In January 2021, we launched the Journeys Project. The Journeys Project is a collaboration between the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative, the Community-University Partnership and the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care. The aim of the project was to gather rich firsthand accounts of the experiences of ethnocultural parents with young children (birth to 5 years old) in early learning and childcare (ELCC) in Edmonton. The Journeys Project drew on the cultural brokering practice and intercultural expertise of the MCHB. We engaged 30 parents from 6 ethnocultural communities: Kurdish-speaking, Eritrean and Ethiopian, Bhutanese Filipino, Spanish-speaking, and Chinese-speaking.

This 1-page document summarizes the main findings and suggestions from the June 2022 brief “Headed Up, But Still Behind: Child Care Coverage Rates in Alberta’s Top Ten Largest Cities, 2016-2021.”

In this brief, Rob Buschmann analyzes trends in coverage rates and suggests several actions that both municipalities and the Government of Alberta can take to increase the availability of child care in their jurisdictions. These actions are particularly important in light of the new Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

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

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 1-page document summarizes the issues with the new system and suggests some options to make child care more affordable for all Alberta families. 

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.

In this brief, