Success By 6 SOS

Excerpt from First Call newsletter ...

The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society is celebrating a federal court decision that will return their challenge for equal funding for child welfare on reserve to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal:
 
On Wednesday, the Federal Court ruled the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal could not dismiss a complaint by First Nations groups that alleged Ottawa underfunds child welfare services for on-reserve kids and that this amounts to discrimination.
 
“This is a great day for kids,” said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Family Caring Society, a non-profit research and advocacy agency.
 
Justice Anne MacTavish said the tribunal erred in failing to provide any reasons as to why the complaint could not proceed under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
 
While this appears to be a ruling concerning child welfare, the decision means all underfunded services — from education to policing to a lack of clean water for kids on reserves — now face scrutiny, said Blackstock.
 
“I am so happy, but on days like today, I am reminded how sad it is that we even have to bring a case like this forward in the first place,” Blackstock said. “All areas of inequality are now opened up under the Canadian Human Rights Act legally for discussion, because of this case.”
 
Blackstock and the Assembly of First Nations filed the discrimination complaint in 2007. They alleged studies revealed that there is 22 per cent less funding available for child welfare services, per child, than those living off reserve, court documents show.
 
Read more in the Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1163742--federal-court-ruling-could-open-door-to-equal-funding-for-native-kids

En'owkin Centre and Nicola Valley Institute of Technology are accepting applications for the Aboriginal Early Childhood Education (ECE) Training Program.

Options Available:
- Early Childhood Education Assistant
- Aboriginal Early Childhood Education Certificate (1 year program)
- Aboriginal Childhood Education Diploma (2 year program)

Upon completion, these program options qualify the student to be licensed to work in Daycares and Elementary school pre-kindergarten programs such as "StrongStart" and "Jr. Kindergarten".  Completion of diploma qualifies participants to work in Infant/Toddler and Special Needs.

Twenty full time seats are available with two part time seats per course, so apply soon: 
    Dawn Russell (250) 493-7181 (ext 2240) dmrussel@vip.net
    Lauren Terbasket (250) 493-7181 (ext 2223) lauren@vip.net

The Bench Market is donating $1.00 from each 1/2 sandwich and soup special sold in March to Success By 6 to support early childhood development. 

Stop by for some yummy food and to say thank on behalf of young children in the South Okanagan Similkameen.

http://www.thebenchmarket.com/events.php

368 Vancouver Avenue
Penticton, BC
250-492-2222

_In 2011, the Coalition of Child Care Advocates and the Early Childhood Educators of BC released a Community Plan for a Public System of Integrated Early Care and Learning. The Plan offers a concrete, innovative ‘made in BC’ solution to the child care crisis facing families with young children.  Learn more about the Plan at www.ecebc.ca/news/integrated_project.html.

Rotary Clubs are adopting isolated communities throughout BC to make sure that they have their own books and libraries.

Contact Bob Blacker at bobblacker@gmail.com if you would like the full 9 page report to get more information on this exciting project.

_Join us in creating an ECE Culture of Leadership

Fourth Round of Applications are now available for submission.
 
ECEBC is entering the fourth year of our exciting Leadership Initiative. The initiative is designed to support ECEs across BC develop their capacity to take on a leadership role in the broader community. ECEBC and the Leadership Initiative Advisory Committee will select the 2012/2013 Communities of Innovation based on the following criteria:

1.  Diverse geographic and cultural communities are involved. 
2.  The Project builds the leadership capacity of ECEs to raise the profile of their work and value.
3.  Two or three licensed-to-practice ECEs are actively involved in the development of the proposal, are able to attend all three Leadership Institutes and understand they will play a leadership role in implementing the project.
4.  The sponsoring society is a non-profit society AND holds charitable tax status.
 
For more information, and to download the 2012/2013 Communities of Innovation application, please visit our website at www.ecebc.ca

Emily Mlieczko- ECE
Executive Director
Early Childhood Educators of BC
2774 East Broadway,
Vancouver, BC V5M 1Y8
604 - 709- 6063 ext.2
TF 1 - 800 - 797-5602
Executive.Director@ecebc.ca
 

Promoting Healthy Development of the Early Years (0-3) - Who, What and How?

