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In the Fall of 2015, the Human Early Learning Partnership was engaged by the provincial Early Years Office to complete an early stage evaluation of the lessons learned from the first twelve Early Years Centres (EYCs) funded under the government’s Early Years Strategy. This report documents the findings from this evaluation.

Excerpt: "The report offers recommendations to build a workforce that is unified by the foundation of the science of child development and early learning and the shared knowledge and competencies that are needed to provide consistent, high-quality support for the development and early learning of children from birth through age 8."

Excerpt: "This report summarizes what the Premier’s Community Hubs Framework Advisory Group heard when they met with community members, stakeholders and other government ministries to learn how the government can deliver public services through local, community hubs."

Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, comes into effect.

Poster presented by Emis Akbari, Post Doctoral Fellow, Atkinson Centre, June 18-21, 2015, Canadian Federation for University Women (CFUW), Annual General Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec.

Excerpt: "The OCB provides direct financial support to low- to moderate-income families with children under the age of 18. Starting July 1, 2015, the OCB, which supports about one million children in Ontario, will be increased to a maximum of $1,336 per child, per year."

It can be done, with some effort, says a panel at this year's Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

What is the most powerful lever of change for post-secondary systems? The short answer: funding.

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is continuing to reduce kindergarten to Grade 3 class sizes by providing new support for additional classrooms across the province, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today."

Excerpt: "Motion 2617(4) called for the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to provide a feasibility study on the concept of universal and affordable child care delivered by people trained in early childhood development and education, similar to the systems in Québec and Scandinavia."

Excerpt: "This study builds on a wide body of research from across disciplines that documents the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children, families and society. The evidence suggests that accessible, quality ECEC would deliver similar benefits to the Northwest Territories. The key informant and survey and focus group participants who shared their views as part of the study were aware of the connections between ECEC and child, family and societal well-being. Using NWT data, the economic analysis predicts a similar ratio of costs to benefits from public spending on ECEC as found in studies of comparable regions. The GNWT motion commissioning this study on the feasibility of universal daycare reflects the attention policy-makers across Canada and internationally are affording early childhood education and care."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is committing funding for 14 new or expanded child-care centres and raising wages for child-care workers as part of a five-year plan to create a universally accessible child-care system and add 5,000 newly funded licensed spaces, Premier Greg Selinger announced today."