Understanding the Early Years Winnipeg School Division No. 1
Background Information - HRDC
February 25, 2000

Helping Communities Give Children The Best Possible Start

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Increasing our knowledge about the development of children is crucial to ensuring their success. Therefore, in celebration of National Child Day on November 20, the Honourable Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources Development Canada, today launched a national initiative designed to help communities improve the quality of life for Canadian children.

Understanding the Early Years is a ground breaking effort that will look at the ways children learn and develop physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. It is a project that supports the Government of Canada's commitment to build on our knowledge of how childhood experiences shape learning, health and well-being for a lifetime.

This initiative has been designed as a way of helping communities measure how their youngest members are doing before they reach school-age. Regular reporting will help gauge whether children are on track in their development, explain the factors that influence early development and help predict future outcomes for children. It will also help with community planning and action in meeting the needs of these children and their parents.

This study will include pilot projects in five Canadian communities: Coquitlam/Fraser North, British Columbia; Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Prince Edward Island; and the Southwestern region of Newfoundland. These projects will begin in late November and run for approximately one year.

"This initiative is about community empowerment," said Minister Stewart. "The results from these studies will strengthen a community's ability to make informed decisions about the best policies and most appropriate programs to offer families with young children." Understanding the Early Years will build on the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a joint Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada research program. The NLSCY, which began data collection in 1994, supports the analysis of characteristics and risk factors among children and youth. This new pilot project will allow for more detailed monitoring and reporting at the national, provincial/territorial and community levels.

Minister Stewart announced the Understanding the Early Years initiative at the Child Care Council of Ottawa-Carleton's National Child Day luncheon that was held today at the City View United Church in Nepean.

This initiative is part of the Government of Canada's commitment to measure and report on children's readiness to learn, to help assess our country's progress in the area of child development, and to determine how we can help ensure the well-being of families and children in Canada.