Early Learning and Child Care in Canada [Early Childhood Development] - Non-Governmental Organizations -

Apprentissage et garde des jeunes enfants au Canada [Développement de la petite enfance] - Organismes non-gouvernementaux -

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

What's new from the
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU):
http://www.childcarecanada.org

January 29, 2012

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Background information and facts about public child care in Peel Region
http://goo.gl/2n99e
24 Jan 2012 | Ontario
Collection of documents includes fact sheet about public child care in Peel Region, Peel's child care service plan for 2010-2011, and documents supporting the recommendation to regional coucnil to close all public child care centres in Peel.

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (Volume 5)
http://goo.gl/N6Acr
23 Jan 2012 | International
Fifth volume of the international journal from the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education available online; covers various ECEC policy issues by experts from around the world.

Pay matters: The positive economic impacts of paid family leave for families, businesses and the public
http://goo.gl/9tTS1
23 Jan 2012 | United States
Report from the Rutgers Center for Women and Work argues that "if paid leave policies have the potential to protect women's and men's wages and long-term earnings, and perhaps even to reduce the use of state- and federally-funded public assistance, then any political or economic investment in such policies would be - quite literally - worth the cost."

Policies to assist parents with young children
http://goo.gl/VcG03
23 Jan 2012 | United States
Article by Christopher Ruhm compares parental leave and ECEC policies in the United States, Canada, and several European nations; argues that "Canada falls in the middle in generosity" for parental leave and benefits.

'Promising practices' of early childhood education principles for immigrant and refugee children in British Columbia
http://goo.gl/9npGy
23 Jan 2012 | British Columbia
Report provides "an overview of programs and services for newcomer children aged 0-12 years" and "explores the unique approaches that managers, coordinators and educators working with immigrant and refugee children take to achieve their programmatic goals."

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Child care issue put off: Region calls for task force
http://goo.gl/vMt94
27 Jan 2012 | Ontario

Parent pleas persuade Peel council to keep daycares open
http://goo.gl/O3VuO
27 Jan 2012 | Ontario

Rae tries to shore up support for NDP-turned-Liberal MP St-Denis
http://goo.gl/u62rp
26 Jan 2012 | Canada

Parents take concerns to board: Bypass roundtable discussions for answers about board-run care
http://goo.gl/KJePy
26 Jan 2012 | Ontario

Peel Region rushing daycare closings, parents say
http://goo.gl/zyfRE
26 Jan 2012 | Ontario

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

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Earlier issues of What's New (this link takes you further down the page you're now reading)
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm#crru

Subscribe to the CRRU email notices and updates
http://www.childcarecanada.org/res/enews/index.html
Sign up to receive email notices of updates and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy, newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child care and broader community.

Links to child care
sites in Canada and elsewhere
http://www.childcarecanada.org/links/index.html

CRRU Publications
http://www.childcarecanada.org/pubs/
- briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

ISSUE files
http://www.childcarecanada.org/resources/issue-files
- theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
http://www.childcarecanada.org
CRRU is a policy and research oriented facility that focuses on early childhood education and child care (ECEC) and family policy in Canada and internationally.

Beverley Smith's Page
In May 1997 a Canadian homemaker, Beverley Smith, laid an official complaint at the United Nations that Canada discriminates against homemakers in its tax, divorce and childcare laws and in Statistics Canada studies.
"Beverley Smith is a long-time researcher and activist promoting equality for all roles for men and women, paid and unpaid, and for the state to value the family side of the career family balance. (...) working to get a fairer tax climate to all kids, and all ways to raise them, addressing child poverty in a way that shows no favoritism for lifestyle or career choice"

Caledon Institute of Social Policy

More Than a Name Change: The Universal Child Care Benefit (PDF file - 69K, 10 pages)
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
May 2006
The federal government’s new Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) - formerly known as the Choice in Child Care Allowance - contains two serious flaws. First, the UCCB will be taxable in the hands of the lower-earner parent in the case of couples or the parent in one-parent families. As a result, different types of family with the same income will pay different amounts of federal and provincial/territorial income taxes on their $1,200 annual payment and so will receive different after-tax benefits. Single-parent families typically will end up with the smallest after-tax benefits from the new program. Second, to help pay for the new scheme, the Canada Child Tax Benefit’s $249 annual young child care supplement - used mainly by low- and modest-income families - will be axed. The resulting distribution of net benefits (i.e., after the loss of the young child supplement and income tax increases) will be irrational, confusing and unfair. No family will end up with $1,200. The largest net benefit - $971 - will go to upper-income one-earner couples, while those on welfare will get $20 less. Working poor families will get less than those on welfare, so the Universal Child Care Benefit will raise the welfare wall. The paper compares the UCCB with Caledon’s proposal to deliver the $1,200 through the Canada Child Tax Benefit, and finds the latter option superior on a range of criteria.

Related Links:

The Incredible Shrinking $1,200 Child Care Allowance: How to Fix It (PDF file - 121K, 26 pages)
Ken Battle, April 2006
As proposed to date, the new $1,200 Child Care Allowance will be a flawed scheme creating deep inequities. Working poor and modest-income families will end up with low net benefits, and one-earner couples will get more than single parents and two-earner couples. For example, an Ontario two-earner couple with net family income of $30,000 would end up with just $199, while a $200,000 one-earner couple would get a net benefit of $1,076. The paper explores several options to fix the flaws in the Child Care Allowance. First, Ottawa should not go ahead with its plan to eliminate the $249 young child supplement, which is part of the Canada Child Tax Benefit. Second, the Allowance could be exempt from the calculation of net family income. Third, it could be designed as a universal non-taxable benefit. Fourth, it could be delivered through the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit. Caledon favours the first and fourth of these options.

Finding Common Ground on Child Care (PDF file - 15K, 3 pages)
Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
February 2006
The proposed $1,200 Choice in Child Care Allowance is a stealth program that will in fact deliver smaller benefits than advertised. Caledon proposes that the federal government instead deliver the $1,200 through the tried and true Canada Child Tax Benefit.

The Choice in Child Care Allowance:
What you See Is Not What You Get (PDF file - 63K, 7 pages)
Ken Battle
January 2006

Architecture for National Child Care
Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
November 2002
The case for investing in high quality child care is compelling and unequivocal. The current challenge is to develop an architecture that will help guide the construction of a Canadian child care system open to all families that want to use it. This paper discusses four possible implementation mechanisms: a codicil to the Early Childhood Development Agreement, a new national child care strategy, bilateral agreements on child care and federal-municipal agreements on child care. These implementation mechanisms were developed in collaboration with the National Liberal Caucus Social Policy Committee, Chair, John Godfrey, MP.

A Proposed Model Framework for Early Childhood Development Services Within the National Children's Agenda (Abstract)
Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
September 2000
Complete report (PDF file, 7 pages, 31K)

Issue Papers on Child Care Policy and Programs in Canada

Diversity or Disparity?
Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada (ECEC)
Second Report, Community Indicators Project
October 2003

For the first time, the number of child care spaces declines in Canada
News Alert
October 28, 2003
Release of Diversity or Disparity? Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada (ECEC), Second Report, Community Indicators Project
"...cuts to child care budgets in the three richest provinces - British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario - resulted in an overall loss of spaces"

Media Kit: contains media release, Q&A. (PDF file - 178K, 3 pages)
Full Report - HTML (NOTE: the table of contents is in the left-hand margin of the report page)
Full Report - PDF - 288K, 16 pages

About the Community Indicators project
Project reports - links to HTML and PDF versions of this year's report and last year's (released in October 2002), as well as French versions of reports for both years

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Multilateral Agreement of Early Learning and Care :
An Open Letter to John Manley, Finance Minister of Canada
cc. • The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada
cc. • The Honourable Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources Development Canada
May 22, 2003
- endorsed by over 50 local, provincial/territorial and national family and children's groups, from the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador to YWCA Vancouver
- supportive of the new prominence of child care in the federal budget and of the Multilateral Agreement of Early Learning and Care, but critical of the lack of financial commitment of the federal government over the next five years.
"... it is useful to reflect on the fact that the anticipated fifth year transfer to provinces/ territories of $350 million is approximately what your government was spending for child care through the Canada Assistance Plan when it was abolished in 1996 ($320 million in 1996 dollars) (...) The $25 million in the first year and $75 million in the second year scarcely reflect the importance of child care both for early learning and support for parents as highlighted in the Throne Speech and budget."
Source : Campaign 2000

Campaign 2000 Critique of the 2003 federal budget:
Deferred Investments Leave Children Behind (Feb. 19/03)
Budget 2003 - Child Poverty Backgrounder (Feb. 12/03)

Diversity or Disparity? Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada (ECEC)
ECEC Community Indicators Project Report
October 2002
Complete report (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 145K, 8 pages)
Additional references (PDF file - 33K, 1 page)

The Early Childhood Development Initiative: A Vision for Early Childhood Development Services in Ontario
April 9, 2001
PDF file - 10 pages, 229KB
This Ontario Campaign 2000 paper developed in consultation with representatives from: Campaign 2000, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Ontario Association of Family Resource Programs, Toronto Public Health, Metro Association of Family Resource Programs and Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC

Day Care in Canada - CBC News Indepth
February 24, 2006
It was first proposed in 1970 – a program that would provide affordable day care across the country. It was promised when Brian Mulroney and the Conservatives swept to power in 1984. And again four years later. By the time Jean Chrétien's Liberals did some political sweeping of their own in 1993, promises of a national day-care strategy had fallen victim to the realities of a government wallowing in debt. With budgetary knives sharpened and drawn, day care would have to wait..."
- be sure to check out the links down the right side of the page for interesting info* on day care and for links to five reports (under "External Links").
*for example:
Day care: cost to parents (Feb/05) - median cost per month to parents for full-time centre-based child care (and these have gone up since Feb/05 when the analysis was done.)
- according to the table, the median paid for full-time day care of a preschooler 3-5 yrs of age in Ontario is $541 - almost five-and-a-half times the amount of the Conservative Child Care Allowance.
Source:
CBC News Indepth
[ CBC.CA ]

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-BC

Our Schools/Our Selves: Spring 2009
Beyond Child's Play: Caring for and educating young children in Canada
Editor: Erika Shaker
April 2009
Our Schools/Our Selves is a regular report of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Sadly, the complete report isn't available online, but I'd recommend a quick perusal of the
Table of Contents (PDF - 285K, 5 pages) for anyone who is interested in early childhood programs.

Sample content from this issue:

Can Canada Walk and Chew Gum? The state of child care in Canada in 2009 (PDF - 1.0MB, 17 pages)
By Martha Friendly*
"(...) although this has been an era in which evidence about the benefits of quality early childhood programs for young children has gained public acceptance, and participation in the paid labour force has become the norm for mothers of young children, Canada has failed to make progress in early childhood education and care.

[* Martha Friendly founded and is Executive Director
of the Child Care Resource and Research Unit in Toronto.]

Editorial (PDF - 295K, 7 pages)
By Erika Shaker

The Fight for a Publicly-Funded Child Care System in Canada (PDF - 348K, 13 pages)
By Jody Dallaire and Lynell Anderson

Old Dollars, New Sense: Recent Evidence and Arguments about Child Care Spending (PDF - 290K, 9 pages)
By Susan Prentice

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Purchase a copy of
Our Schools/Our Selves: Spring 2009 issue (256 pages, $12 + tax & shipping)
This issue of Our Schools/Our Selves takes a broad, comprehensive view of child care and early childhood education and examines it through a variety of different lenses to offer readers a number of points of entry into this nuanced and multifaceted topic.

[ Earlier issues of Our Schools Our Selves ]

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Making Early Childhood Development a Priority: Lessons from Vancouver
May 2004
By Clyde Hertzman
"Canadians have become increasingly aware of the benefits of early childhood development. Traditional voices demanding increased access to child care and the prevention of childhood poverty were joined by those who, from a scientific perspective, recognized that the experiences of early childhood can have a profound impact on health, well-being, and coping skills across the entire life course. Governments too have recognized the value of funding these programs, and have implemented agreements that have brought modest levels of federal-provincial transfer payments. While this is a good start, it is only a start. Funding for children from birth to age 5 remains only a fraction of that spent on children in the K-12 system, despite mounting evidence that programs and services are needed earlier. This paper draws on findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which suggests that as many as one-quarter of Canada's young children may be developmentally vulnerable at school entry. It also summarizes findings of a Vancouver initiative, the Early Development Instrument, which measured readiness for school across Vancouver's 23 neighbourhoods."
(Excerpt from the summary)

Complete report (PDF file - 564K, 13 pages)

Canadian Child Care Federation
Our mission is to improve the quality of child care services for all Canadians
"Founded in 1987, the Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of child care services for Canadian children and families. CCCF includes 16 regional affiliate organizations, independent members and other partner national organizations. The CCCF uses a variety of techniques to communicate amongst its members and to the larger child care community. "
- incl. links to : Affiliates - About Us - Membership - Practice - Press Room - Projects - Publications - Search

National Child Care Conference:

Entre Deux Mers/Between Two Seas:
Bridging Children and Communities
Co-hosted by the Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia and the
Canadian Child Care Federation
Richmond, British Columbia
May 29-31, 2008

Event flyer (PDF file - 973K, 1 page)

Related links:

* Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia
37th Annual Conference

Canadian Council on Social Development

Child Care for a Change!Shaping the 21st Century
Childcare & Early Learning Conference
November 12-14, 2004
Winnipeg Convention Centre
"The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is the host of the conference “Child Care For A Change! Shaping the 21st Century." The conference will take place at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, in Winnipeg, from November 12th to 14th, 2004. This exciting pan-Canadian conference will feature inspiring speakers such as UN Special Envoy Stephen Lewis and Quebec Education Critic Pauline Marois. It will provide ample time for a rich dialogue and debate during sessions like the special Town Hall Meeting on Child Care. It is expected that the ideas generated from the conference will influence public policy and public perception about early learning and child care and help set the agenda for the next decade."
General Info - Program (incl. list of 15 workshops)- Speakers - Papers - Registration - Accommodation

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Perception Magazine (November 4, 2004)
"A double issue of CCSD's magazine, Perception, was just published. This is a special theme edition, focusing on child care and early learning.
Four articles are available online to the general public.

Child Care for a Change (by Marcel Lauzière)
Fast Facts on Child Care in Canada
Count business in... (by Charley Coffey)
Saying Yes to Inclusion

CCSD commissioned three papers to enhance and promote discussion at the Child Care For A Change conference (Nov. 12/04, Winnipeg).

