Solutions: How the Ontario Government can Rescue and Ensure the Viability and Quality of the Province’s Child Care System

 

In the not-for-profit child care world, we are committed to working with schools and community partners to provide the best care and early learning for children. Ontario needs a strong, healthy and sustainable child care sector to provide high-quality care for children and their families. We recognize that more work needs to be done in Ontario to support children and families to access affordable quality early learning and child care. Working together with local and provincial partners, Today’s Family can help Ontario build a strong, integrated child care system for families.

As a member of the Quality Early Learning Network (along with 18 other multi-site, multi-service not for profit organizations),  we see the urgent need for the development of a child care stabilization and transition plan that ensures the availability of a sustainable, high quality and affordable child care system for all families. Stable, quality child care in Ontario is increasingly vulnerable, leaving thousands of children and working families at risk. Removing four- and five-year-olds from the child care system leaves only toddlers and infants, whose care is far more expensive because they require a higher early childhood educator-to-child ratio.

The Quality Early Learning Network has released  SOLUTIONS :How the Ontario Government can rescue and ensure the viability and quality of the province’s child care system. Child Care is an essential part of an early learning and care agenda. It is a vital service for thousands of families in Ontario and an important contributing support to our economy. Child Care faces an unprecedented ‘crisis’ – we do not use this term lightly as indeed we are facing a dramatic reduction of child care services in Ontario. This open paper outlines the crisis, but more importantly, starts a dialogue toward solutions.

Please share  SOLUTIONS :How the Ontario Government can rescue and ensure the viability and quality of the province’s child care system.We welcome your feeback at: QELNNetwork@gmail.com .

Youth engagement flourishes with collaboration

Throughout the year, Today’s Family is fortunate to be able to engage youth in all aspects of our programs and services. From camp programs to administrative opportunities, we are richer for the experience. In the past year, more than 80 youth have participated in co-op placements, college placements, volunteering, participating in leader in training programs and working in our camp programs. Youth have contributed more than 9000 hours this year alone.  Their contribution is more than hours; they bring a fresh perspective to all that we do. New opportunities emerge, new relationships are formed, and new possibilities are created. This allows youth to plan next steps in schooling and career planning, and keeps ideas fresh and alive at Today’s Family.

Collaborating with other partners, such as the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board,  especially with the Work and Learn program and Focus on Youth program, the Industry Education Council, the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford, Canada Summer Jobs, the Ministry of Culture, Citizenship and Immigration and Mohawk College, allow for meaningful experiences for youth in our community. We are richer for the experience, both as an agency and as a community.

We are pleased to announce that we have been nominated by the Industry Education Council of Hamilton for the 2012 Passport to Propserity Employer Champion Award. It is a pleasure to work with collaborative partners to support youth in our community.

Early Learning and Child Care – Challenges, Changes and Opportunities

As of late, there has been much attention surrounding early learning and child care in the media. From the rolling –out of the full-day of learning across Ontario to the launch of the Early Years Study 3, there are many perspectives and ideas about early learning and child care in Ontario.

While we support the introduction of the full day of learning for four- and five-year-olds, in Ontario, the impact of its implementation has exacerbated the cracks in an already fragile child care system. This has become quite evident in Toronto early learning and child care programs. Long term underfunding of child care services as well as impacts from the implementation of full-day kindergarten has brought Toronto’s child care system to the brink. The Toronto City Report has a number of recommendations including the key recommendation that “City Council communicate to the Premier of Ontario and the Minister of Education the urgent need for the development of a child care stabilization and transition plan that ensures the availability of a sustainable, high quality and affordable child care system for all families”. This is but one example of the challenges early learning and child care faces across the province.

Stable, quality child care in Ontario is increasingly vulnerable, leaving thousands of children and working families at risk. Removing four- and five-year-olds from the child care system leaves only toddlers and infants, whose care is far more expensive because they require a higher early childhood educator-to-child ratio.

Although there are many changes and challenges ahead in early learning and child care, there are also good new stories. The launch of Early Years Study 3 ( Mustard, McCain) has re-invigorated the conversation about the benefits of quality early learning as a smart start for school and for life and the role of early childhood education plays in economic development. Locally, the Hamilton Best Start magazine reminds us of all the work that is happening in the Hamilton community for children and families. “The magazine’s launch is timely, as it falls in line with the Week of the Child & Youth celebrations, and the latest Early Years Study 3 authored by the late Dr. Fraser Mustard,” says Paul Johnson, Hamilton Best Start Network Chair and the City’s Director of Neighbourhood Development Strategies. “Dr. Mustard was a visionary whose early child development research will continue to influence the evidence-based programs Best Start builds across this city.

We in the not-for-profit child care world are committed to working with schools and community partners to provide the best care and early learning for children. Ontario needs strong, healthy and sustainable child care sector to provide high-quality care for children and their families. We recognize that more work needs to be done in Ontario to support children and families to access affordable quality early learning and child care. Working together with local and provincial partners, Today’s Family can help Ontario build a strong, integrated child care system for families.