DATE: Thursday, December 1st, 2011

TIME: 12 - 1PM (PST)

To join the teleconference by phone: DIAL IN 1.877.291.3022 CODE 4611577#

Anyone can join the call.

The 7th annual Parenting Conference was hosted by the Osoyoos Indian Band, Communities for Kids and Success By 6 on October 22. 

The venue was perfect - Sen Pok Chin elementary school in Oliver. 

Angela Roy, an expert in rhythm and education, was the keynote speaker.  Angela also hosted two workshops. 

The participants from Angela's last workshop of the day emerged with excitement and a song that they had created in their 90 minute session. 

The spirit of that performance is captured on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fu5d-bWDYQ.

Information and education for early childhood educators and care providers is now more easily accessible through wikispaces.  Check out the new site:  http://ecdhub.wikispaces.com/Nov+07+2011.

The Human Early Learning Project published videos from its 2011 Fall Research Exposition Event.  Watch these if you are interested in learning more about children's development - from birth to age 6 and beyond.

http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/blog/2011/nov/09/2011-fall-research-exposition-event-summary/

Read about the great early childhood development initiatives that are going on in BC through Success By 6.  Click on the image on the left to access the annual report.

The 60 Merchants at Cherry Lane Shopping Centre is hosting a creative writing contest for young writers, who love to read.  The contest will benefit the Raise a Reader Program of the South Okanagan.

Raise a Reader is looking for young writers (pre-K to grade 12) to create a short story or poem (a couple of lines or one to two pages long) just show your creativity.  Your opening line .... How sweet it is .... ending with .... that’s what Christmas means to me!

Bring your creation to the Shopping Centre on December 17, between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. or on December 18, between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and read it at the Open Mic.  Each creative participant receives a new book donated by RAR.  Sign up if there is a specific time you want to read and have your family and friends there to cheer you on.  Email Yasmin John-Thorpe at yasie1@shaw.ca to save your day and time.

Start creating your very own short story or poem and win a free book!

RAR wishes to thank the Merchants at Cherry Lane Shopping Centre for their RAR fundraising efforts.  The RAR Program visits schools with authors, who have written/illustrated books, who makes a presentation on the importance of reading and writing, after the presentation RAR gifts the author’s book or books to every student in a class or school plus the school’s library. 

Grant funding is available through Success By 6  to support community-based early childhood development projects in the South Okanagan Similkameen.  Application deadline is November 4, 2011. 

For more information, contact Tracy St. Claire, Success By 6 Coordinator for the South Okanagan Similkameen.  By email at tracy@unitedwaycso.com or at 250.492.2842.

Success By 6 Funding Grants (Choose to open as a Microsoft Word document).

For more information on local early childhood development (ECD) strategic plans in the South Okanagan Similkameen, visit Communities for Kids or contact your local community ECD planning table.

If you have young kids, you can't afford to miss this Parenting Conference.  8:30-4:00 October 22 in Oliver at Sen Pok Chin school.  Childcare provided.  Limited seating.  Register now with Lynn Cook: communitiesforkids@telus.net.

Workshop Choices
See below for details on workshops and presenters

Session 1
A. Tantrums, Tears and Trials
B. A Father’s Perspective
C. Story Builder
D. Preschool Mental Health

Session 2
E. Rhythmic Art Session A
F. Preventing Bullying
G. Askable Parent
H. Granny/Grandpa Kit

Session 3
I . Rhythmic Art Session B
J. Finding Child Care
K. Parents as Literacy Stars
L. Talk! Talk! Talk!

Bios for presenters are available.  Workshops are assigned on a first-come first-served basis. Receipts will be included in your registration package.

Learn how to feed your picky eater.  Workshops October 4 and 5.  Register by calling 250-490-2426.  Includes a tour at Save On Foods.

VANCOUVER — Doctors should routinely ask parents to complete quick and simple questionnaires about their preschool children to ensure developmental delays are caught and treated early, says a new study.

The questionnaires, put to the test in a study by a pair of B.C. researchers, were found to be largely accurate in identifying problems like learning disabilities, speech difficulties, fine or gross motor issues and autism.