Financing Early Learning and Child Care in Canada (PDF file - 121K, 10 pages)
by Gordon Cleveland and Michael Krashinsky

Early Child Learning and Care in Canada: Who Rules? Who Should Rule? (PDF file - 137K, 17 pages)
by Rianne Mahon

Who Benefits from Educational and Child Care Services and What Purpose do they Serve? (PDF file - 124K, 14 pages)
by Jocelyne Tougas

Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA)

Child care

BuildChildCare.ca
"Public Child Care --- Build it Right, From the Start"
- incl. links to : Action centre * Spread the word * Join the network * Background * Downloads * Links * Contacts

www.buildchildcare.ca pushes ministers to get the new system right
News Release
December 21, 2004
"OTTAWA – A new online action centre is upping the pressure on Social Development Minister Ken Dryden to lay the best groundwork for a new child care system. Visitors to www.buildchildcare.ca will be able to send a message to Dryden, their provincial minister responsible for child care and other decision-makers. The site, run by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, joins other advocacy campaigns promoting the four building blocks of quality child care. 'This online campaign will add new voices to the call for Minister Dryden to make sure that Canada’s new child care system is publicly funded and publicly delivered,' said CUPE National President Paul Moist."

BuildChildCare.ca Links:

Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
Childcare Resource and Research Unit
Child Care Human Resources Sector Council
Ontario Coalition for Better Childcare
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of British Columbia

Child care: public program or big box boondoggle?
November 12, 2004
"OTTAWA – Social Development Minister Ken Dryden must make Canada’s new child care system public and not-for-profit or he will run the eventual risk of trade challenges, warns a legal opinion commissioned by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). 'The trade implications make it imperative that our long-awaited child care program be public from the beginning,'said CUPE National President Paul Moist. 'The faster we make child care a public program, the better protected we will be from trade challenges by massive US big box chains like Kindercare.'"

From patchwork to excellence in child care
November 2, 2004
"OTTAWA – Canada will go from patchwork to excellence if all levels of government work together to create the public, not-for-profit child care system that Canadians deserve and need, said Paul Moist, CUPE national president. Moist made the remarks as he joined with child care workers, parents and children to greet Minister Dryden Tuesday morning as Dryden began his day-long meeting with provincial social development ministers to discuss the child care program."
- incl. links to the following related articles:
* Wages for child care workers: the link with quality
* URGENT: Tell Ken Dryden to make child care history
* CUPE’s analysis of the federal speech from the throne
* CUPE blasts throne speech as blueprint for weak federalism
* Rapid response wins reprieve for BC college child care centre

Centre for Public Justice (CPJ)
CPJ is committed to seek human flourishing and the integrity of creation as our faithful response to God’s call for love, justice and stewardship. We envision a world in which individuals, communities, societal institutions and governments all contribute to and benefit from the common good.

CPJ's Early Childhood Education and Care Policy
November 24, 2010
Childcare in Canada is currently a hodgepodge of formal and informal care, characterized by high demand, low accessibility, high cost and varying levels of quality. This has lead to barriers of accessibility for low and middle income families, especially unattached mothers, as well as childcare that fails to engage the developmental potential of young children.

Former public justice intern Mariel Angus explores these issues in CPJ's backgrounder on childcare (PDF - 522K, 28 pages - undated).

From a public justice framework (PDF - 178K, 7 pages - 2007), CPJ believes that every person has a rightful claim to live in dignity, be respected by others, and have access to the resources needed to live out God’s calling. In order to fulfill their responsibility to their children parents need adequate income and access to sufficient resources such as shelter, food, clothing, community, education and health services. Consequently, the government has a unique ability to promote justice through resource redistribution and service provision, including supporting families in their many diverse forms.

CPJ’s position paper on childcare (PDF - 442K, 16 pages- May 2010) argues that an important manifestation of this government responsibility is the creation and provision of a national childcare program. This would be guided by the principles of the best interests of children as the primary consideration, but also affordability, accessibility, high level of quality, and promotion of child development and learning.

Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
"The Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) arose from the second Canadian conference on Child Care held in Winnipeg in 1982. Over 700 delegates from all Provinces and Territories called for an effective voice to pursue child care issues at the federal level and to promote a broad consensus of support within all regions of Canada. We are an incorporated, non-profit, bilingual Association."

What's New at the CCACC - links to a large collection of recent reports, alerts, and articles on child care in Canada

Sample content:

Making the Connections: Using Public Reporting
to Track the Progress on Child Care Services in Canada
November 16, 2007
* Full Report (PDF file - 559K, 67 pages)
* Executive Summary (PDF file - 49K, 3 pages)
"(...) Our project findings show that few governments have clear public reporting that allows the public to easily track progress throughout the required reporting period (2000/01 through 2005/06). None meet all of the performance and reporting requirements outlined in the FPT Agreements. (...) [Therefore] in order to promote clear public reporting that supports the public in tracking the ongoing progress in child care services, we have one overarching recommendation: FPT governments should expedite the implementation of key public performance reporting guidelines"

NOTE Clicking on the title of the report opens a page that includes links to the complete study and executive summary, to the individual sections of the report and its two appendices, and to information about child care expenditures in each province and territory and by the Government of Canada.

A guide to the Conservative government’s child care doublespeak (PDF file - 58K, 4 pages)
June 15, 2006
The Conservatives claim child care is one of their priorities, but everything they’ve said and done indicates they don’t believe in quality early learning and child care. Words such as 'choice', 'universal' and 'institutional' take on peculiar meanings when Stephen Harper and his ministers use them. It’s time to deconstruct the Conservative spin on child care..."
Source:
Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
Found on the website of the
Canadian Union of Public Employees

Open Letter to Honourable Ken Dryden and the Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Child Care /
Lettre ouverte à l’honorable Ken Dryden et aux ministres provinciaux et territoriaux responsables des services de garde à l’enfance
October 27, 2004

Provincial budgets 2004-2005 and Child Care
April 2, 2004
- brief analysis of child care components of each provincial-territorial budget for 2004-2005

Child Care Coalition of Manitoba
"The Child Care Coalition of Manitoba (est. 1993) is a broadly-based and unincorporated coalition of groups and individuals. The Coalition currently has nearly 50 group memberships. Our members include parents, the labour movement, women's groups, the childcare community, educators and researchers and organizations committed to social justice, among others."

Child Care Human Resources Sector Council
The CCHRSC is a pan-Canadian, non-profit organization that addresses pressing human resources issues in the child care sector. Our projects develop research, strategies, and tools to meet the needs of the child care workforce and achieve related goals.

Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) focuses on research and policy resources in the context of a high quality system of early childhood education and child care in Canada.

Child Care in the News - hundreds of media articles from January 2000 to the present

Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere- links (provincial/territorial, federal/national, and international) organized under the following headings: - Government - Child care organizations - Social policy/child organizations - Research centres - Clearinghouses - Periodicals

CRRU Publications - links to briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

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What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit:
- weekly notification, includes a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is content from recent issues.

January 21, 2012

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Hidden Value: Demonstrating the extraordinary impact of women's voluntary and community organisations
http://goo.gl/0Ezws
18 Jan 2012
Europe
Research by the Women’s Resource Centre (UK) finds that on average, over five years, for every £1 invested in women’s services, between £5 and £11 worth of social value is generated for women, their families and the State.

Families that work: Policies for reconciling parenthood and employment
http://goo.gl/j19qm
18 Jan 2012
United States
Book by Janet Gornick and Marcia Meyers "takes a close look at the family-work policies in the United States and abroad and calls for a new and expanded role for the U.S. government in order to bring this country up to the standards taken for granted in many other Western nations."

Right from the start: Transition strategies for establishing a strong preK-3 continuum
http://goo.gl/w29QC
17 Jan 2012
United States
Report from American Federation of Teachers addresses how to improve children's transition from preschool to kindergarten; profiles from 8 communities describe strategies to improve transitions for children.

Societal values and policies may curtail preschool children's physical activity in child care centers
http://goo.gl/QiLRC
17 Jan 2012
United States
Research identifies three main barriers to children's physical activity in child care centres as injury concerns, financial constraints, and a focus on academics; concludes that "societal priorities for young children-safety and school readiness-may be hindering children's physical development."

Are we doing enough? A status report on Canadian public policy and child and youth health
http://goo.gl/IaxAw
17 Jan 2012
Canada
Report from the Canadian Pediatric Society identifies the status of public policies affecting children and youth; calls on "the federal government to implement a national child care strategy, with an integrated system of services that are universal and publicly funded."MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Benefits of high quality child care persist 30 years later
http://goo.gl/aT2UV
20 Jan 2012 | United States

Will childcare centres be axed?
http://goo.gl/JKdsS
20 Jan 2012 | Ontario

Public day care is best
http://goo.gl/efTu8
20 Jan 2012 | Canada

What publicly funded child care means to parents
http://goo.gl/tmTG2
20 Jan 2012 | Ontario

Govt. to expand free childcare services for children
http://goo.gl/yC5IY
19 Jan 2012 | Asia

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

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January 15, 2012

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

A historical snapshot of inequality in Canada
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/12/01/historical-snapshot-inequality-canada
6 Jan 2012
This week's Know Thy History looks back at the inequalities between various groups that have been constant themes in Canada; a universal system of high quality ECEC has a key role to play in addressing these inequities.

The impact of austerity measures on households with children
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/12/01/impact-austerity-measures-households-children
6 Jan 2012
Report from Family & Parenting Institute analyses the impact of tax and benefit changes in the UK; findings show "low-income households with children, particularly non-working lone parent households, lose more as a percentage of income on average from tax and benefit changes."

The next six years: The first six years: Start Strong Ireland conference 2011
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/12/01/next-six-years-first-six-years-start-strong-ireland-confere
5 Jan 2012
Presentations from the annual conference of Start Strong Ireland; a wide range of organisations and individuals discuss current issues and future strategies for ECEC.

Starting strong III: A quality toolbox for early childhood education and care
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/12/01/starting-strong-iii-quality-toolbox-early-childhood-educati
4 Jan 2012
Major new publication from OECD focuses on quality issues; aims to define quality and outlines five policy levers that can enhance it in ECEC.

Canada's CEO elite 100: The 0.01%
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/12/01/canadas-ceo-elite-100-001
3 Jan 2012
In CCPA's annual look at CEO compensation, Hugh Mackenzie argues that "the gap between Canada’s CEO Elite 100 and the rest of us is growing at a fast and steady pace, to date impervious to a tumultuous global economic reality with no signs of abating."

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Local politicians holding childcare forum
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/12/01/local-politicians-holding-childcare-forum
11 Jan 2012 Ontario

Child-friendly public policies good for economy, says study
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/12/01/child-friendly-public-policies-good-economy-says-study
11 Jan 2012 Quebec

Parents pay anything from $62 to $130 a day
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/12/01/parents-pay-anything-62-130-day
11 Jan 2012 Australia and New Zealand

Poll suggests boomers are the real 'ME generation'
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/12/01/poll-suggests-boomers-are-real-me-generation
11 Jan 2012 British Columbia

Children’s centre must leave school site
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/12/01/children%E2%80%99s-centre-must-leave-school-site
11 Jan 2012 Nova Scotia

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

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January 7, 2012

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

A historical snapshot of inequality in Canada
http://goo.gl/Vm4XX
6 Jan 2012
This week's Know Thy History looks back at the inequalities between various groups that have been constant themes in Canada; a universal system of high quality ECEC has a key role to play in addressing these inequities.

The impact of austerity measures on households with children (U.K.)
http://goo.gl/QvOgg
6 Jan 2012
Report from Family & Parenting Institute analyses the impact of tax and benefit changes in the UK; findings show "low-income households with children, particularly non-working lone parent households, lose more as a percentage of income on average from tax and benefit changes."

The next six years: The first six years: Start Strong Ireland conference 2011
http://goo.gl/qHMUN
5 Jan 2012
Presentations from the annual conference of Start Strong Ireland; a wide range of organisations and individuals discuss current issues and future strategies for ECEC.

Starting strong III: A quality toolbox for early childhood education and care
http://goo.gl/kFe5V
4 Jan 2012
Major new publication from OECD focuses on quality issues; aims to define quality and outlines five policy levers that can enhance it in ECEC.

Canada's CEO elite 100: The 0.01% 3 Jan 2012
http://goo.gl/EHWEk
In CCPA's annual look at CEO compensation, Hugh Mackenzie argues that "the gap between Canada’s CEO Elite 100 and the rest of us is growing at a fast and steady pace, to date impervious to a tumultuous global economic reality with no signs of abating."

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Couples with children to be hardest hit by coalition tax and benefit changes
http://goo.gl/8ObQS
4 Jan 2012 Europe

People think good policies happen almost by magic
http://goo.gl/N7Qag
4 Jan 2012 Europe

End tax break for Canadian executives’ stock options, report urges
http://goo.gl/YLdMv
3 Jan 2012 Canada

The high cost of poverty
http://goo.gl/XZybt
3 Jan 2012 Ontario

Early schooling is a good thing
http://goo.gl/7H6Uh
3 Jan 2012 Canada

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

------

Breaking the cycle: Ontario's poverty reduction strategy 2011 annual report
Third progress report
[Highlights and excerpts only]
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/11/12/breaking-cycle-ontarios-poverty-reduction-strategy-2011-ann
Publication Date: December 20, 2011
Source: Government of Ontario

Also from CRRU:

Campaign 2000: Twenty years of fighting for action on child poverty
Know Thy History: Looking Back on Child Care
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/11/11/campaign-2000-twenty-years-fighting-action-child-poverty
Publication Date: November 23, 2011
Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit
http://childcarecanada.org/
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit was established to: provide public education, resources and consultation on ECEC policy and research; foster and support research in various fields focusing on ECEC; carry out relevant research projects and publish the results; support, promote and provide communication on ECEC policy and research.

Also posted to the CRRU website recently (December 20):

The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education
By James J. Heckman
Publication Date: 1 May 2011
Source: American Educator (American Federation of Teachers)
[ Complete article (PDF - 808K, 6 pages):
http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2011/Heckman.pdf
Excerpt:
The logic is quite clear from an economic standpoint. We can invest [in early childhood education] early to close disparities and prevent achievement gaps, or we can pay to remediate disparities when they are harder and more expensive to close. Either way we are going to pay. And, we'll have to do both for a while. But, there is an important difference between the two approaches. Investing early allows us to shape the future; investing later chains us to fixing the missed opportunities of the past.

