History
In April, 2002, Eugene Krupa from CATCH, Kelowna, (Community Action Towards Children’s Health) presented their community’s vision for working together for the healthy development of children aged 0-6. In June of that year, Dr. Clyde Hertzman from the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at UBC was sponsored by the Kalamalka Rotary to present the work done by HELP and the EDI (Early Development Index), a population based instrument to assess kindergarten readiness. Shortly after these events, an Early Childhood Development Steering Committee was formed, comprised of a membership that included all sectors of the community involved in service delivery for children (0-6) and their families.
The ECD Committee in conjunction with MCFD (Ministry for Children and Family Development) and IHA (Interior Health Authority) were involved in Community Mapping and SWOT exercises (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and synthesized the issues and needed initiatives in our community, These included accessible services through a central intake and referral program, establishment of accessible sustainable parent education as a community norm, development of inter-sectoral community partnerships and alternative sources of funding, and provision of opportunities for all children to be school ready through early assessment/identification, access to preschool/daycare and elimination of waitlists for preventative services. In early 2003, the ECD Committee received authorization for funding to develop a strategic plan.
The two key components of the process were:
1. Develop a strategic plan for ECD
2. Develop criteria and a fair process for awarding MCFD’s Building Blocks program
A consulting team was hired comprised of Eric Kowalski, Connie Deane, Paul Cabaj and Barbara Levesque to lead the committee through the process. The process included development of a framework for a community-based model for allocating Building Block funding, Parent Forums in all three communities (Vernon, Lumby, Armstrong), an ECD session on values, and a strategic planning session with the ECD committee. The strategic plan document was ratified in July 2003.
The Coalition has continued to meet monthly since that time and has maintained broad inter-sectoral participation. The Coalition is one of four sub-committees of the North Okanagan Child, Youth and Family Committee which meets quarterly to oversee the broader mandate of MCFD. A representative from the ECD Coalition reports regularly to the North Okanagan Child and Youth Committeee.