They should therefore be used more frequently, the study by researchers at BC Children's Hospital and the University of B.C. says.

Treating children early has been shown to improve success in school and potentially avoid even higher costs of treatment later in life. Early treatment can mitigate health problems and reduce use of the welfare system and even crime, previous research suggests.

"Until recently, there weren't really good screening tests available to us. Now there are, and so they should be used, because the brain is very plastic when children are young," said study co-researcher Dr. David Joyce.

"If you identify problems early, there's a good chance you can re-wire things. After age six, it's not hopeless, but it's a lot harder."

The existing, standardized questionnaires used in the study were effective at pre-screening children aged one to five for developmental abnormalities.

Yet a minority of doctors use the screening tests across Canada, according to Marjolaine Limbos, a psychologist at BC Children's Hospital and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics.

Limbos, who also has a private practice for children up to age 18, said that about 15 per cent of children have developmental delays that may affect their speech, motor skills, cognition, social skills and emotional states. But only about 30 per cent of children with such delays are diagnosed before they enter school.

Joyce said finding and treating such problems earlier is an advantage because the sooner children are referred for treatment, the more likely their problems can be addressed or even reversed.

Early diagnosis can also lead to improvements in social, communication and self-help skills, even among children who have serious physical handicaps or cognition problems.

"After about age six, the brain becomes more hardwired and opportunities for change get more difficult," said Joyce, a family doctor who teaches medical students as a clinical assistant professor and works in various physician roles. Apart from being a research collaborator with Limbos, he is also her spouse.

The pair moved to B.C. from Ontario three years ago. Their study began in Ontario, so all 334 subjects were residents of communities in northern Ontario, where Limbos was an associate professor of psychology at Laurentian University, the institution that funded the $50,000 study.

Patients and their parents attending 80 different doctor offices took part in the study.

The parents completed two different questionnaires — an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and a Parent Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) form.

Children who were shown to have at least one abnormality were then given psychological testing which served as the comparison testing, to determine whether the questionnaires were effective at identifying problems. Most of the time, the tests were accurate in alerting doctors to potential abnormalities, Limbos said.

She is hoping the study convinces B.C. doctors to use the screening tests. One of the reasons Ontario doctors use the questionnaires more frequently than those in other provinces is that so many studies have been done there to validate them.

Joyce said doctors in Ontario also have a billing fee code they can submit to government when they use the tests on toddler patients at their 18-month visit. "It's a good time to do the tests during this enhanced developmental assessment, when the patients are coming in for their immunization," he said.

Joyce said eliciting the observations of parents through the screening tests is a superior method for diagnosing developmental problems, compared to doctors' observations or clinical impressions alone.

He said without such tests, it's possible parents might not bring up certain things or doctors might brush off the concerns of parents who feel their babies might not be meeting certain milestones like sitting up by eight months, for example, or walking at a year.

Preschool programs and interventions have been shown to reduce the risk of school failure as families learn how to develop strategies and get linked up with the right resources, the authors said.

In their study, 10 per cent of children were identified as having developmental delays. Another five per cent, who were initially recruited into the study, were excluded because they had already been diagnosed with a problem.

The authors conclude that their findings support the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, that both the ASQ and the PEDS tests are worthwhile for developmental screening in doctors' offices. The ASQ test is a little more accurate but the choice of which to use should be left up to doctors, they said.

pfayerman@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Asking+right+questions+spot+childhood+developmental+delays+early+study/5201898/story.html#ixzz1WRYornDM

As part of the ongoing restructuring of Communities for Kids (CFK) and in response to feedback from Community Tables, we are pleased to announce that Requests for Proposals (RFP) for a CFK Implementation Manager are currently being considered.  Please assist the process by forwarding the attached document to any individual or non-profit agency that might be interested in providing implementation services.  As the contract will be with Interior Health, the RFP will also be available through BCBid at http://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca
 
We hope to have the contractor start September 1, 2011 at the earliest and October 1, 2011 at the latest. The key responsibilities will be:
§  Collaborating with the CFK steering committee, subcommittees and community tables
§  Building community commitment to supporting early child development (ECD)
§  Community planning related to ECD
§  Support the emergence of other CFK initiatives