---------------------------------------------------------

December 27, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Short-term impact analysis of an expansion of regulated early learning and care in Nova Scotia
http://goo.gl/cmSuw
20 Dec 2011
Report written by Robert Fairholm "provides an analysis of the short-term economic impact of an expansion of regulated early learning and care (ELC) as it is currently structured in the province of Nova Scotia."

Breaking the cycle: Ontario's poverty reduction strategy 2011 annual report
http://goo.gl/1y4qr
20 Dec 2011
Third progress report for Ontario's poverty reduction strategy describes developments in ECEC and how they impact family/child poverty.

The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education
http://goo.gl/OOHYA
20 Dec 2011
Article by James Heckman presents the economic rationale for investing in ECEC; argues that "the logic is quite clear from an economic standpoint... investing early allows us to shape the future."

Partnering for excellence: 2010 performance benchmarking report
http://goo.gl/zckNt
19 Dec 2011
OMBI's 2010 performance benchmarking report provides data on municipal child care services; data shows that "while a majority of [child care]funding is from the province, municipalities can spend 100% of funds to provide services."

All in a day's work
http://goo.gl/bylI8
19 Dec 2011
Fact sheet from the Vanier Institute of the Family examines how families spend their time; indentifies "different patterns of time use between men and women" and concludes that "time spent on child care continues to rise among men and women."

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Free preschool pondered: Territorial government looks at funding education for four year olds
http://goo.gl/nnMmc
20 Dec 2011 Northwest Territories

Reduced charge for daycare owner in infant’s death
http://goo.gl/wS3N6
19 Dec 2011 Ontario

Kids and corporations
http://goo.gl/rS95n
19 Dec 2011 Ontario

Our children are not-for-profit
http://goo.gl/vkxTn
19 Dec 2011 Ontario

Affordable childcare must be priority to end child poverty, says Alan Milburn
http://goo.gl/YyIHQ
19 Dec 2011 Europe

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

---------------------------------------------------

December 17, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Short-term impact analysis of an expansion of regulated early learning and care in Nova Scotia
http://goo.gl/cmSuw
16 Dec 2011

A matter of choice: A critical discourse analysis of ECEC policy in Canada's 2006 federal election
http://goo.gl/5NFwt
14 Dec 2011
Occasional Paper No. 25 from CRRU is now available online; presents Brooke Richardson's research that uses Critical Discourse Analysis to analyze the representation of ECEC in the 2006 federal election in Canada.

Making the case for universal child care
http://goo.gl/r7Oec
14 Dec 2011
Report from UK's Institute for Public Policy Research "adds economic benefits to social justice case for improving UK’s childcare provision."

Long-term effects of early childhood care and education
http://goo.gl/sbPVd
14 Dec 2011
Discussion paper from IZA examines the evidence for long term effects of parental leave and early childhood education programs; concludes that "favorable consequences requires an institutional structure where high quality non-parental care is available and affordable."

Recent expansion of corporate child care in Canada
http://goo.gl/ORvDx
14 Dec 2011
With the announcement this week that Edleun - Canada's first publicly traded child care corporation - is acquiring 7 centres in Ontario, CRRU has created an Issue File that collects information on the corporation's recent growth across Canada.

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Aid for child care drops when it is needed most
http://goo.gl/s0y9l
16 Dec 2011 United States

Generations disagree on public funding priorities: UBC poll
http://goo.gl/Ox2IC
16 Dec 2011 British Columbia

N.S. mulls changes to rules, spending on care of children
http://goo.gl/UpcCJ
16 Dec 2011 Nova Scotia

The road to higher female employment?
http://goo.gl/njZBH
15 Dec 2011 Europe

Province needs child care plan
http://goo.gl/nB95w
15 Dec 2011 Ontario

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

-------------------------------------------------

December 11, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

The budget for Europe 2020: Demands, challenges and opportunities for children in the EU budget
http://goo.gl/NkKMh
7 Dec 2011
Position paper from Eurochild urges EU to create a children's budget; funding should "target further early childhood education and care."

Workplace flexibility in the United States: A status report
http://goo.gl/5vt1v
7 Dec 2011
Report from the Families and Work Institute shows that "workplace flexibility results in increased employee job satisfaction and lower turnover for employers of all sizes and industries."

RIP Windsor Ontario's municipal child care: 1968-2010
http://goo.gl/yANBP
7 Dec 2011
This week's Know Thy History looks at the rise and fall of Windsor Ontario's directly-operated child care. Will the rest of Ontario's public child care become history too?

Welcoming newcomer children: The settlement of young immigrants and refugees
http://goo.gl/N9TL8
6 Dec 2011
New book by Judith A. Colbert "explores [immigrant and refugee] settlement from the perspective of the child" and "offers a new perspective on child settlement".

Divided we stand: Why inequality keeps rising
http://goo.gl/p8mBU
5 Dec 2011
New OECD report analyzes increasing income inequality in member countries; argues that "providing freely accessible and high-quality public services" is critical for fostering equality.

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Budget Committee Deputations: Day two
http://goo.gl/bkkLz
8 Dec 2011 Ontario

Ford compared to the Grinch by parents in need of child care
http://goo.gl/LrL8D
8 Dec 2011 Ontario

A $2 daily head tax on children
http://goo.gl/XQZMM
8 Dec 2011 Ontario

EU urged to create children's budget
http://goo.gl/nSKUH
7 Dec 2011 Europe

Cuts in social programs hurt women, councillor says
http://goo.gl/gM8gX
7 Dec 2011 Ontario

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

------------------------------------

December 4, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Early childhood education and care: A new direction for European policy cooperation
http://goo.gl/wOB8r
30 Nov 2011
Article from Children in Europe highlights the European Commission's renewed focus on quality in ECEC; argues that "it is becoming increasingly clear that access without quality is of little merit". CRRU greatly appreciates Children in Europe's permission to provide read-only access to this article on our website (it is not otherwise available online).

Social justice indicators in the OECD: How do the member states compare?
http://goo.gl/SzBok
30 Nov 2011
New report offers "comparative assessment of 31 OECD countries with regard to six key dimensions: poverty prevention, equitable access to education, labor market inclusiveness, social cohesion and non-discrimination, health as well as intergenerational justice"; Canada ranks 9th overall.

Competence requirements in early childhood education and care
http://goo.gl/4nw6V
29 Nov 2011
New report by Mathius Urban and Michel Vandenbroeck for the European Commission focuses on professionalism in early childhood education and care; argues that, "what we should be looking for is not just the 'competent practitioner', but the 'competent system'.

Outdoor learning: Practical guidance, ideas and support for teachers and practitioners in Scotland
http://goo.gl/Tp7xt
29 Nov 2011
New curriculum document from Education Scotland provides "practical, accessible and straightforward advice on how to engage children and young people with learning outdoors".

The parent trap: Illustrating the growing cost of childcare
http://goo.gl/Qd2Iw
29 Nov 2011
New report from the Social Market Foundation in London "demonstrates how childcare affordability has deteriorated and will continue to decline in the years ahead".

MORE research, policy & practice
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Op Ed: The best way to help children is to take their rights seriously:
Convention adopted by UN in 1989 is misunderstood, but remains relevant
http://goo.gl/igzWI
30 Nov 2011 Canada

Three city-run daycares to close
http://goo.gl/srkhk
30 Nov 2011 Ontario

Daycares form new coalition: Agencies aim to inform parents about impact of board-run daycare
http://goo.gl/uRV1E
30 Nov 2011 Ontario

The rubber gloves are on! March for women's rights amid cuts
http://goo.gl/tB9iI
30 Nov 2011 Europe

Autumn statement 2011: Free nursery education extended to two-year-olds
http://goo.gl/y33tW
30 Nov 2011 Europe

MORE child care in the news
http://childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news

----------------------------------------

November 27, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Revisting family security in insecure times
23 Nov 2011
Campaign 2000's latest Report Card on child and family poverty in Canada finds 1 in 10 children still lives in poverty; recommendations include "a public system of high-quality early childhood education and child care services that is affordable and available to all children". Presentations from the Report Card launch by Armine Yalnizyan, Thaddeus Hwong and Marvyn Novick also available.

Campaign 2000: Twenty years of fighting for action on child poverty
23 Nov 2011
This week's Know Thy History looks back at the 1989 House of Commons resolution to eliminate child poverty by 2000; follows the continuing advocacy to push for government action.

The annual report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2010/11
22 Nov 2011
Annual report from Ofsted in England suggests 'that inspection against Early Years Foundation Stage requirements has contributed to an overall increase in quality'; describes persistent gaps in quality between types of care and populations served.

Early years study 3: Making decisions, taking action
22 Nov 2011
Latest early years study 'documents the social, economic and scientific rationale for increased investments in early childhood education'.

Sowing the seeds: Reconnecting London's children with nature
21 Nov 2011
Report commissioned by London Sustainable Development Commission highlights the decline in children's experiences of natural places; 12 recommendations are put forward to address the issue.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Ottawa lacks plan to fight child poverty, coalition says
23 Nov 2011 Canada

Ofsted figures underline need for improvement
22 Nov 2011 Europe

Start school at 2, study urges
22 Nov 2011 Canada

‘Princess Nancy’ Pelosi calls Cain ‘clueless’; vows to do more for child care
21 Nov 2011 United States

Children growing up 'disconnected from the natural world'
21 Nov 2011 Europe

MORE child care in the news

-----------------------------------------

November 20, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

What research says about quality in for-profit, non-profit and public child care
16 Nov 2011
New Briefing Note from CRRU reviews the literature on quality in for-profit, non-profit and public child care.

Roots of big box child care
16 Nov 2011
This week's Know Thy History looks back at a U.S. child care company's move into Canada in 1982.

When families eligible for child care subsidies don't have one: A case study
15 Nov 2011
A new case study from the Centre for Children's Initiatives offers real life examples from families in New York City that highlight the frustrations parents and caregivers face after being eligible for a child care subsidy but not receiving one.

Institutional stickiness and ideational resistance to paradigm change: Canada and early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy
15 Nov 2011
Presentation by Linda White for the Canadian Political Science Association examines the emergence of a new paradigm for ECEC policy in liberal welfare states; examines Canada and 'highlights the institutional and ideational barriers encountered by political actors supportive of new ECEC ideas'.

Toronto First Duty Phase 3: The Bruce WoodGreen case study
15 Nov 2011
Report on phase 3 of Toronto First Duty research project highlights 'that teamwork within an integrated early learning environment requires both program and pedagogical leadership'.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Education minister defends province’s child-care spending after Mammoliti complaint
17 Nov 2011 Ontario

Why Obama's plan to fix Head Start is not enough
16 Nov 2011 United States

City child care task force asks province for $74.4 million
15 Nov 2011 Ontario

Just who’s looking after your kids?
15 Nov 2011 Canada

Child-care subsidies in demand
14 Nov 2011 Ontario

-------------------------------

November 13, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Gender equality revisited: Changes in Nordic childcare policies in the 2000s
9 Nov 2011
Article by Guðný Björk Eydal and Tine Rostgaard examines how new child care policy goals may challenge the traditional goals of the Nordic welfare states.

Early learning: Lessons from scaling up
9 Nov 2011
Latest issue of Bernard van Leer's Early Childhood Matters looks at ways to 'scale up early learning without sacrificing quality'.

Early childhood education and care: Developing a fully integrated early years system
9 Nov 2011
Special report from Children in Scotland "clarifies the complex education and care divisions for children under 5 in Scotland, and provides practical recommendations for making integrated early years services a reality".

U.S. Department of Education proposes dedicated office for early learning
9 Nov 2011
Press release from U.S. Department of Education announces proposal to create an Office of Early Learning that "will operate as a central resource to ensure that support for high-quality early learning and development programs is coordinated within the Department and across federal agencies".

Almost a national child care program: US, 1971 & Canada, 2006
9 Nov 2011
Know Thy History: Looking Back on Child Care

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

For women, the losses are more than financial
9 Nov 2011 Europe

New minister pushes dual daycare: Hybrid model useful for implementing full-day kindergarten: Broten
9 Nov 2011 Ontario

How today's parents got squeezed out
9 Nov 2011 Canada

Kids thrive in 'seamless day of learning'
9 Nov 2011 Ontario

Move toward school board child-care program deserves applause
9 Nov 2011 Ontario

MORE child care in the news

-------------------------------------

November 5, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

What's new online this week

Right in principle, right in practice: Implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in Canada
2 Nov 2011
The latest report from the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children provides a "comprehensive analysis of Canada's compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child today", and finds that "the public need for quality-assured child care and support for early childhood development is not satisfied by currently available options".

Toronto municipal child care’s long history
2 Nov 2011
This week's Know Thy History: Looking Back on Child Care examines the role of the City of Toronto as an early leader in child care.
Towards the marketization of early childhood education and care? Recent developments in Sweden and the United Kingdom 2 Nov 2011
Article from Nordic Journal of Social Research compares recent ECEC policy developments in Sweden and the United Kingdom; trends towards marketization and universalization are analyzed and "suggest a complex picture of competing policy logics and goals in the restructuring of welfare states".

Education at a glance 2011: OECD indicators
2 Nov 2011
Latest edition of annual Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development report "shows who participates in education, how much is spent on it, and how education systems operate."

Does when you are born matter?
The impact of month of birth on children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills in England
2 Nov 2011
Report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (UK), launched as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science, shows that month of birth may have long term consequences for young people's education and labour market choices.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Toronto daycares on the brink
4 Nov 2011 Ontario

UK and Ireland top European table of for-profit care providers
2 Nov 2011 Europe

Child care for all! Harvard must support student parents
1 Nov 2011 United States

Mayor Rob Ford closes doors to public during child care meeting
1 Nov 2011 Ontario

Swedish dads swap work for child care duties
1 Nov 2011 Europe

MORE child care in the news

---------------------

October 30, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

What's new online this week

Honouring the children
26 Oct 2011
Report from First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada & KAIROS Canada argues that "the threats to the human rights and flourishing of Indigenous peoples in Canada must not be understated". The report "offers a series of recommendations to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for consideration on the occasion of Canada’s periodic review".

Official languages: Move forward or lose ground
26 Oct 2011
Annual report from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of New Brunswick claims that if New Brunswick "truly wishes to give children, including Francophone children, every chance of success, it must fully implement the principle of duality in childcare services".

Family is the foundation: Why family support and early childhood education must be a collaborative effort
26 Oct 2011
Report from FRP Canada responds to the "reorganization of early childhood services"; recommends an integrative model that develops "meaningful partnerships between schools, community-based organizations and parents in order to avoid duplication of effort and provide the best possible support to families with young children".

The postmodern curriculum: Making spaces for historically and politically situated understandings
25 Oct 2011
Article by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw and Alan Pence examines the challenges of implementing curriculum frameworks influenced by postmodern theories in early childhood education in Canada. The authors suggest that "postmodern curricula/frameworks opens spaces for educators to engage in dialogue with practice...and create new possibilities for early childhood education curriculum itself".

Occupying Toronto for child care
19 Oct 2011
Sign spotted at the Occupy Toronto protest asks for "universal child care, please and thank you".

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Tax isn't a four-letter word
26 Oct 2011 Canada

Parents grill school adviser: Disagreement over 'seamless' day of kindergarten
26 Oct 2011 Ontario

Ban bilingual daycares, watchdog urges
26 Oct 2011 New Brunswick

Broken promises
25 Oct 2011 Canada

Why we still need booster shots of feminism
25 Oct 2011 Canada

MORE child care in the news

-------------------------------------

October 23, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Occupying Toronto for child care
19 Oct 2011
Sign spotted at the Occupy Toronto protest asks for "universal child care, please and thank you".

Does Canada work for all generations?
19 Oct 2011
Report by Paul Kershaw and Lynell Anderson from the Human Early Learning Partnership (UBC) says Canada is not working for all generations; proposes "new deal for families". Provincial family policy reports, national summary report and fact sheet available.

Women's voices: Report from consultations on factors influencing
women's decisions on work-force attachment, including tax and transfers
19 Oct 2011
Report from the Australian Equality Rights Alliance finds that women see the cost and complexity of child care as "the most significant barrier to increased workforce participation".

State child care assistance policies 2011: Reduced support for families in challenging times
19 Oct 2011
US National Women's Law Center's 8th annual review of key child care subsidy policies in all fifty states reveals that "families are not only worse off in 2011 than they were in 2010, but are also worse off than a decade ago."

The early childhood education workforce in Europe:
Between divergencies and emergencies?
19 Oct 2011
Article from the International Journal of Child Care and Education discusses project to map qualification requirements of ECEs across the EU; findings show considerable divergencies across Europe in terms of formal education and training requirements. Similarities in terms of workforce emergencies and challenges also emerged.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

America's child death shame
19 Oct 2011 United States

Better childcare comes into play
19 Oct 2011 Australia and New Zealand

Sask. NDP promises to add 10,000 child care spaces by 2015
19 Oct 2011 Saskatchewan

Baby boomers retire rich, young couples with kids stuck in economic squeeze: report
18 Oct 2011 Canada

Young parents squeezed for time and money, report finds
18 Oct 2011 Canada

MORE child care in the news

-----------------------------------

October 15, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

What is the future of learning in Canada?
12 Oct 2011
The Canadian Council on Learning's final report says state of early childhood education "illustrates a paradox that runs through each phase of learning in this country: huge discrepancies between what Canadians purport to believe and the actual programs and practices to which they have access. The discrepancies are due to the dysfunctional relationships among governments and the consequent absence of national goals."

Seamless day schools
12 Oct 2011
Video from the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development documents a full-day kindergarten classroom in Waterloo, Ontario that features school board operated extended-day programming.

The tragedy of child care in America
12 Oct 2011
Preface of 2009 book by Edward Zigler, Katherine Marshland and Heather Lord available online. Book aims to "serve as a starting point for discussions about how we can remedy the child care problem and better address the needs of both working parents and their children."

An investigation of the career paths of internationally trained early childhood educators transitioning into early learning programs
12 Oct 2011
Report from the Atkinson Centre at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education for the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario examines "the experiences of internationally trained professionals in the ECE Bridging Program (first step in the accreditation process in Ontario for internationally trained educators)".

Locality-based evaluation of Pathways to the Future — Nga Huarahi Arataki
5 Oct 2011
Report for New Zealand's Ministry of Education provides a longitudinal evaluation of effectiveness of the national 2002-2012 strategic plan for ECEC.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

'Think like a Beaver': A deal for families
12 Oct 2011 Canada

Cree immersion classes begin at Alexander First Nation
12 Oct 2011 Alberta

Policy creates latch-key kids
12 Oct 2011 Canada

Edleun stock pops as daycare operator plans five acquisitions in B.C., Alta.
12 Oct 2011 Alberta

How Toronto lost its groove
11 Oct 2011 Ontario

MORE child care in the news

-----------------------------------

October 9, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Children in Europe: Empowering children, parents and the workforce? The competency debate
5 Oct 2011
Latest issue of Children in Europe "focuses on competences, from the perspective of all parties - including children. It seeks to present competences not as a set of skills to be measured but as the foundation for universal educator competence that will allow every child a better chance to realise their own potential."

Care and learning together: Case studies
5 Oct 2011
Case studies from UNESCO's Caring and Learning Together project look at five countries - Brazil, Jamaica, New Zealand, Slovenia and Sweden - and one municipality - Ghent in Belgium Flanders - which have chosen to integrate early childhood education and care within the education system.

Locality-based evaluation of Pathways to the Future — Nga Huarahi Arataki
5 Oct 2011
Report for New Zealand's Ministry of Education provides a longitudinal evaluation of effectiveness of the national 2002-2012 strategic plan for ECEC.

Inspiring change: An early childhood education and care study visit to Sweden and Poland
5 Oct 2011
Report from Children in Scotland and the King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium) provides "examples of two very different countries, at very different stages of developing early childhood services".

Better monitoring in sight for the well-being of young children
5 Oct 2011
Press release from UNESCO details a recent meeting of the Interagency Technical Committee to develop the Holistic Early Childhood Development Index (HECDI): a group of international experts who are developing a way to track Member States' progress towards quality early childhood care and education.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Addressing the ‘moral crisis’ of poverty
6 Oct 2011 Newfoundland

For parents on wait lists, daycare is a top election issue
6 Oct 2011 Ontario

Where have all the children gone?
5 Oct 2011 Newfoundland

Think like a beaver: Generation X-It
5 Oct 2011 Canada

Rocking cradle to career with paid family leave
5 Oct 2011 United States

MORE child care in the news

---------------------------------

October 2, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Early childhood education and care in the fall 2011 provincial/territorial elections
21 Sep 2011
New ISSUE File from CRRU collects information about how ECEC is being addressed in elections in Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Ontario, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon Territory.

The dollars and sense of solving poverty
28 Sep 2011
New report from the National Council on Welfare looks at the high dollar cost of poverty and the long-term investments needed to solve it; says "the importance and cost-effectiveness of quality early learning is one of the most well-documented fields of study."

Child development in developing countries 2
28 Sep 2011
"Four years after The Lancet published a first Series on early child development, the challenge of supporting 200 million children under five years to reach their developmental potential remains. A new Series of two papers and a Comment now documents progress worldwide."

Effectiveness of early educational intervention
28 Sep 2011
Article by W. Steven Barnett in the journal Science examines the effectiveness of early childhood programs designed to offset the impacts of poverty and inadequate learning environments on child development and school success. Full-text available online.

Ontario election 2011 report cards
28 Sep 2011
Report cards from IVoteChildCare and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care on the Ontario political parties' commitments to child care.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Call the premier, Doug Ford tells snack-offering kids
28 Sep 2011 Ontario

Thousands call for more public investment in child care in advance of the Ontario election
28 Sep 2011 Ontario

Profit-driven care cannot be child-centred care
28 Sep 2011 Alberta

Investing in childhood: the progress and the pitfalls
28 Sep 2011 Australia and New Zealand

Liberal candidates lobby school board
26 Sep 2011 Ontario

MORE child care in the news

--------------------------------------------

September 24, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Early childhood education and care in the fall 2011 provincial/territorial elections
21 Sep 2011
New ISSUE File from CRRU collects information about how ECEC is being addressed in elections in Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Ontario, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon Territory.

City of Toronto core services review: Executive committee recommendations
21 Sep 2011
Recommendations by the City of Toronto Executive Committee includes "call on the provincial and federal government to work together with City staff to develop a strategy to expand the number of child care spaces in Toronto". Child care cuts considered by Executive Committee have been referred back to City Manager for "inclusion in broader service, and organizational studies".

How Canada performs: Income inequality
21 Sep 2011
Two reports from the Conference Board of Canada draw attention to the growing income gap in Canada and internationally. "Unlike most other countries, income inequality has continued to rise in Canada since the mid-1990s, with Canada outpacing the United States."

Income inequality is a problem for everyone
21 Sep 2011
Op-ed on income inequality in the National Post by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Armine Yalnizyan.

Letter to members of the City of Toronto Executive Committee regarding proposed child care cuts
19 Sep 2011
Letter from CRRU's Executive Director Martha Friendly to the City of Toronto Executive Committee suggests that cutting 2,000 child care subsidies "would be wasteful, not an efficiency"; contends that "a cut by attrition is still a cut".

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Montreal daycare firebombed twice in one day
21 Sep 2011 Quebec

Briefing session looks at early childhood education
21 Sep 2011

British Columbia
'Think like a Beaver': Bridging the generational economic divide
21 Sep 2011 Canada

A conversation about Canada working for all generations
21 Sep 2011 Canada

Libraries, child care cuts taken off table by executive committee
21 Sep 2011 Ontario

MORE child care in the news

--------------------------------------

September 18, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Parents and the high cost of child care: 2011 report
14 Sep 2011
Report from US National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies provides the average cost of child care for infants, 4-year-olds, and school-age children in centers and family child care homes across the US; finds the cost of child care continues to increase while families struggle to afford quality care.

Making work pay - The childcare trap
14 Sep 2011
Study from the UK's Daycare Trust and Save the Children reports on a survey of parents about the impact of childcare costs; finds families on low-incomes across the UK are having to turn down jobs or are considering leaving work because they can't afford to pay for childcare.

Taking the pulse: Full day K in British Columbia -- Year one
14 Sep 2011
Report for the BC Principals’ and Vice-Principals’ Association aims to "document the first wave of full-day kindergarten implementation in BC so that insight gained could influence further stages of implementation."

The debate: Confronting poverty
14 Sep 2011
Segment on TVO's The Agenda examining the issue of poverty in the Ontario election features discussion of child care issues. Guests are: Min. Laurel Broten, NDP's Cheri DiNovo, Green candidate Tim Grant and Campaign 2000's Laurel Rothman.

Both/And: Reflections on recent Anglo/Western early childhood curriculum statements
14 Sep 2011
Article from the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy by Alan Pence and Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw "identifies innovative work on curriculum undertaken in New Zealand in the 1990s as inspirational for recently developed frameworks in Australia and parts of Canada."

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Cities seek help to meet immigrant demands
14 Sep 2011 Canada

Why parents shouldn't feel guilty if they can't devote time to their toddlers
14 Sep 2011 Europe

Scarborough could see high loss of subsidized child care spaces
14 Sep 2011 Ontario

Full-day kindergarten a necessity; Half-day public school system leads family to enroll daughter in private school
13 Sep 2011 Newfoundland

Teachers’ union slams ‘implementation’ of all-day kindergarten
13 Sep 2011 British Columbia

MORE child care in the news

---------------------------------------

September 11, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Video presentations about the Community Plan
31 Aug 2011
Video presentions by the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC & Early Childhood Educators of BC introduce, describe and discuss their Community Plan for a Public System of Integrated Early Care and Learning in BC.

Schools as integrated service hubs for young children and families: Policy implications of the Toronto First Duty project
31 Aug 2011
Article from the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy by Carl Corter and Janette Pelletier presents findings from Toronto First Duty, a demonstration project designed to test a universal, integrated model for early childhood services.

Premier announces funding for child care in Labrador
31 Aug 2011
The government of Newfoundland is providing $685,000 to support three child care centres in the communities of Labrador City and Wabush.

Child care choices for low-income working families
31 Aug 2011
Research report from the Urban Institute (US) presents the findings from a qualitative study of the child care choices of low-income working families. Study found supply of high quality care was limited; cost and convenience was often determining factor in choice rather than educational or social environment.

On track - Supporting healthy child development and early identification in the early years: A reference guide for professionals in Ontario
31 Aug 2011
Online tool developed by Best Start Resource Centre aims to "provide professionals who work with young children and families with some indicators of healthy child development from birth to 6 years of age".

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Child care in the news

Child-care centres to start posting serious occurrence reports
31 Aug 2011 Ontario

The education of Tim Hudak on full-day K
31 Aug 2011 Ontario

Study suggests traditional playgrounds contribute to childhood obesity
31 Aug 2011 Canada

Ontario Liberals promise to double length of teachers college if re-elected
31 Aug 2011 Ontario

Child care costs 'pricing parents out of work'
31 Aug 2011 Europe

MORE child care in the news

-----------------------------------------------------

August 28, 2011

What's new online this week:

1. Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

CRRU mourns the loss of Jack Layton
22 Aug 2011
We at the Childcare Resource and Research Unit join all Canadians in mourning the death of Jack Layton. Our hearts go out to our friend Olivia Chow and members of their family. This is a terribly sad time for the New Democratic Party and - most of all - for Canadian democracy. We take heart in the words from Jack's final letter to Canadians, "Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

Social investment policies in Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea
24 Aug 2011
Article by Ito Peng in the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy "compares the social investment policy reforms that have been introduced by the two Anglo-Saxon liberal welfare regimes of Canada and Australia and the two East Asian welfare regimes of Japan and South Korea since the 1990s.
[ NOTE: Full-text of all articles from this journal are now accessible online without subscription. ]

Quality and early childhood education and care: A policy initiative for the 21st century
24 Aug 2011
Article by Karin Ishimine, Collette Tayler and John Bennett in the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy asks "What should be measured to identify quality in ECEC settings? What should a quality directed ECEC policy emphasize?" NOTE: Full-text of all articles from this journal are now accessible online without subscription.

Open all hours? Flexible childcare in the 24/7 era
24 Aug 2011
Report from the Daycare Trust (UK) "assesses the demand for atypical hours childcare at different times and investigates the reasons for the difficulties faced by parents". The report proposes ideas to improve accessibility.

Child-care subsidy rates adjusted for full-day K 24
Aug 2011
"To align with the implementation of full-day kindergarten this fall and ensure consistency for all school-aged children", BC's Ministry of Children and Family Development is adjusting child care subsidy rates.