Hamilton Best Start Inter-professional Education

Today’s Family is proud to be involved in Hamilton’s Best Start Initiative.

There are many levels to the Hamilton Best Start Initiative, one of which includes inter-professional education opportunities.

Please join us for a conversation with Dianne Riehl and Rod Peturson from the Ministry of Education.

“Early brain development benefits from interactions with adults who are responsive ( ELECT, Early LEarning for Every Child Today, 2007)”

Together Rod and Dianne will explore this idea and what it means for all children in early learning and care settings and the relationships they have with

Rod Peturson is an education officer with the Ministry of Education and is currently working on the provincial team coordinating the implementation of the new full-day early learning  kindergarten program with an extended day component. He has also worked as a teacher, program consultant and superintendent of program and instructional services with the Greater Essex County District School Board.

Dianne Riehl is currently seconded to the  Ministry of Education as an education officer working on the full-day early learning kindergarten program. She has also been the program coordinator of the early years department in the Toronto District School Board..

Join us:

November 16, 2011

4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Ontario Early Years Hamilton Mountain

Hill Park Secondary , 465 East 16th

Register at: ascy@ascy.ca

Inside Hana’s Suitcase – One Year Later

On October 4 2010, Today’s Family was proud to partner with a number of local community organizations and businesses to bring Inside Hana’s Suitcase to the Hamilton and Halton communities.With many partners in the City of Hamilton and with the Brady Family themselves, we had the honour of sharing Hana Brady’s story. We called it the Hana’s Suitcase Project and it reached thousands of children and adults in Hamilton and Halton and promoted learning and sharing around issues of inclusion, discrimination and community. We are very proud of the success of the project.Though the Hana’s Suitcase Project was not direct child care service, it is in alignment with Today’s Family’s core values. One of our guiding principles is caring. Caring is the essence of who we are. We care for the children who take part in our programs, for their families, for our staff, for our community and for our environment. This is reflected in all that we do at Today’s Family and Hana’s Suitcase, with its messages of non-discrimination, equality and human dignity powerfully reflected our core beliefs.  

The project has sparked an important conversation about values and about how we want to live with each other in a caring and supportive community. In a way, they ask simple questions:

What’s in your suitcase?

What are your core values?                                

What do you deem precious in your life?

In your community?

In your world?

One year later, the project still resonates in our community. Many people have shared the impact of the Inside Hana’s Suitcase Project with Today’s Family:

Classroom Values: The Impact of Inside Hana’s Suitcase – LINC program is a video created by the students at Mohawk College in the Language Instruction for Newcomers sharing the impact of the project from a newcomer perspective.

One of the letters from a LINC student shared with Today’s Family following the Hana’s Suitcase Project:

In my suitcase

There are many fears and anxieties in my suitcase. When I was in Jordan, before I came to Canada, I was worried about what would people say when they see me in hijab? How will they treat me? There were many questions I thought about. I thought all kinds of things would change about me, because I was moving from a Muslim society to Christian society, and I would work, speak and mix with different people. All of that was very difficult for me. When I was a child, I heard my parents talk about French people and how they hate Muslim people, especially the people who wear a hijab. They don’t like those people and treat them in a bad way. Even now, I remember my parents talking. But now when I came to Canada, I changed my point of view about those people. When I hear someone talking about this subject, I don’t hear them, because now I am living with them, dealing with them. They treat me as they do other people. They don’t have discrimination between the people. All people are same, regardless of their race, religion, or color. Really, I feel comfortable now between them and l love them a lot.

Countless facebook messages and letters were also shared with the Brady family by the children who came to the October 4 screening. One of the many letters shared:

Dear George,

 

What was it like in Auschwitz camp?  Was it Sad?  Angry?  Scary?

You are a great hero for her.  I went to go see the documentary of Hana’s Suitcase at the Hamilton theatre, on Tuesday Oct 5th 2010.

The movie made me feel emotional and angry.  What was childhood like with Hana and the family?  Was it Fun?  Loving?  Boring?  When you and Hana used to fight, who would win?  Would Hana win most of the time, or would you?  Or did both of you just equally win?  If there was one thing you had to say to Hana, what would it be?  It must’ve been so hard losing a sister like Hana, and all you’ve been through until she was killed.  If there was memories you would never forget in your life with Hana, what would they be?  George, thanks for reading my letter to you, and I hope that you live the rest of your life with love and peace and joy, and I will stand up for what is right and always make a difference!

 

From,

Jake

More letters and details about the impact of the project can be found in our Annual Report

We hope that this project will be part of a larger, community-wide conversation that will lead to real action to help to make a stronger, more cohesive community and to contribute to the quest to make Hamilton the best place to raise a child.

