Governments of Canada and Manitoba announce five-year collaboration
agreement and release report showing family environment changing
dramatically
Early childhood agreement
The Honourable Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources Development, and the Honourable Tim Sale, Chair of
the Government of Manitoba's Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet and
Minister of Energy, Science and Technology, announced today a five-year
(2002-2007) agreement between Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) and the
Government of Manitoba. The agreement supports the ongoing collaboration on
early childhood research, evaluation and accountability for public
expenditures that began in October 1998.
Ministers Stewart and Sale also released a first report under the agreement, A New Generation of Canadian Families Raising Young
Children: A new look at data from national surveys. The report shows how dramatically
the family environment in which young children are growing up in Canada
has changed over the last two decades. It demonstrates the Government of
Canada's support of national surveys and research on kids and families as they
relate to human development and well-being.
“It is absolutely essential that our children get a
solid start in life. When children have what they need in the early years, it means better
lives for them and a more prosperous future for the country. That's why the Government of Canada, in collaboration with provincial and
territorial governments, is investing heavily in early childhood development,”
said Minister Stewart. “Partnerships, such as this one with the Government
of Manitoba, will help to improve access to affordable, quality,
regulated child care and early learning right across the country.”
“The best decisions are informed decisions and through
this partnership with HRDC, we will learn even more about what works for children and families,” said Minister Sale.“ Governments need good information to
help focus public resources where they can help the most to foster the
development of healthy children and strengthen families. Parents and everyone
concerned about children can use practical, up-to-date information to ensure
all youngsters receive the best we can give them.”
Healthy Child Manitoba works across government departments in
Manitoba and brings a community development approach to the well-being of
children, families and communities. Led by Minister Sale, the Healthy Child
Committee of Cabinet includes the Ministers of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs;
Culture, Heritage and Tourism; Education and Youth; Family Services and
Housing; Health; Justice; and the Status of Women. Since April 2000, the
Manitoba Government has increased investments in early childhood development
programs and services by over $50 million.
The agreement includes joint efforts in the areas of research,
planning, and data analysis; data linkage (using provincial and federal data)
and analysis; building capacity for training for reliable longitudinal
data collection; building capacity for analysis using longitudinal data;
and joint publication of research findings on child development.
A New Generation of Canadian Families Raising Young Children: A new
look at data from national surveys summarizes and analyzes government,
academic and other research findings on child development since 1980. A
significant amount of data was available as a result of the Government of Canada's
investment in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. The report is
a collaborative publication between Human Resources Development Canada
and Healthy Child Manitoba.
The report shows that today's young children are born into many
different types of families. Many children — as early as in the first five
years of their lives — experience a significant change in their family
circumstances as their parents separate, divorce or remarry.
Research showed that sustained, quality child care provides important benefits to all children, especially those in low-income families.
Overall results demonstrate that improved vocabulary development is among
those benefits.
Results also showed that parents continue to have the largest impact
on the outcomes of their children, through parenting and child-rearing
decisions. Despite the increase in time pressure arising from balancing work and
family when both parents are employed, parents are finding more time for
their young children. Research suggested that the greatest increase in time spent
with children has occurred among parents with at least one child under
six.
In September 2000, the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments reached an agreement to improve and expand
the services and programs they provide for children under six and their
families.
In the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Early Childhood Development
Agreement, Canada's First Ministers committed to helping young children reach
their potential, and to helping families and the communities in which they
live support their children.
Under the Agreement, the Government of Canada is transferring $500 million per year to provincial and territorial governments to
help them improve and expand programs in four key areas: healthy pregnancy,
birth and infancy; parenting and family supports; early childhood development,
learning and care; and community supports.
On March 13, 2003, the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for Social Services agreed on a framework to improve
access to affordable, quality, provincially and territorially regulated early
learning and child care programs and services. Under this framework, the
Government of Canada is providing $900 million over five years to support
provincial and territorial government investments in early learning and child care.
For more information on A New Generation of Canadian Families Raising Young Children: A new look at data from national surveys, call 1 800
O-Canada or visit the Healthy Child Manitoba Web site at
www.gov.mb.ca/hcm.
Backgrounder
A New Generation of Canadian Families Raising Young Children: A new look at data from national surveys
There is increasing evidence that investing in the early years of a child's development can pay big dividends in later life for that
child and for society. The Government of Canada is committed to working with
provincial and territorial governments as well as educational institutions,
communities, educators, businesses and families to meet the challenges facing
children and youth in Canada.
The five-year (2002-2007) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Human Resources Development Canada and the Government of
Manitoba in January 2003 supports collaborative efforts to improve the lives of
Canadian children and families. Under the MOU, the two parties have agreed to
report regularly to the public on their progress in improving the quality of
life of young children.
The MOU includes joint efforts in the areas of research, planning and data analysis; data linkage (using provincial and federal data) and
analysis; capacity building for training in reliable longitudinal data
collection; capacity building for analysis using longitudinal data; and joint
publication of research findings on child development.
The first report produced under the MOU, A New Generation of Canadian Families Raising Young Children: A new look at data from national
surveys, demonstrates the Government of Canada's support for national surveys
and research on children and families as they relate to human development
and well-being.
The collaboration between the governments of Canada and Manitoba
builds on commitments First Ministers made in the September 2000 Early
Childhood Development Agreement. In the Agreement, governments committed to
regular public reporting on their progress in improving the well-being of
young children, using a common set of indicators. In addition, governments
committed to working together on research and knowledge related to early
childhood development, sharing information on effective practices that improve
child outcomes and working together to disseminate the results of research.
Key findings
- The definition of a Canadian family has changed
dramatically over the last 20 years. Today's young children are born into many different types of families: married couples, common-law couples, lone-parent families and blended families.
- Many children will experience a significant change in their family circumstances as their parents separate, divorce or remarry. However, almost 90 percent of children under six live with two parents.
- The overall infant mortality rate for Canada has dropped sharply
since 1960.
- Mothers are older at the birth of their first child, compared to mothers in the 1960s.
- Mothers of young children are more educated now than were mothers
in the 1960s.
- Children with mothers who have higher education levels are less
likely to have delayed vocabulary skills.
- Despite changes in family life, parents continue to have the
greatest impact on the outcomes of their children, through parenting and
child-rearing decisions.
- Children in lone-parent families, especially boys, are more likely
to have developmental difficulties, such as high levels of aggression.
9 September 2003
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/September2003/08/c8201.html
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