MORE research, policy & practice

2. Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Premier announces funding for child care in Labrador
24 Aug 2011
Newfoundland and Labrador

Kindergarten classes squeezed for space
24 Aug 2011
Ontario

Child care subsidy changes
24 Aug 2011
British Columbia
Despite weak economy child care costs continue to rise
24 Aug 2011
United States

Boards defend kindergarten space
24 Aug 2011
Ontario

MORE Child care in the news

---------------

August 20, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Policy rationales for early childhood services
17 Aug 2011
Article by Helen Penn in the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy "explores the rationales and the research paradigms that countries have used to underpin policies on ECEC services and to justify expenditure on them". NOTE: Full-text of all articles from this journal are now accessible online without subscription.

Economic impacts of early care and education in California
17 Aug 2011
Study from University of California, Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education discusses the range of economic benefits that the ECE industry brings to California.

Invest more in children: Submission to the Federal Pre-Budget 2012 Consultation
17 Aug 2011
Brief from First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition recommends the federal government "place a high priority on increasing Canada's annual investments in early childhood care and learning from our current 0.25% of GDP to the recommended UNICEF benchmark of 1% of GDP."

Childcare advocates to cabinet ministers: Tips on families, finances and federalism
11 Aug 2011
Press release from Code Blue for Child Care says parents and early childhood educators are challenging Conservative cabinet ministers' statements marking the fifth anniversary of the Universal Child Care Benefit.

Premiers focus on families
10 Aug 2011
Press release from the Council of the Federation summer meeting of premiers says "making quality and accessible child care both affordable and available is critical".

MORE research, policy & practice

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

'Big box' daycare setting up in Maple Ridge 17
Aug 2011 British Columbia

Corporations' corrosive curriculum
17 Aug 2011 Canada

The education of Marcus Bachman
17 Aug 2011 United States

Cameron breaks his Sure Start promise
17 Aug 2011 Europe

All-kindergarten school promises to relieve jammed Thorncliffe Park
17 Aug 2011 Ontario

MORE Child care in the news

----------------------------------------------

August 7, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

CUPE calls for continued federal support of sector councils
3 Aug 2011

Pregnancy at work: A national survey
3 Aug 2011

State of America’s children
3 Aug 2011

Child care matters: Building economic security for low income women
3 Aug 2011

You oughta know: Canada’s income gap, the richest 20% vs the poorest 20%
3 Aug 2011

MORE research, policy & practice

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Lack of education must be tackled
3 Aug 2011 British Columbia

Shutdown in Minnesota ripples out to day care
3 Aug 2011 United States

Do we care that Canada is an unequal society?
3 Aug 2011 Canada

The state of America’s children
3 Aug 2011 United States

ABC Learning director to stand trial
3 Aug 2011 Australia and New Zealand

MORE Child care in the news

----------------

July 31, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Maternal employment and child socio-emotional behaviour in the UK: longitudinal evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
27 Jul 2011
Research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health finds there is "no evidence of detrimental effects of maternal employment in the early years on subsequent child socio-emotional behaviour"

City of Toronto Standing Committee on Community Development and Recreation meeting
July 20, 2011 27 Jul 2011
Minutes and video of proceedings from the recent CDR committee meeting to consider the Core Services Review; several excellent deputations on child care.

No small matter: The impact of poverty, shocks and human capital investments in early childhood development
27 Jul 2011
Publication from the World Bank argues that "investing in children is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do because it addresses both rights and economic prospects".

If I had a magic wand: Young children's visions and ideas for early care and education services
27 Jul 2011
Publication from Start Strong (Ireland)-- part of their Children 2020 project -- presents children's own visions and ideas of what their early care and education should be like.

Quality of early childhood development programs in global contexts: Rationale for investment, conceptual framework and implications for equity
20 Jul 2011
Recent Social Policy Report from the Society for Research in Child Development "presents a conceptualization of quality across settings and systems and identifies implications for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers on how they can work together to measure, improve and sustain program quality."

MORE research, policy & practice

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Parents voice overwhelming support for more men in childcare
27 Jul 2011 Europe

Nunavik childcare centres develop new assessment tool
27 Jul 2011 Quebec

Supreme Court of Canada to rule on special needs in B.C's public schools
27 Jul 2011 British Columbia

Working mothers do no harm to their young children, research finds
27 Jul 2011 Europe

Liberté, Égalité, Fertilité
27 Jul 2011 Europe

MORE Child care in the news

--------------------------------------------------

July 24, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Making Space: Architecture and design for children and young people
20 Jul 2011
New publication from Children in Scotland expands on the Making Spaces 2010 international conference and architecture competition; "showcases examples of spaces across the world that will enhance the lives of the children, young people and communities using them."

A flying start? Maternity leave benefits and long run outcomes of children
20 Jul 2011
Discussion paper from the Institute for the Study of Labor looks at the impact of increasing maternity leave in Norway in 1977; found decrease in school dropouts and increase in wages amongst both mothers and now grown children.

Quality of early childhood development programs in global contexts:
Rationale for investment, conceptual framework and implications for equity
20 Jul 2011
Recent Social Policy Report from the Society for Research in Child Development "presents a conceptualization of quality across settings and systems and identifies implications for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers on how they can work together to measure, improve and sustain program quality."

Acrimony on acronyms
20 Jul 2011
Commentary from the Caledon Institute of Social Policy argues that the ubiquitous use of acronyms in social policy often makes it difficult to understand major arguments being presented for or against certain policy changes.

Documents from the City of Toronto Core Services Review
for the Standing Committee on Community Development and Recreation
13 Jul 2011
Consulting firm's report to the City of Toronto recommends cutting 2,000 child care subsidies, privatizing directly operated child care centres and eliminating quality assessments.

MORE research, policy & practice

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Federal funds vital to social health
21 Jul 2011 Canada

Why giving standardized tests to young children is 'really dumb'
20 Jul 2011 United States

Groves 'skirted board at ABC' 20
Jul 2011 Australia and New Zealand

ABC Learning paid double market price
20 Jul 2011 Australia and New Zealand

Latest OECD figures confirm Canada as a public health laggard
20 Jul 2011 Canada

MORE Child care in the news

--------------------------------------

July 9, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Progress of the world's women 2011-2012: In pursuit of justice
6 Jul 2011
First major report from UN Women (the United Nations' new organization for gender equality) calls on governments to "take urgent action to end the injustices that keep women poorer and less powerful than men in every country in the world."

Changing families, new understandings
6 Jul 2011
Report from Vanier Institute of the Family by Dr. Meg Luxton "explores key debates about the roles and responsibilities of families in Canada today".

Breaking down barriers: Making work pay for families of disabled children
6 Jul 2011
Report from the UK's Family Fund sets out the findings of a survey of families of children with disabilities; finds high cost and lack of inclusive child care settings prevent families of children with disabilities from partaking in employment.

Digging deeper: What the Yearbook has to say about access, quality and funding
6 Jul 2011
Three part series on the National Institute for Early Education Research's blog looks at three key issues addressed in their annual State Preschool Yearbook.

Professional development needs of directors leading in a mixed service delivery preschool system
6 Jul 2011
Article from Early Childhood Research & Practice reports on an interview study with directors of Head Start and child care programs who are collaborating with local education authorities to provide publicly funded preschool in New Jersey.

MORE research, policy & practice

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Institute 'daddy leave'
6 Jul 2011 United States

Parents set to benefit from changes to free childcare
6 Jul 2011 Europe

Child carers call for gradual reform
6 Jul 2011 Australia and New Zealand

EYFS review: 'Slimmed down' EYFS and payment by results for Sure Start children's centres
6 Jul 2011 Europe

Government urged to remove barriers to work for parents of disabled children
6 Jul 2011 Europe

MORE Child care in the news

------------------------------------------

July 2, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Early education economic forum
29 Jun 2011
Video and slides available from recent Atkinson Centre forum; presentations by Pierre Fortin and Robert Fairholm, panel discussion moderated by Dr. Lars Osberg.

Mentoring Pairs for Child Care Project: Final outcome report
29 Jun 2011
Final report from an Ontario-wide project by the Early Childhood Community Development Centre that aims to enhance child care quality by matching up more and less experienced child care supervisors.

Birthdate and student achievement: The effects of school grouping practices in British Columbia
29 Jun 2011
Report examines the effects of single cut-off date for kindergarten admission and one-year age grouping practices on student learning in British Columbia schools.

Annual report on Ontario's publicly funded schools 2011
29 Jun 2011
Report from People for Education includes a section addressing Early Years Education & Care; recommends that Ontario "enact regulations so that only school boards, municipalities and not-for-profit agencies are permitted to operate extended day programs in schools".

Improving public financing for early learning programs
29 Jun 2011
Policy brief from the US National Institute for Early Education Research "reviews sources and models of public financing of early care and education and makes recommendations for improving upon what currently exists so as to remove barriers to increasing program access and quality".

MORE research, policy & practice

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Almost 20,000 Toronto tots waiting for child care subsidies
29 Jun 2011 Ontario

Is your kid ready to start? Youngest in class more likely to have problems keeping up with the curriculum
29 Jun 2011 Canada

Full assessment of kindergarten students promised for fall 2012
29 Jun 2011 British Columbia

Pregnant? Wait till the boss hears
29 Jun 2011 Europe

Take-A-Break cuts threaten occasional childcare
29 Jun 2011 Australia and New Zealand

MORE Child care in the news

------------------------------------------------

June 26, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Early childhood education and care in Toronto: Funding the future
22 Jun 2011
Paper by CRRU Executive Director Martha Friendly for the City of Toronto provides background research on child care funding models, reviews current ECEC funding arrangements and makes recommendations to both the provincial and municipal governments.

Early education economic forum
24 Jun 2011
Video and slides available from recent Atkinson Centre forum; presentations by Pierre Fortin and Robert Fairholm, panel discussion moderated by Dr. Lars Osberg.

Is universal child care leveling the playing field? Evidence from non-linear difference-in-differences
22 Jun 2011
Discussion paper from the Institute for the Study of Labor describes a study that investigated "how the introduction of large-scale, publicly subsidized child care in Norway affected the earnings distribution of exposed children as adults".

"I should have applied before I was pregnant": How child care in Toronto fails mothers
22 Jun 2011
Report from the Mothers' Task Force on Child Care presents the findings from a community consultation and survey of mothers on what works and what doesn't in child care in Toronto.

Council conclusions on early childhood education and care: Providing all our children with the best start for the world of tomorrow
22 Jun 2011
Document adopted by the Council of the European Union calls on Member States to "analyse and evaluate existing ECEC services at local, regional and national level in terms of their availability, affordability and quality".

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Mothers demand more affordable child care
22 Jun 2011
Ontario

Quebec's child care scheme pays for itself : economist
22 Jun 2011
Quebec

Governments are failing families
22 Jun 2011
Canada

The difference a day makes
22 Jun 2011
British Columbia

More early education suggested
22 Jun 2011
International

--------------------------------------------------

June 19, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

"I should have applied before I was pregnant": How child care in Toronto fails mothers
17 Jun 2011
Report from the Mothers' Task Force on Child Care presents the findings from a community consultation and survey of mothers on what works and what doesn't in child care in Toronto.

Children with special educational needs in early childhood
15 Jun 2011
Concept paper by Ryerson University's Kathryn Underwood and Rachel Langford for the Atkinson Centre Early Years Task Force.

Early learning in Ontario: From policy to implementation
15 Jun 2011
Presentations and posters from the Atkinson/GBC Summer Institute 2011 held on June 1st. Video coming soon.

An agenda for amazing children: Final report of the ECE Taskforce
15 Jun 2011
Report from New Zealand by a government-appointed taskforce presents 65 recommendations for reforming the ECEC system, including reinstating funding previously scrapped by the national government.

Staff preparation, reward, and support: Are quality rating and improvement systems including all of the key ingredients necessary for change?
15 Jun 2011
Report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (University of California at Berkeley) examines the extent to which quality improvement schemes support practitioners.

--------------------------------

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Toronto mothers cry out for child care
17 Jun 2011 Ontario

Alberta struggles with all-day kindergarten
15 Jun 2011 Alberta

Kindergarten pilot only preliminary
15 Jun 2011 Canada

Nordic childcare model best for economic and social wellbeing
15 Jun 2011 Europe

Swedish childcare system is hardly a utopian model
15 Jun 2011 Europe

----------------------------------------------------

June 11, 2011

What's new online this week:

Research, policy & practice
- materials include: scholarly research, policy studies and briefs, government and NGO reports

Federal budget June 2011 and responses
8 Jun 2011
CRRU has gathered links to the June 6th federal budget documents as well as a selection of responses from child care, social policy and labour groups.

Materials from the 2011 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
8 Jun 2011
Annual conference organized by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences featured a number of presentations of new research relevant to the early childhood education and care community.

Building a fairer future: The role of social policy
8 Jun 2011
OECD Ministrial meeting and policy forum on social policy featured a session discussing "enhancing the well-being of children, promoting gender equality in employment, and innovative approaches to improve service delivery for vulnerable families."

Tax, time and territory: The development of early childhood education and child care in Canada and Great Britain
8 Jun 2011
University of Toronto PhD dissertation by Luc Turgeon examines the evolution of Britain's and Canada's ECEC sectors, drawing on both extensive archival research and on interviews with policy-makers and ECEC activists.

When is $500 not $500?
8 Jun 2011
Commentary from the Caledon Institute of Social Policy explains how tax credits are often worth less than they appear. Non-refundable credits are also of limited value to households with low or no income and do little to alleviate poverty.

--------------------------------

Child care in the news:
- archive of news articles about early childhood education and child care (ECEC) in Canada and abroad.

Having fun and playing makes kids smarter
8 Jun 2011
Ontario

It's child's play for men
8 Jun 2011
Europe

Too much kindergarten not fun for all
8 Jun 2011
Ontario

Exercise made mandatory in child care centres
8 Jun 2011
Manitoba

Fly-by-night daycare caterer shuts down after province-wide alert issued
8 Jun 2011
Ontario

------------------------------------------------

June 4, 2011

What's new online this week:

Occupational standards checklists
1 Jun 2011
New tool from the Child Care Human Resources Sector Council "uses a checklist format that allows ECEs and administrators to evaluate themselves on their job tasks and reflect on their skills, knowledge and abilities".

On the teeter-totter: The challenges and opportunities for licensed child care in rural, northern, and remote Ontario
1 Jun 2011
Report from the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association examines the challenges facing Ontario's rural, northern, and remote child care and provides a series of solutions to strengthen licensed child care and to help families and communities.

