an early learning and child care bilateral agreement. Through this bilateral agreement, the Government of Yukon will receive just over $7 million over three years.

The Yukon Action Plan supports four main areas of investment over three years, which align with the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. They are:

• Enhancing the quality of early learning and child care services by:
• providing professional development opportunities and learning materials for 132 Early Childhood Educators,
• implementing a new culturally and developmentally appropriate curriculum across all ELCC centres benefitting approximately 960 children;
• providing enhancement grants to all ELCC centres to meet regulatory requirements related to health and safety standards; and,
• Improving the affordability and accessibility of early learning and child care by:
• supporting 90% of children care centres through the Direct Operating Grant, to maintain fees without increases in costs to parents; and, by providing additional child care subsidy supports for grandparents.
• establishing two new child care centres in communities currently without child care programs, creating 40 new child care spaces;
• Testing and implementing innovative practices. These would include offering 9 flexible child care spaces for children with parents suffering from addiction, and offering Handle with Care training to child care providers to promote the mental health of young children.
• Improving inclusive child care programming for children who are most in need and who have varying abilities by:
• providing additional child care spaces for 5 children with special needs;
• improving the early detection of developmental concerns;
• undertaking a feasibility study on Francophone ELCC needs in Yukon.

By the end of the three-year agreement, this funding will:

• support eight Early Childhood Educators to complete the two-year diploma program through Yukon College;
• provide education bursaries to 10 students from rural communities;
• provide additional child care subsidy supports for grandparents, which will increase by 25 percent the number of grandparents that have access to additional support, and will result in a similar increase in children under their primary care.
• create up to 18 new child care spaces in key age areas by providing additional funding to child care centres through the Direct Operating Grant.
• improve the early detection of developmental concerns by increasing by 10 percent the number of Early Childhood Educators who will be trained using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Tool; and
• provide funding to Yukon First Nation governments to better understand the early learning and child care needs of their citizens and better position some First Nation governments to apply for additional funding.

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada