BEST START MOVING FORWARD Making Hubs a Reality and Integrating Services

What is Best Start? Best Start is a major redesign of services in terms of how families and children are supported from birth through to Grade 1.

Goals Children in Ontario will be ready and eager to achieve success in school by the time they start Grade 1. Ontario will be an international leader in helping all children realize their social, intellectual, economic and physical potential.

Best Start Vision Best Start is: A partnership with all parents and families where parents: Are actively involved in decision-making about how and what is planned for their child. Engaged in their child’s early learning and care. Participate in developing the vision for Best Start and inform the service planning for children.

What does Best Start look like on the ground? Helps all children – regardless of individual economic or social circumstances. Early and on-going screening of all children to identify potential issues, needs, and risk – which in turn will help focus the planning and services offered by community service providers. An integrated approach – seamless from the child and family’s perspective – that brings together pre- school, JK, SK, quality child care, public health, and parenting programs, with explicit links to children’s mental health, children’s treatment centres and child welfare.

Best Start on the ground is... Early learning and care hubs that act as the central place in the community where children and parents will go for screening, assessment, and access to services. An ideal location for the hub is an elementary school. (School’s First Policy) Flexible at the local level to help meet the needs of different communities: Aboriginal, Francophone, urban, rural, northern, new immigrant, etc.

Phase One Updates Close to 22,000 new licensed child care spaces are operational as of end of March More than one-half of these spaces are consistent with the schools first policy and are in schools and targeted for children in JK and SK. Despite termination of the 2005 Early Learning and Child Care Agreement signed with the Government of Canada, Ontario’s 2006 Budget indicated Ontario’s commitment to support the progress achieved to-date.

Phase One key components A major expansion of child care for children enrolled in Junior and Senior Kindergarten with moderate expansion of the system for children 0-4 years, as well as wage improvements for child care workers in the regulated sector. Three demonstration projects that are fast-forwarding the 10+ year vision.

Other components included in Phase One Expert Panel on Early Learning Framework - Final report containing recommendations submitted December Expert Panel on Quality and Human Resources - Final report containing recommendations submitted March 2007 Expert Panel on the 18 month well baby check-up – Final report “Getting it Right at 18 Months…Making it Right for a Lifetime.”

Phase One Updates Income Test Since April 2005, significant work has been undertaken to develop a new income test model in collaboration with internal/external advisory groups that include representation from the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA), Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and the City of Toronto. The new income test has been implemented as of January 2007.

Best Start – Phase Two Phase Two involves the implementation of the full Best Start vision across the province, including: The development of Best Start Hubs that will pull together screening, assessment and treatment, child care and parenting programs, and will have direct links to other children’s services such as mental health and speech and language resources.

Phase Two Other programs and strategies including the expansion of Preschool Speech and Language and Infant Hearing Services to the end of Senior Kindergarten, enhanced 18-month developmental assessment using primary care providers for every child in Ontario, and a post-partum mood disorders strategy.

Best Start Demonstration Communities Best Start Demonstration Communities have been doing a tremendous job of accelerating the implementation of the full vision of Best Start. Throughout , hubs will become operational across the 3 demo sites, including Francophone- and Aboriginal-specific hubs.

Phase Two Updates College of Early Childhood Educators The model of the proposed College of Early Childhood Educators was approved in June 2006 and the proposed legislation was tabled in the Spring 2007 session of the Legislature. In July 2007, Minister Chambers announced $12 million to support the creation of the College of Early Childhood Educators. A Transition Council is being struck to develop the College.

ECE Qualifications Upgrade Strategy Province – wide initiative which targets those individuals who have been working in the regulated child care and/or private home child care system for at least 12 months who wish to either return to school full time or take part time course towards their ECE qualifications Must taken through a recognized College program Dollars are available on a first come first serve basis for tuition, living allowance and travel

Best Start – Moving Forward Preschool Speech & Language, Infant Hearing Funding enhancements Total increased investment for PSL is $4.2M in order to: Reduce existing waitlists Improve training in the areas of language and literacy Expand service to Grade 1 entry for children who do not attend SK Total increased investment for IHP is $1.1M Extend all services to children with identified permanent hearing impairment to Grade 1 entry

Best Start – Moving Forward Healthy Babies Healthy Children HBHC is a key building block of Best Start. It provides screening for every new baby and mother and is a prevention and early intervention initiative available for all families in Ontario. Funding Enhancements In order to improve access and to help make sure that any family that wants and needs this support receives it, an investment of $8.35M was made in An additional investment of $2.5M made in 2006.

Best Start – Moving Forward Community Planning Community planning is the cornerstone of Best Start which is a community-driven and responsive strategy. Planning and implementation are being lead by the Best Start Networks, and supported by the Regional French-language Networks; they are composed of a spectrum of community stakeholders and service providers. Best Start community planning happens in partnership with parents, municipalities, services providers, and different ministries.

Best Start – Moving Forward Community Planning The next step for community planning is the development of strategies to move the local system forward along the integration continuum. Because Best Start is community driven, how we move forward may look different as each local community develops its own methods of integrating relevant services to respond to the needs of parents and children as the key priority.

What is System Integration? An on-going process whereby local service providers and relevant stakeholders engage in progressively greater degrees of joint service activity along an integrated continuum to provide families with better access to services. (Browne, 2004; Ryan and Robinson, 2002, 2005)

Four Areas of the Continuum of System Integration Awareness Communication Cooperation Collaboration *See Handout of Table and Guiding Principles

Best Start Networks Networks are the planning body for Best Start and are: Well positioned to set the stage for community collaboration through their broad representation With the support of the Regional French Language Best Start Networks, have a leading role in the development of an integrated planning process amongst programs/agencies and relevant stakeholders

Best Start Hubs – Venues for System Integration Available through Best Start Hubs: Access to flexible programs available at times that meet parents’ needs Provision of information on parenting and community programs that promote healthy child development and early learning

Support for parents on healthy child development Quality Child Care Early and on-going screening of all children to enhance their developmental health and well-being Provision of referrals to specialized community services for those children identified with potential issues, needs and risks

Best Start Building on the Foundation....Moving Forward