Children’s right to play: An examination of the importance of play in the lives of children worldwide
1 Jun 2011
Working paper from the Bernard van Leer Foundation discusses why play is fundamental to the health and well-being of children; argues that both state signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and adults generally should take seriously the importance of children's play.

Effects of full-day kindergarten on academic achievement and social development
1 Jun 2011
Article from the Review of Educational Research examine the research evidence on the impact of full-day kindergarten compared to half-day kindergarten (HDK) on the academic, social, and personal development of children.

The war on women: Gender-based citizenship rights and the Conservative Party of Canada
1 Jun 2011
Paper presented at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences seeks to map out the erosion of gender-based citizenship rights in Canada since 2006.

Child care in the news:

Column on child care highlighted risks
1 Jun 2011 Canada

Income-splitting helps only wealthy families
1 Jun 2011 Canada

Big box babysitting: Corporate child care is not the solution
1 Jun 2011 New Brunswick

Women's rights have declined under Harper - researcher
1 Jun 2011 Canada

Hudak will derail all-day kindergarten despite promise, McGuinty claims
1 Jun 2011 Ontario

------------------------------------------------

May 7, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Toronto mothers launch Task Force on Child Care
6 May 11
- Task Force being launched this Mother's Day will hold hearings and discussions across Toronto to gather information from parents about their child care challenges.

Nova Scotia: New day care regulations
4 May 11
- The government of Nova Scotia has developed new child care regulations that include changes to food and nutrition, building and space requirements and staff training.

State of the world's mothers: Champions for children
4 May 11
- Save the Children's twelfth annual Mothers' Index compares the well-being of mothers and children in 164 countries. Canada ranks 20th of 43 developed countries.

Joining the dots: A better start for Scotland's children
4 May 11
- Report by Professor Susan Deacon for the Scottish government on how to "renew the national effort on children's early years".

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Maternal and child services needed in north, says study
[CA] 4 May 11

· Childcare must be protected not cut
[GB] 3 May 11

· Edleun completes acquisition of two child care centres
[CA] 2 May 11

· A real, unnecessary crisis for families
[US] 2 May 11

· New regulations to allow for healthy eating choices at child care facilities
[CA-NS] 28 Apr 11

· Kindergarten split classes will 'shortchange' students
[CA-ON] 25 Apr 11

· Childcare groups warn against means-testing
[AU] 18 Apr 11

------------------------------------------------

April 30, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Why I'm voting for child care
29 Apr 11
- Activist and mother Vicky Smallman discusses her child care struggles; invites Canadians to vote for good child care May 2nd.

Addressing child and family poverty in Canada: Where do the parties stand?
29 Apr 11
- Campaign 2000 assesses the federal parties' records and promises on child poverty.

Does not play well with others
28 Apr 11
- Post from CCPA's election blog offers a letter from child care staff to the Harper family regarding Stephen.

Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2011: Standing strong
28 Apr 11
- Newfoundland government promises "two-year pilot project focused on the development of child care spaces in family homes".

Funding for 25 new child care centres raises family choices. Commitment to 54 new centres over five years
27 Apr 11
- Manitoba budget includes $21.3 million for child-care centres including 46 capital projects; promises 2,100 newly funded spaces.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Put children first
[CA] 29 Apr 11

· When you vote, keep our children in mind
[CA] 28 Apr 11

· OurVote.ca: Code Blue -- Build child care
[CA] 27 Apr 11

· Porter: Why child care is a big election issue
[CA] 27 Apr 11

· Child care takes centre stage
[CA] 27 Apr 11

· Standing behind a failing system
[CA-NL] 27 Apr 11

· Time to put children first
[CA] 26 Apr 11

· NDP push: Jack Layton answers questions
[CA] 26 Apr 11

· Mixed reaction to child care plan
[CA-NL] 20 Apr 11

· Daycares question new funding
[CA-MB] 14 Apr 11

------------------------------------------------

April 25, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Child care report card: Harper's score 'unsatisfactory'
20 Apr 11
- Code Blue for Child Care has released a report card grading the Canada-wide parties' child care election promises.

Federal election 2011: Women's equality
20 Apr 11
- CUPE fact sheet reviews the federal government's record on women's issues, provides statistics on the status of Canadian women and proposes ideas on how to do better.

Community plan for a public system of integrated early care and learning
20 Apr 11
- Plan developed by the Coalition of Child Care Advocates BC and Early Childhood Educators BC offers "provides a framework for significant and lasting system change in British Columbia"

Maternity and parental leave
20 Apr 11
- Latest fact sheet from Vanier Institute of the Family's "Fascinating Families" series examines Canada and Quebec's maternity and parental leave programs including a side by side comparison.

Private companies in public schools?
15 Apr 11
- CUPE Ontario urges provincial government to hold province wide consultations on proposed Education Act amendment to allow third party providers to deliver extended ELP and after school care.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· National child care program needed
[CA] 20 Apr 11

· Youth Nation question of the day: Do you support the creation of a national strategy for childcare?
20 Apr 11

· We need a child care plan that covers the real costs
[CA] 15 Apr 11

· Parents seek mandatory accreditation for Calgary day cares
[CA-AB] 11 Apr 11

· Time is right for a national child care plan
[CA] 10 Apr 11

---------------------------------

April 16, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Private companies in public schools?
15 Apr 11
- CUPE Ontario urges provincial government to hold province wide consultations on proposed Education Act amendment to allow third party providers to deliver extended ELP and after school care.

Federal election 2011: What do the party platforms say?
13 Apr 11
- CRRU has gathered links to the parties' election platforms and highlighted excerpts from their ECEC platforms or related family policies where included.

Code Blue for Child Care
13 Apr 11
- New website from Code Blue for Child Care campaigning for political parties to make child care a central issue in the federal election.

Federal election 2011: Early childhood education and care
13 Apr 11
- Fact sheet from the Canadian Union of Public Employees reviews the Conservative government's record on ECEC and provides a plan for how the federal government could build a child care system.

Early learning/kindergarten programs and Ministry/ Department integration of education and child care in Canada
13 Apr 11
- A summary of early learning/kindergarten programs by jurisdiction and a description of the state of integration of Education and Child Care under provincial/territorial ministhttp://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=131117ries or departments.

Young children in cities: Challenges and opportunities
13 Apr 11
- This edition of the Bernard van Leer Foundation's Early Childhood Matters series looks at young children's experiences of growing up in urban settings.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Sault federal election candidates discuss childcare
[CA] 13 Apr 11

· Trustee urges public board to stay out of child care
[CA-ON] 13 Apr 11

· A moving target: federal parties aim for the family
[CA] 13 Apr 11

· Struggling NBers see hope in parties' pledges
[CA-NB] 12 Apr 11

· Lapses in childcare are unacceptable
[AU] 11 Apr 11

· The foundation is finally ready to build national child care
[CA] 7 Apr 11

· Mothers take Sure Start cuts fight to Downing Street
[UK] 3 Apr 11

---------------------------------

April 9, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Code Blue for Child Care
6 Apr 11
- New website from Code Blue for Child Care campaigning for political parties to make child care a central issue in the federal election.

Children in Europe: Europe's youngest citizens
6 Apr 11
- A must have -ECEC publication, Children in Europe. Just released- Services and Leave Provisions for 0-3s.

Bill 173, Better tomorrow for Ontario Act (budget measures), 2011
6 Apr 11
- Budget bill from the Minister of Finance, Ontario, including amendments to the Education Act permitting the operation of afterschool programs by third parties.

Michael Ignatieff unveils new Liberal Platform, featuring the 'Liberal family pack'
6 Apr 11
- 2011 federal election- Liberals announce the Family Pack including funding to create new affordable child care spaces across Canada.

It's time for the Federal Government to do its part
6 Apr 11
- Video coverage of community forum addressing how to reduce poverty in Canada.

Early childhood education and care: Providing all our children with the best start for the world tomorrow
6 Apr 11
- Report from the European Commission launching cooperation among member states to provide access to all and raise the quality of ECEC provision.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· The foundation is finally ready to build national child care
[CA] 7 Apr 11

· Kids deserve Liberals' daycare promise
[CA-AB] 6 Apr 11

· WA rejects 'culturally correct' child care
[AUS] 5 Apr 11

· Conservatives and Liberals agree...this family sure looks Canadian
[CA] 5 Apr 11

· Political suitors woo Toronto, but promise... nothing
[CA-ON] 5 Apr 11

· Families could lose up to L2,500 in tax credit cuts from today
[UK] 4 Apr 11

· NSW childcare job crisis
[AUS] 3 Apr 11

------------------------

April 2, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Michael Ignatieff announces Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund
1 Apr 11
- Liberal Party proposes a child care plan "starting at a $500-million investment in the first year, rising to $1 billion annually by the fourth year."

Childcare program puts families before jails and jets
1 Apr 11
- Press release from Code Blue for Child Care praises the recent Liberal campaign promise on child care.

Income splitting proposal in the 2011 federal election
30 Mar 11
- CRRU has gathered media coverage of the recent Conservative proposal of income splitting, as well as reports and analysis of the issue.

Pathways to early childhood education credentialing in Canada
30 Mar 11
- Report from CCHRSC documenting requirements and processes for ECE credential recognition in each province/territory.

2011 Ontario budget
30 Mar 11
- 2011 Ontario budget. Highlights include 200 additional schools offering full day learning in September 2011.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Tories' income splitting another nail in tax coffin
[CA] 1 Apr 11

· Kids stuff
[CA] 1 Apr 11

· Grit child care plan lauded
[CA] 1 Apr 11

· Ignatieff pitches $500M a year for child care
[CA] 31 Mar 11

· Liberals promise $500M daycare funding plan
[CA] 31 Mar 11

· Election and families
[CA] 30 Mar 11

· Daycare series: Do you know where your children are?
[CA-BC] 6 Mar 11

-----------------------------------------------------------

March 27, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Federal budget 2011 and responses
23 Mar 11
- CRRU has gathered budget documents, NGO responses and media coverage of the recent federal budget.

Newfoundland and Labrador Speech from the Throne
23 Mar 11
- Newfoundland government Speech from the Throne says upcoming budget will "announce a significant initiative in child care, with a focus on infant care".

The Investigating Quality Project: Innovative approaches in early childhood
23 Mar 11
- Chapter by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw and Alan Pence from the forthcoming book "New directions in early childhood education and care in Canada".

Low fertility in Canada: The Nordic model in Quebec and the U.S. model in Alberta
23 Mar 11
- Article from Canadian Studies in Population explores how and why "fertility is rising most in Alberta and Quebec, that is in provinces where young families have had the security of either good job opportunities or supportive social policy."

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Federal budget ignores child care yet again
[CA] 23 Mar 11

· Here's what putting family first entails
[CA-BC] 21 Mar 11

· Outsourcing threatens benefits of full-day learning
[CA] 21 Mar 11

· Childcare changes would cost parents - Govt
[NZ] 21 Mar 11

· Childcare worker shortage looms
[AU] 21 Mar 11

· Mothers march for Sure Start
[GB] 18 Mar 11

· Daycare, education get cash in 2011-12 Quebec budget
[CA-QB] 17 Mar 11

-----------------------------------------------

March 20, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Fundamental questions about early childhood education and care in Canada: Why do we do what we do? How can we do better?
16 Mar 11
- Article by Martha Friendly for the Manitoba Child Care Association's "Child Care Bridges" magazine reflects on how Canada's political ideas and structures have limited our development of a national ECEC program.

Laying the table. Recommendations for national food and nutrition guidance for early years settings in England
16 Mar 11
- British report by the national Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years calls for child care menu guidelines to promote healthy lifestyles.

Rethink, rebuild, renew. A post-recession recovery plan
16 Mar 11
- Alternative Federal Budget 2011 from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives calls for a national system of ECEC with public plans, public expansion, public funding, and public reporting.

Evaluating the effectiveness of Tennessee's voluntary pre-K program: Initial results
16 Mar 11
- Study from Vanderbilt University finds "children who attended pre-K gained an average of 82 percent more on early literacy and math skills than comparable children who did not attend"

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Childcare promise 'impossible'
[AU] 17 Mar 11

· Need help? Don't look to Ottawa
[CA] 16 Mar 11

· Childcare failing on hygiene, safety
[AU] 15 Mar 11

· Wages only just cover child care fees
[AU] 15 Mar 11

· Think-tank says government priorities wrong
[CA] 15 Mar 11

· YWCA presses Ottawa to create national child care program
[CA] 14 Mar 11

· 12M Pounds boost for Northern Ireland childcare welcomed
11 Mar 11

· On-campus flash mob rallies in support of a national child care system
[CA-ON] 10 Mar 11

· Saskatchewan worst province in Canada for child care availability
[CA-SK] 7 Mar 11

· Call for nursery menu guidelines to promote healthy lifestyles
[UK] 4 Mar 11

-----------------------------------------------

March 12, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Reality check: Women in Canada and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action -- Fifteen years on
9 Mar 11
- Report from the Canadian Labour Congress and FAFIA says there has been a systematic erosion of the human rights of women and girls in Canada. Once ranked 7th in the world for closing the gender gap, Canada is now ranked 73rd.

Coalition calls for investment in child care and women's equality in federal budget
9 Mar 11
- Media release from the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights calls on the federal government to take women into account in its upcoming federal budget.

Educated, employed and equal: The economic prosperity case for national child care
7 Mar 11
- Report from YWCA Canada says "Canada needs early learning and child care services, not a social policy gap that is decades behind reality".

A tale of two Canadas: Implementing rights in early childhood
7 Mar 11
- Report from the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada explores how Canada is doing at protecting the rights of young children and to what extent public policy in Canada recognizes the social and economic changes and challenges facing families today.

