Publications

This publication introduces readers to the framework for the initiative, including benefits, issues and actions to be taken as the system is built.

Ce document met en évidence les principaux avantages de l'initiative GEEPEC, les problèmes en suspens et les actions recommandées dans les cinq domaines d'intervention.

On September 26, 2024, the Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families and the ECELC hosted a knowledge-to-action workshop on early learning and child care. The workshop aimed to share results from the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care and identify opportunities to improve the quality, cultural relevance, affordability, accessibility, inclusivity, and flexibility of early learning and child care. The following report reflects the key recommendations developed by participating stakeholders.

On September 26, 2024, the Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families and the ECELC hosted a knowledge-to-action workshop on early learning and child care. The workshop aimed to share results from the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care and identify opportunities to improve the quality, cultural relevance, affordability, accessibility, inclusivity, and flexibility of early learning and child care. The following report reflects the key recommendations developed by participating stakeholders.

This report contains a snapshot of the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care’s work and associated impacts between September 2023 and August 2024. It provides context to understand the significance of the ECELC’s advocacy and policy initiatives and demonstrates how the Council continues to work towards building an effective system of early learning and child care in Edmonton that is high quality, affordable, inclusive, flexible and culturally responsive while being publicly planned, regulated and funded, just like other core public services.

Federal and provincial governments have embarked on a major undertaking to build systems of early learning and child care across Canada that meet high standards for quality, affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility. The success of this plan—the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) initiative—will depend partly on whether changes to early learning and care meet the needs and expectations of parents. To learn about parents’ views, the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care was conducted in 2022 with over 1400 parents in Alberta with young children. The present report, the fifth in a series based on this survey, is focused on flexibility. Parents’ Views About the Flexibility of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta includes detailed findings and recommendations for optimizing the way in which the CWELCC is implemented in Alberta.

Federal and provincial governments have embarked on a major undertaking to build systems of early learning and child care across Canada that meet high standards for quality, affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility. The success of this plan—the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) initiative—will depend partly on whether changes to early learning and care meet the needs and expectations of parents. To learn about parents’ views, the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care was conducted in 2022 with over 1400 parents in Alberta with young children. The present report, the third in a series based on this survey, is focused on accessibility. Parents’ Views About Cultural Relevance in Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta includes detailed findings and recommendations for optimizing the way in which the CWELCC is implemented in Alberta.

Federal and provincial governments have embarked on a major undertaking to build systems of early learning and child care across Canada that meet high standards for quality, affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility. The success of this plan—the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) initiative—will depend partly on whether changes to early learning and care meet the needs and expectations of parents. To learn about parents’ views, the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care was conducted in 2022 with over 1400 parents in Alberta with young children. The present report, the third in a series based on this survey, is focused on accessibility. Parents’ Views About the Accessibility of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta includes detailed findings and recommendations for optimizing the way in which the CWELCC is implemented in Alberta.

Federal and provincial governments have embarked on a major undertaking to build systems of early learning and child care across Canada that meet high standards for quality, affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility. The success of this plan—the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) initiative—will depend partly on whether changes to early learning and care meet the needs and expectations of parents. To learn about parents’ views, the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care was conducted in 2022 with over 1400 parents in Alberta with young children. The present report, the second in a series based on this survey, is focused on quality. Parents’ Views About the Quality of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta includes detailed findings and recommendations for optimizing the way in which the CWELCC is implemented in Alberta.

The Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan, released in January 2023, is intended to be an important step in implementing Alberta’s version of a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care. This two-page summary of Questions About the Cost-Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan provides a brief overview of (a) the cost-control framework and expansion plan and (b) six critical questions that must be addressed as Alberta attempts to build an effective system of early learning and child care.

The Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan, released in January 2023, is intended to be an important step in implementing Alberta’s version of a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care. It provides insights into the intentions of the Alberta government, but the absence of critical details makes it difficult to anticipate what lies ahead.

The Journeys Project engaged 30 parents from 8 ethnocultural communities in focus groups. This included participants from the Bhutanese, Chinese-speaking, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Filipino, Kurdish-speaking, Somali, and  Spanish-speaking communities.  

We then undertook an empathy and journey mapping process to produce ‘personas” and composite stories that illustrate the complex experiences of parents. Each persona/ composite story is a semi-fictional account woven together from what we heard from multiple participants and informed by the experiences of the brokers who work directly with ethnocultural families.

The results illuminate opportunities to improve early learning and care for ethnocultural families and their children. 

In this paper, Jennifer Fischer-Summers examines the accessibility, affordability, quality, flexibility, and inclusivity of early learning and child care in Edmonton day homes. The paper provides a summary of interviews with licensed family day home agencies in Edmonton. The findings highlight some considerable variations that exist between and within Edmonton family day homes and agencies.

This brief provides an overview of the state of early learning and child care in Edmonton family day homes and agencies.

The Government of Alberta has released its plan to reduce child care fees in Alberta by an average of 50% by early 2022. Under this plan, every family’s out-of-pocket fees will decrease, but lower-income families will not see a 50% decrease—and some may see a decrease of less than 15%.

The Edmonton Council of Early Learning and Care conducted a review of how municipalities in Canada support, promote, and ensure early learning and care. This document provides a brief summary of some ways in which local governments can include early learning and care in policy and planning.

In this report, Margot R. Challborn examines the role of municipalities in creating and leading early learning and care policy development. Specifically, this report outlines why cities can and should play a role in early learning and care.