EXCERPTS:
Parents and families in several B.C. communities will soon be able to connect to early learning, health and family services in one convenient location.
Twelve community organizations throughout the province have been selected to host new BC Early Years Centres that will help support families with children aged 0-6. The centres are expected to open this fall in the following communities:
- Comox Valley (Comox Valley Child Development Society)
- Delta (Reach Child and Youth Development Society)
- Golden (Golden Community Resource Society)
- Langley (Langley Children's Society)
- Mission (Fraser Valley Child Development Centre)
- 100 Mile House (Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre Society)
- Penticton (Penticton and District Community Resources Society)
- Revelstoke (Revelstoke Child Care Society)
- Saanich Peninsula (Beacon Community Association)
- Sooke (Sooke Family Resource Society)
- Sunshine Coast (Halfmoon Bay-Chatelech Community School Association)
- Vanderhoof (Carrier Sekani Family Services)
Each centre will offer a variety of programs, services and supports tailored to the needs of their community. These may include:
- Parent drop-in programs, such as Parent-Child Mother Goose.
- StrongStart BC programs.
- Public-health clinics.
- Advice and referrals from early-years professionals.
- Parent education workshops.
- Licensed child care for families.
- Child-care resources and referral information
- A mobile bus to provide outreach to families in rural communities.
The sites were chosen by a cross-ministry selection panel that included representatives from the ministries of Children and Family Development, Education and Health, and are located in a diverse mix of urban, rural and Aboriginal communities. Each centre will receive $52,000 from the Provincial Office for the Early Years for this fiscal year as part of a $5.5-million investment over three years.
This is the first step, as part of the B.C. Early Years Strategy, to implement a network of Early Years Centres throughout the province that will provide families with one-stop, convenient access to a range of services and supports, information and referrals. The Early Years Strategy is an eight-year government commitment to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of early-years programs and services for families with young children.