Presentations from "Early childhood policy, provisions and practice: Critical questions about care and education. A symposium"
2 Mar 11
- PowerPoints are now available from a recent symposium at Ryerson University. Presentations by Peter Moss, Martha Friendly and Kathleen Flanagan now online; more to follow.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· On-campus flash mob rallies in support of a national child care system
10 Mar 11

· Activists, parents rally for Canadian National Child Care System
[CA-ON] 9 Mar 11

· Young women: They're angry and unafraid
[GB] 8 Mar 11

· Childcare 'patchwork' not enough: YWCA
[CA] 7 Mar 11

· Fate of all-day kindergarten in hands of Ontario voters
[CA-ON] 7 Mar 11

· Canada will suffer without national childcare plan: report
[CA] 7 Mar 11

· Saskatchewan worst province in Canada for child care availability
[CA-SK] 7 Mar 11

· Lack of child care costing Canada: report
[CA] 6 Mar 11

· Feminism's many successes don't mean the job is yet done
5 Mar 11

· Women's contributions in unpaid work unrecognized: study
4 Mar 11

· Global women's voices: Messages for UN Women
2 Mar 11

· Canadian women's rights in decline, report says
23 Feb 11

----------------------------------------------

March 6, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Presentations from "Early childhood policy, provisions and practice: Critical questions about care and education. A symposium"
2 Mar 11
- PowerPoints are now available from a recent symposium at Ryerson University. Presentations by Peter Moss, Martha Friendly and Kathleen Flanagan now online; more to follow.

Valuing the community voice: The coordination and integration of Aboriginal early childhood development programs
2 Mar 11
- Report for the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society gathers the voices of front-line workers describing what works and what does not work in programs in their communities; provides recommendations for change.

Developing culturally focused Aboriginal early childhood education programs: A handbook
2 Mar 11
- The BC Aboriginal Child Care Society's guide to integrating First Nations culture into early childhood programs provides both a theoretical framework and practical ideas.

Effects of child care responsibilities on women's income and career
2 Mar 11
- Austrian study finds that having one or more children appears to have a clearly negative impact on mothers in terms of their income, labour market integration and career.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· 900 more Ontario schools to offer full-day kindergarten in 2012: McGuinty
[CA-ON] 2 Mar 11

· Childcare centre fined over young wanderer
[AU] 1 Mar 11

· Advocates urged daycare funding increase in Windsor and Essex County
[CA-ON] 1 Mar 11

· Childcare costs are a labour of love
[AU] 28 Feb 11

· Families in town hall protest to save Sure Start centres as council bosses deny there will be any closures
[GB] 27 Feb 11

· Funding is key to child care
[CA-ON] 23 Feb 11

------------------------------------------------

February 27, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Early childhood education and care: Providing all our children with the best start for the world of tomorrow
23 Feb 11
- Document from the European Commission launches a process to improve access to ECEC services and to raise quality throughout EU Member States.

Les structures associatives de la petite enfance: Des valeurs mises en danger!
23 Feb 11
- Short video from France creatively captures the issues at stake in the privatization of French child care.

Alberta improves parents' access to quality child care
23 Feb 11
- Press release from the Government of Alberta says the province has reached its goal under the Creating Child Care Choices plan.

Alberta's child care system still struggling
23 Feb 11
- Press release from Public Interest Alberta says the province is ending Space Creation Innovation Funding despite long waiting lists for quality child care.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Alberta day-care expansion program closes, but subsidies will continue: minister
[CA-AB] 23 Feb 11

· Essential to know the pitfalls of childcare
[AU] 23 Feb 11

· Childcare woes thwart bilingualism
[BC] 23 Feb 11

· Spaces must be affordable
[CA-ON] 21 Feb 11

· Toronto searching for solutions
[CA-ON] 19 Feb 11

· Distance makes the daycare dash a drag
[CA-ON] 19 Feb 11

· Toronto lawyer recalls halcyon daycare days
[CA-ON] 19 Feb 11

· Brussels calls for 'universal' child care
[EU] 18 Feb 11

------------------------------------------------

February 20, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Democracy and experimentation:
Two fundamental values for education
16 Feb 11
- Paper by Peter Moss and Mathias Urban argues that "at a time when managerial, technical and market approaches are increasingly influential" in education, "democracy" and "experimentation" should be explored as alternatives.

What a difference a decade makes:
Counting the benefits of investment in early childhood development in Quebec
16 Feb 11
- Article by Christa Japel in Paediatrics & Child Health reviews the lessons that can be learned more than 10 years after Quebec's child care reform.

Child care: Work place and economic development supports
16 Feb 11
- Presentation by Cornell University Planning Professor Mildred Warner

ECE Affinity Group: Something to share
16 Feb 11
- Document from the ECE Affinity Group Annual Forum contains a ideas and resources from and for faculty teaching post-secondary ECE.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· The myth of gender neutrality [CA] 14 Feb 11

· Profit motive sits uneasily with aims of childcare [AU] 14 Feb 11

· McGuinty must fix signature program [CA-ON] 14 Feb 11

· Motherlode: Revisiting the debate of working moms vs. stay-at-home moms 14 Feb 11

· The daycare disconnect [CA] 12 Feb 11

· Debate: Children are better off being raised by their parents [CA] 11 Feb 11

· Debate: Canada needs a national child-care policy [CA] 11 Feb 11

· Ontario child care facing uncertain future [CA-ON] 11 Feb 11

· Grandmother steps into the breach [CA] 11 Feb 11

· Licensed daycare rare in early 1980s [CA] 11 Feb 11

· Playing the child care guilt card [CA] 11 Feb 11

· What kids learn in daycare [CA] 9 Feb 11

------------------------------------------------

February 12, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Beyond child's play: Caring for and educating young children in Canada
9 Feb 11
- Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has now made this 2009 issue of Our Schools/Ourselves available free online. It brings together Canada's leading researchers, writers and activists to discuss how we can best care for and educate our young children.

Quality in early childhood services - An international perspective
9 Feb 11
- New book by Helen Penn examines many different approaches to understanding and measuring quality; considers the variety of rationales that inform ECEC services.

Paternity leave and preschool in Sweden
9 Feb 11
- Video from US online TV show DadLabs takes a joyful look at parental leave and child care policies in Sweden.

Five years after cancelling the national child care program: High cost, little choice for parents
7 Feb 11
- Press release by child care advocates and women's groups on the 5th anniversary of Harper's cancellation of a national child care program says "Canada urgently needs a public system of early childhood education and care."

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Debate: Children are better off being raised by their parents
[CA] 11 Feb 11

· Debate: Canada needs a national child-care policy
[CA] 11 Feb 11

· What kids learn in daycare
[CA] 9 Feb 11

· Nursery charges rise twice as quickly as wages
[GB] 9 Feb 11

· Province brings Ontario produce to daycare centres
[CA] 9 Feb 11

· Finley's comments absurd
[CA] 8 Feb 11

· Mallick: For parents, a pittance and sneers
[CA] 7 Feb 11

· Five years on, children still wait for quality care
[CA] 4 Feb 11

· The child-care challenge: Parents deserve a real choice
[CA] 4 Feb 11

· Children spend too much time with nannies, study shows
[UAE] 2 Feb 11

· New child care ratios gain support
[AU] 29 Jan 11

------------------------------------------------

February 6, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Hennessy's Index: A number is never just a number : Inequality
2 Feb 11
- New monthly feature from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives "highlights statistics found in the news and in CCPA research about Canada and its place in the world."

Vouchers again? Recent experience with early education vouchers in Hong Kong
2 Feb 11
- Presentations from a seminar at the International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare at the University of East London.

Enhanced early childhood education pays long-term dividends in better health
2 Feb 11
- Study by Columbia University researchers "is the first randomized, controlled trial to show that early educational enrichment can bring improved health and healthier behaviors in early adulthood."

250 Sure Start children's centres face closure within a year
2 Feb 11
- Press release from Britain's Daycare Trust says a national survey suggests 60,000 families will be affected by Sure Start cuts; staff at 1,000 centres issued 'at risk of redudancy' notices.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Minister Finley defends child-care remarks
[CA] 4 Feb 11

· Child care: Would you prefer benefit cheques or a national child care system?
[CA] 4 Feb 11

· It's about choice, Diane Finley says, not disdain for daycare
[CA] 4 Feb 11

· Conservatives draw fire over comment on child care
[CA] 3 Feb 11

· Government serves families another kick with ECE cuts
[NZ] 1 Feb 11

· The children must play: What the United States could learn from Finland about education reform
[FI] 28 Jan 11

· Cuts will force 250 Sure Start centres to close, say charities
[GB] 28 Jan 11

· Daycare needs cash boost
[CA-ON] 28 Jan 11

· Eddy Groves pleads not guilty to ABC Learning criminal charge
[AU] 28 Jan 11

· Child development not linked to length of parental leave, government argues
[CA] 28 Jan 11

· Numbers finally start to add up as operators go back to basics
[AU] 22 Jan 11

· Voluntary census deletes questions about unpaid work
[CA] 28 Jul 10

------------------------------------------------

January 30, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Will child care survive?
26 Jan 11
- Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Ontario Federation of Labour announce a provincial tour ahead of the Ontario budget.

Webinar: Emerging plan for early care and learning in BC
26 Jan 11
- Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC present and discuss their emerging plan for an integrated ELCC system for the province.

Hiding the elephant: Child care coverage in four daily newspapers 26 Jan 11 - Article from Journal of Comparative Family Studies maps press coverage of child care in Canada between 2000 and 2007.

Families, time and well-being in Canada 26 Jan 11 - Paper by two Dalhousie University researchers documents evolutions in income, working hours and "time crunch" for two-parent Canadian families with children.

Residential long-term care for Canadian seniors: Nonprofit, for-profit or does it matter?
26 Jan 11
- Report on seniors' care from the Institute for Research on Public Policy concludes that "for-profit facilities are less likely to provide quality care than non-profit or public facilities".

Media releases and news coverage of recent death in unregulated care
19 Jan 11
- In the wake of a tragic death in an unregulated child care home, advocates are calling for a coroner's inquest and are citing systemic failures in Ontario's and Canada's provision of child care. CRRU has collected media releases and news coverage of this pressing issue.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Harper heralds maternal health's rosy future as UN meeting opens
[CA] 26 Jan 11

· French boards pursue English pupils
[CA-ON] 26 Jan 11

· Family daycare gets hammered
[AU] 26 Jan 11

· Cuts watch: What's happening to children's centres around the country
[GB] 26 Jan 11

· Grits want to fight for families, says Ignatieff
[CA] 25 Jan 11

· Harper's strange victory
[CA] 24 Jan 11

· Harper marks five years
[CA] 23 Jan 11

· Inuit kindergarten keeps kids connected
[CA-ON] 22 Jan 11

· Gap between rich and rest puts society at risk
[CA] 12 Jan 11

--------------------------------------------------

January 23, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Death by indifference
19 Jan 11
- Op-ed in the Toronto Star by CRRU's Martha Friendly says "government's failure to build a child care system has again proved fatal."

Media releases and news coverage of recent death in unregulated care
19 Jan 11
- In the wake of a tragic death in an unregulated child care home, advocates are calling for a coroner's inquest and are citing systemic failures in Ontario's and Canada's provision of child care. CRRU has collected media releases and news coverage of this pressing issue.

Alberta's day care controversy: From 1908 to 2009 and beyond
19 Jan 11
- Book by Dr. Tom Langford traces the development of child care policies and programs in Alberta. Chapters discuss history of Alberta child care, the emergence of corporatized chains, and issues for the future. Full book available online!

Sweden's National Agency for Education's statistics
19 Jan 11
- Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) has put a large selection of educational statistics online. These include enrolment, staffing and cost data for preschool and family child care.

The New Mexico PreK evaluation: Impacts from the fourth year (2008-2009) of New Mexico's state-funded PreK program
19 Jan 11
- Report from the US National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) finds that "children who attend the state-funded Pre-K program have significant positive effects in vocabulary, math, and literacy skills at the beginning of kindergarten."

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· MP Graham Allen calls for early years intervention
[GB] 19 Jan 11

· Child care funding a concern
[CA-ON] 18 Jan 11

· Parents give thumbs up to new kindergarten classrooms
[CA-BC] 18 Jan 11

· Parental leave system puts unfair burden on mothers, says Nick Clegg
[GB] 17 Jan 11

· Lessons from baby's daycare death?
[CA-ON] 17 Jan 11

· No choice for working parents
[CA-ON] 14 Jan 11

· Lack of resources blamed for problems in Scots nurseries
[GB] 7 Jan 11

· Joined-up services are the key to our children's future
[GB] 21 Dec 10

-----------------------------------------------------------

January 23, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Death by indifference 19 Jan 11 - Op-ed in the Toronto Star by CRRU's Martha Friendly says "government's failure to build a child care system has again proved fatal."

Media releases and news coverage of recent death in unregulated care 19 Jan 11 - In the wake of a tragic death in an unregulated child care home, advocates are calling for a coroner's inquest and are citing systemic failures in Ontario's and Canada's provision of child care. CRRU has collected media releases and news coverage of this pressing issue.

Alberta's day care controversy: From 1908 to 2009 and beyond 19 Jan 11 - Book by Dr. Tom Langford traces the development of child care policies and programs in Alberta. Chapters discuss history of Alberta child care, the emergence of corporatized chains, and issues for the future. Full book available online!

Sweden's National Agency for Education's statistics 19 Jan 11 - Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) has put a large selection of educational statistics online. These include enrolment, staffing and cost data for preschool and family child care.

The New Mexico PreK evaluation: Impacts from the fourth year (2008-2009) of New Mexico's state-funded PreK program 19 Jan 11 - Report from the US National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) finds that "children who attend the state-funded Pre-K program have significant positive effects in vocabulary, math, and literacy skills at the beginning of kindergarten."

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· MP Graham Allen calls for early years intervention
[GB] 19 Jan 11

· Child care funding a concern
[CA-ON] 18 Jan 11

· Parents give thumbs up to new kindergarten classrooms
[CA-BC] 18 Jan 11

· Parental leave system puts unfair burden on mothers, says Nick Clegg
[GB] 17 Jan 11

· Lessons from baby's daycare death?
[CA-ON] 17 Jan 11

· No choice for working parents
[CA-ON] 14 Jan 11

· Lack of resources blamed for problems in Scots nurseries
[GB] 7 Jan 11

· Joined-up services are the key to our children's future
[GB] 21 Dec 10

------------------------------------------------

January 9, 2011

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

In the best interests of children and families: Early childhood education and care in Alberta
5 Jan 11
- Report from the Muttart Foundation provides an overview of the current funding and delivery of ECEC in Alberta and an alternate vision for ECEC that can better meet the needs of Alberta's children and their families.

Letters to UBC President re: UBC child care and Kids and Company
5 Jan 11
- Correspondence between the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and University of British Columbia regarding UBC's use of a for-profit child care service.

Beyond centers and homes: The workforce in three California early childhood infrastructure organizations
5 Jan 11
- Report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at University of California at Berkeley examines the career backgrounds and professional development needs of 1,588 staff in three organizations.

