September 2005

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Community Literacy of Ontario

Family Literacy Bulletin

Ontario's Best Start Plan

In May 2005, the Ontario government announced the Best Start Plan with the aim of improving access to affordable, convenient, high quality child care and of investing in children's healthy early development. As part of a recent agreement with the federal government, Ontario will deliver approximately $1.1 billion in federal funds to implement Best Start over the next three years.

The goal of Best Start is to for Ontario children to arrive in Grade 1 healthy, ready and eager to learn. This will be achieved by providing more quality, affordable, accessible child care and early learning programs through:

• Rapid expansion of child care spaces for children in junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten (4,000 new spaces were created in 2004-05 and approximately 25,000 licensed child care spaces will be added by the end of 2007-08).
• Half-day learning programs and child care spaces for young children.
• Child care subsidies, based on income instead of means, that will make child care more affordable for more Ontario families.
• A new College of Early Childhood Educators to establish high professional standards and ensure quality care.
• Enhanced connections between early learning and care and kindergarten communities.

Single points of access will be set up to help meet the above goals. This will include:

• Establishing community hubs to bring together screening, assessment and treatment, child care and parenting programs and to provide direct links to other children's services such as mental health and speech and language resources.
• Centrally located services, with hours and programming convenient for families (ideally in elementary schools).

Three areas have been selected to implement Best Start at an accelerated pace. These are the District of Timiskaming in northeastern Ontario, the rural areas of Lambton and Kent, and Hamilton's east end. Each of these areas is still in the development and planning stages.

For more information, please visit this source:

Ontario's Best Start Plan to Expand Early Learning and Child Care. Ministry of Children and Youth Services Backgrounder: July 28, 2005. www.children.gov.on.ca/CS/en/newsRoom/backgrounders/
050728.htm.