Early Childhood Development
Aboriginal children and youth are the most disadvantaged sector of the Canadian population. According to recent studies, there are about 27,000 Aboriginal children in foster care today. This number reflects three times the number enrolled in residential schools at the height of their operation. It has also been reported that 60% of urban Aboriginal children live in poverty. Aboriginal children are more than 7 times more likely to live with a relative other than their parent than a non-Aboriginal child. In Canada, over 40% of Aboriginal children live in a single parent home, 29% of whom live in homes headed by a single mother.
The Challenge
NWAC is concerned about the overwhelming majority of Aboriginal families in Canada being led by single Aboriginal women. We are raising families with fewer resources and supports; the vast majority of us live away from our families, our home communities, tradition, culture, and lands. Many are forced to live in high risk situations, and struggle daily to put food on the table. These issues require us to examine the root causes impacting development of Aboriginal children so that we can be better equipped to address our children’s well-being.
The Program
Early Childhood Development / Early Learning and Child Care (ECD/ELCC) for First Nations and Other Aboriginal Children is a national initiative that has been ongoing in various forms since in 2002. Cabinet has provided funding at semi-regular intervals since 2002 intended to improve the integration and coordination of ECD programs, and to increase access to and improve the quality of ELCC programming. The goal is to address the gap in life chances between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children by improving the developmental opportunities to which Aboriginal children (and their families) are exposed at an early age (0-6 years).
The Opportunity
Like all National Aboriginal Organizations, the NWAC has been provided capacity support to engage with ECD activities in Ottawa, participate on the Interdepartmental Working Group (with partners such as Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and Human Resource and Social Development Canada), and identify ways to uniquely contribute to the assessment of program implementation. Over the past two years, NWAC surveyed users of the Head Start Program and conducted a preliminary analysis of the feedback and outcomes. Aboriginal parents (women for the most part) contributed to the pool of baseline data collected, which illustrated, among other things, service gaps and program successes. Grassroots input into early childhood programs like Head Start are critical to breaking the cycle of negativity so often associated with being Aboriginal in Canada. These programs can instil pride in a child’s Aboriginal heritage, something that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. The demand for Head Start programs in many locations exceeds the supply. The goal we hope to achieve under the ECD program is to illustrate the importance of early cultural learning and teachings, and ensure that these learning opportunities are made available to all Aboriginal people, everywhere they live, work, and raise their families.