Australia's paid parental leave scheme: Supporting working Australian families
5 Jan 11
- January 1, 2011 marked the start of Australia's new paid parental leave, which provides 18 weeks of leave paid at the national minimum wage of $570 a week before tax.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Paid parental leave icing on the cake for new mothers
[AU] 2 Jan 11

· Sure Start children's centres axed by Tories despite David Cameron's pledge to protect them
[GB] 1 Jan 11

· Mom says no time to job hunt while on maternity leave
[CA-NB] 30 Dec 10

· Record on education is Ontario Premier's best case for re-election
[CA-ON] 22 Dec 10

· Travel ban on ABC Learning founder for another 11 weeks
[AU] 17 Dec 10

· Our kids are not for sale
[US] 16 Nov 10

-----------------------------------------------------------------

December 19, 2010

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Women in Canada: A gender-based statistical report 15 Dec 10 - Report from Statistics Canada finds employment rate for women with children more than doubled over past three decades. Women are more likely to work part-time than men and are still concentrated in traditional female occupations.
Welfare incomes 2009 15 Dec 10 - Report from the National Council on Welfare calls welfare design "outdated, counter-productive"; calls for "a comprehensive approach to both income support and the provision of appropriate services geared to income level rather than welfare status".
Webcast: The role of play in human learning 15 Dec 10 - Canadian Network for Leadership in Education and Early Learning & Care webcast features Dr. Janette Pelletier, Elizabeth Morley and Dianne Riehl discussing the role of play-based learning in integrated early childhood and school programs.
Investing in young children: New directions in federal preschool and early childhood policy 15 Dec 10 - Report from the National Institute for Early Education Research explores the state of the US' early childhood programs -- Head Start, Early Head Start, and home visiting -- and proposes reforms.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Province to scrap key piece of full-day kindergarten plan
[CA-ON] 15 Dec 10

· Ontario alters kindergarten program, opening door to private daycares
[CA-ON] 15 Dec 10

· $25M for autism, 'raises a lot of questions'
[CA-ON] 15 Dec 10

· Taking back the playground
[CA-BC] 14 Dec 10

· Welfare income rose in 2009 but still too low: report
[CA] 13 Dec 10

· Ruling expands family rights
[CA-ON] 11 Dec 10

· Why women fared better in the recession
[CA] 10 Dec 10

· We must do better for our children
[CA-BC] 3 Dec 10

-----------------------------------------------------------------

December 11

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Alberta Journal of Education Research, Issue 56 (3)
8 Dec 10
- Special periodical issue co-edited by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw and Larry Prochner explores the topic, "blurring the boundaries of early childhood education's theory/practice divide".

Canada's children not for sale: CUPE sounds the alarm about the latest big box child care operator in Canada
8 Dec 10
- Article and backgrounder from the Canadian Union of Public Employees discusses the rise of Edleun, Canada's first publicly traded child care corporation.

The foundation years: Preventing poor children becoming poor adults
8 Dec 10
- Independent Review of Poverty and Life Chances for the British Government recommends national and local governments "should give greater prominence to the earliest years of life, from pregnancy to age five".

The impact of Sure Start local programmes on five year olds and their families
8 Dec 10
- Latest evaluation of Britain's Sure Start program reports positive impacts on children's health and home environments and mothers' life satisfaction.

The children left behind: A league table of inequality in child well-being in the world's rich countries
3 Dec 10
- UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre's Report Card 9 finds that Canada lags far behind in equality of children's material well-being - placing 17th of 24 countries.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· High cost makes on-site daycare a rare perk
[CA-ON] 8 Dec 10

· Childcare fee fear strikes parents
[AU] 8 Dec 10

· Sask. gov't funding 135 new child care spaces
[CA-SK] 7 Dec 10

· Full-day kindergarten popularity outstrips plans to pay for it
[CA-ON] 6 Dec 10

· Early daycare tied to school-age health
[CA] 6 Dec 10

· Quebec daycare workers approve new deal
[CA-QC] 5 Dec 10

· £26,000: The salary you need just to cover child care
[GB] 4 Dec 10

· Frank Field must not let the unthinkable happen to Sure Start
[GB] 3 Dec 10

· Sure Start good for families and for children's health, says researchers
[GB] 26 Nov 10

-----------------------------------------------------------------

December 5

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

The children left behind: A league table of inequality in child well-being in the world's rich countries
3 Dec 10
- UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre's Report Card 9 finds that Canada lags far behind in equality of children's material well-being - placing 17th of 24 countries.

Research evidence on selected aspects of for-profit/non-profit child care programs: A bibliography
1 Dec 10
- New Briefing Note from CRRU collects research and policy analysis on a number of topics relevant to differences between for- profit and non-profit child care.

Culture and learning
1 Dec 10
- Latest edition of Bernard van Leer Foundation's Early Childhood in Focus series addresses the major policy questions surrounding the place of culture in early childhood programs and how to promote development and learning while respecting cultural diversities.

Children 2020: Planning now, for the future
1 Dec 10
- Report from Start Strong (an Irish child care coalition) offers a vision for the future of young children's care and education in Ireland and proposals for immediate actions.

The role of civil society in implementing the General Measures of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
1 Dec 10
- Report from the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre shows that civil society plays an important role in the implementation of the CRC; draws attention to the issues and challenges affecting civil society today.

The rise of Canada's richest 1%
1 Dec 10
- Report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says that Canada's richest 1% are taking more of the gains from economic growth than ever before in recorded history.

· Rich countries let poorest children fall behind
[CA] 2 Dec 10

· Parents face $80 a week fees shock
[NZ] 1 Dec 10

· Online nanny recruiters go global
1 Dec 10

· Green child care centre a first for Ottawa
[CA-ON] 26 Nov 10

· CUPE committee tackles growth of for-profit child care
[CA] 25 Nov 10

· Funding gap forces Peel to scale back full-day kindergarten roll-out
[CA-ON] 24 Nov 10

· Privatised, corporatised Labor has lost touch with its core values, and voters
[AU] 20 Nov 10

------------------------------------------------------

November 27, 2010

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Reduced poverty = Better health for all
24 Nov 10
- Campaign 2000's annual Report Card on child and family poverty in Canada finds child poverty rate is 9.1%; warns that rate will likely rise before economic recovery is complete. Funding a universal system of ECEC for all families called a key part of a strategy to combat child poverty.

Our emerging plan for an integrated system of early care and learning in BC
24 Nov 10
- Coalition of Child Care Advocates BC and Early Childhood Educators of BC release their strategy for ECEC in British Columbia and share feedback gained from community briefings.

HungerCount 2010: A comprehensive report on food bank use in Canada and recommendations for change
24 Nov 10
- Report from Food Banks Canada finds food bank use reached record levels in 2010. Development of a quality ECEC system cited as part of a comprehensive hunger strategy.

Status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Report of the Secretary-General
24 Nov 10
- Status report to the United Nations General Assembly gives special focus to implementing children's rights in early childhood.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· One in seven B.C kids lives in poverty, child advocacy coalition says
[CA-BC] 24 Nov 10

· Canada has a long way to go to improve child poverty rates
[CA] 24 Nov 10

· 1 in 10 Canadian children living in poverty
[CA] 24 Nov 10

· NDP calls for action to address on-campus childcare crisis
[CA-SK] 23 Nov 10

· Opposition to reject childcare changes
[AU] 23 Nov 10

· Toronto parents angered by closing of city-run daycare
[CA-ON] 22 Nov 10

· Ottawa needs plan to fight poverty
[CA] 17 Nov 10

· Work and pensions secretary faces backlash over reforms
[UK] 12 Nov 10

------------------------------------------

November 21, 2010

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Reduced poverty = Better health for all
24 Nov 10
- Campaign 2000's annual Report Card on child and family poverty in Canada finds child poverty rate is 9.1%; warns that rate will likely rise before economic recovery is complete. Funding a universal system of ECEC for all families called a key part of a strategy to combat child poverty.

Our emerging plan for an integrated system of early care and learning in BC
24 Nov 10
- Coalition of Child Care Advocates BC and Early Childhood Educators of BC release their strategy for ECEC in British Columbia and share feedback gained from community briefings.

HungerCount 2010: A comprehensive report on food bank use in Canada and recommendations for change
24 Nov 10
- Report from Food Banks Canada finds food bank use reached record levels in 2010. Development of a quality ECEC system cited as part of a comprehensive hunger strategy.

Status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Report of the Secretary-General
24 Nov 10
- Status report to the United Nations General Assembly gives special focus to implementing children's rights in early childhood.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· One in seven B.C kids lives in poverty, child advocacy coalition says
[CA-BC] 24 Nov 10

· Canada has a long way to go to improve child poverty rates
[CA] 24 Nov 10

· 1 in 10 Canadian children living in poverty
[CA] 24 Nov 10

· NDP calls for action to address on-campus childcare crisis
[CA-SK] 23 Nov 10

· Opposition to reject childcare changes
[AU] 23 Nov 10

· Toronto parents angered by closing of city-run daycare
[CA-ON] 22 Nov 10

· Ottawa needs plan to fight poverty
[CA] 17 Nov 10

· Work and pensions secretary faces backlash over reforms
[UK] 12 Nov 10

--------------------------------------------

November 21, 2010

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Federal poverty reduction plan: Working in partnership towards reducing poverty in Canada
17 Nov 10
- Report from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities recommends a national strategy on ECEC and an expert panel evaluation of the effectiveness of the Universal Child Care Benefit.

Moscow framework for action and cooperation: Harnessing the wealth of nations
17 Nov 10
- Action plan from the UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education calls on governments to boost commitment, reinforce effective program delivery, and increase budget allocations to ECCE.

How Ontario can become a world education leader
17 Nov 10
- David Crombie and Margaret McCain invite people to sign-on to an open letter to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty urging him to move forward with all the recommendations in the Ontario Early Learning Advisor's report.

Maternal work early in the lives of children and its distal associations with achievement and behavior problems: A meta-analysis
17 Nov 10
- Review of 69 studies spanning 5 decades concludes that "small effect size and primarily non-significant results... should allay concerns about mothers working when children are young."

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Sarah Teather says families in poorest areas no longer guaranteed full childcare
[UK] 16 Nov 10

· MP blasts Sure Start reforms at Daycare Trust Conference
[UK] 16 Nov 10

· Sector leaders dismayed over removal of children's centres' duty to provide full daycare
[UK] 16 Nov 10

· New pre-kindergarten programs open across Saskatchewan
[CA-SK] 15 Nov 10

· Sure Start children's centres told to charge for some services
[UK] 14 Nov 10

· In open letter to the Premier, APPLE BC says education promises totally unrealistic
[CA-BC] 10 Nov 10

· Dads happier when they split domestic duties: study
[CA] 9 Nov 10

· Investing in very early education
[IL] 9 Nov 10

· Milwaukee reporters tell how Pulitzer-winning series was done
[US] 9 Nov 10

· Working mom's kids turn out fine, 50 years of research says
[US] 18 Sep 10

--------------------------------------

November 13, 2010

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

Human development report 2010 - 20th anniversary
10 Nov 10
- New UN report looks at human development trends across four decades. Canada drops to 8th in global rankings. Website features a wealth of interactive features and data tools.

The effects of preschool education: What we know, how public policy is or is not aligned with the evidence base, and what we need to know
10 Nov 10
- Report in Psychological Science in the Public Interest reviews the current state of publicly funded pre-school in the US and offers suggestions for improving the efficacy of these programs.

Pedagogical connections: Issue 6, Fall 2010
10 Nov 10
- Quarterly newsletter from the University of Victoria's Unit for Early Learning and Child Care Research features news about recent and upcoming publications, events and courses.

Facts and figures 2009: Pre-school activities, school-age childcare, schools and adult education in Sweden
10 Nov 10
- Report from the Swedish National Agency for Education provides the latest data on Sweden's child care system, including enrolment, spending and a breakdown of public/ private centres.

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· 1-day strike shuts Que. home daycares
[CA-QC] 10 Nov 10

· Where is BC's childcare program?
[CA-BC] 8 Nov 10

· UN's development index proves it takes a village
[INT] 7 Nov 10

· Judge orders child care subsidies continue
[US] 6 Nov 10

· Quebec proposes new daycare law
[CA-QC] 5 Nov 10

· Kindergarten expansion drawing raves
[CA-BC] 5 Nov 10

· Fathers are happier when doing more housework, says study
[UK] 4 Nov 10

· UN: 'Significant progress' in human development
[INT] 4 Nov 10

· Toddlers and textbooks
[CA] 3 Nov 10

---------------------------------------------

November 6, 2010

What's new online:
[This section archives documents that
have been featured on the CRRU homepage..]

The power of taxes: The case for investing in Canadians
3 Nov 10
- Paper from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives argues that "public services add up to a great bargain for Canadians. But the services our taxes fund are often overlooked in debates over tax cuts."

Connecting with communities and creating welcoming schools: The 2010 report on Ontario's school councils
3 Nov 10
- Report by People for Education finds that while school councils see enhancing communication as their most important role, they spend most of their time fundraising.

In focus: Forest kindergarten
3 Nov 10
- Video for Scottish television showcases a Forestry Commission Scotland pilot project to develop early childhood programs that use local woodlands and green space.

The consequences of implementing a child care voucher: Evidence from Australia, the Netherlands and USA
3 Nov 10
- Discussion paper by Mildred Warner shows that while vouchers can be an effective tool to enhance child care demand of parents, quality and supply may be uneven and the policies privilege market provision.

Flows, rhythms, and intensities in early childhood education curriculum
3 Nov 10
- New book edited by Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw considers "the possibilities and tensions of curriculum-making in early childhood education".

child care in the news
[This section features interesting and noteworthy
news about ECEC and related issues in Canada and internationally.]

· Childcare centres brace for less money as cuts hit home
[NZ] 2 Nov 10

· Full-day classes for kindergarten are a nightmare
[CA-ON] 2 Nov 10

· Full-day learning creates wait list
[CA-ON] 2 Nov 10

· Fundraising now main job of parent council
[CA-ON] 1 Nov 10

· How billionaire donors harm public education
[US] 31 Oct 10

· Toronto Anti-poverty activists take wait-and-see approach to Ford as mayor
[CA-ON] 30 Oct 10

· Child care crunch in Alberta
[CA-AB] 19 Oct 10

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more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

more CC IN THE NEWS »

**********************

NOTE :
For more content to earlier issues of this weekly alert (from June 2009 to October 2010),
check out the CRRU Links Archive on this site:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/crru_links_archive.htm

**********************

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