 

Number of Hana’s suitcase educational toolkits donated to the Hamilton and Halton boards of education (with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and many other generous donors): 364 

Number of Hana’s Suitcase books distributed: 3640

Number of audio books to support English learners hear Hana’s story: 370

Number of children who attended the screening of Inside Hana’s Suitcase with George Brady, Fumiko Ishioka and Lara Brady on October 4 and 5, 2010: 4100

Number of community members that attended the evening screening of Inside Hana’s Suitcase with George Brady, Fumiko Ishioka and Lara Brady: 2000

Number of businesses, and community organizations coming together to support the Hana’s Suitcase Project: 36

Number of individuals from the community contributing to the project: 126 

Today’s Family – Report to the Community

It is such a pleasure to report back to you our staff, caregivers, volunteers and colleagues, that we, Today’s Family has had a terrific year.

Each year brings change, new challenges and new opportunities. We would like to report that this year is no different. In fact, there have been significant changes with Today’s Family and with child care in Ontario.

We are pleased to announce that in 2011, the Ministry of Education is now responsible for child care in Ontario.

As we move forward, we must have a focus on quality. Ontario needs a strong, healthy and sustainable child care sector to provide high quality care for children.

Leadership and collaboration:

On our own we can teach, help and care for the children in our midst. Together, with other organizations in our city and our province, we can help to make change and chart new directions for all children.

On that note, we are proud to report that Today’s Family is a member of the Quality Early Learning Network. The Quality Early Learning Network (QELN) represents 18 multi-site, not-for-profit child care agencies across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Halton, Hamilton, and London.

With many local and provincial partners, Today’s Family can help Ontario build a strong, integrated child care system for families.

Our year in just a few words is not going to be easy. The Annual Report highlights our past year. It tells our story.  Please read it, read it often and share it with those who are interested in knowing us and knowing what we are thinking about and doing regarding children and their families….. Our book tells it all.

Let me briefly tell you about Today’s Family and what makes us so special in the early childhood field.

• We run excellent Early Childhood Education programs for children and their families

• We work with over 50 community partners

• More than 80 youth have worked, volunteer or had coop experience with us this year, enriching our programs

• We have been lucky to have the support of over 8000 hours of youth volunteer time in fact I am pleased to report to you Brenda Ferguson is a recipient of a “Hamilton Employer Champion Award”. At a breakfast this year for Partners in Education sponsored by The Industry-Education Council of Hamilton (IEC), with over 500 people in attendance, Brenda received this award. Well done Brenda and thanks for representing us so well!

• We sent 45 children to overnight camp at Mount Nemo, yet another new partner. A big Thank you to Scout Leader Pat Hall and many volunteers

• We sent 2 of our management team to Reggio Emilia, Italy to further their knowledge and understanding of the Emergent curriculum

• Our gardens are flourishing

• We served more children this year than we did last year, opened new camp locations and a new before and after school program in Halton, a partnership with the Halton Public School Board

 

As for our wonderful staff we had a great summer, yet another year of reviewing applications, interviews, reference checks and hiring

•       Total  Applications Received 74

•       Total interviewed 39

•       Total reference checks 64

•       Total placed  in positions  23

•       A quarter of our staff in new positions

 

…and we created 2 new positions onto our Directors Team.  Congratulations to Deb Forster and Bernadette Noon – our newly appointed Associate Directors.

I would like to briefly give you a picture of the issues facing child care in Ontario today…

The QELN which includes Today’s Family believes urgent action is needed to achieve a sustainable integrated model for children and families in Ontario……..A modernization of child care. On October 7^th, 2011 the government of Ontario, whatever government that may be, must urgently turn its attention to child care and develop a model that is affordable and accessible for all children and families including:

• A new funding model for child care

• New legislation for licensed child care

• Developing and implementing a Human Resource Strategy to address the critical shortage of Registered Early Childhood Educators
  

Caring:

Caring. It is in our name. It is the essence of who we are. We care for the children who take part in our program, for their families, for our staff, for our community and for the environment.

Caring about staff celebrates the work of our staff and supports change.  Today’s Family would not be the innovative and nurturing organization that it is without our staff and our volunteers.  It supports our family-centred model of care. Staff are supported with balancing work and family life.  Caring allows our staff to be part of building vibrant communities; in their day to day work and in their volunteer contributions to the community.  It allows us to reflect on what we do and allows us to grow.

Caring contributes to our community.

Staff

Our Staff are leaders in the community, both in early learning and civic life. Did you know that staff from Today’s Family are active community members? Staff volunteer with: TEADS (horseback riding program for disabled), Children’s Aid Society, School councils, Bereaved Families of Ontario, and Relay for Life just to name a few. The board and management of Today’s Family would especially like to thank the staff and volunteers for their true caring, commitment and hard work.

In closing, my report back to you, as the C.E.O. of Today’s Family I would like to thank each and every one of you here to today, board members, staff, parents and colleagues. Together we can build a strong system for our children.

 

 

Please take a look at our Annual Report: http://www.todaysfamily.ca/TF_2011/index.html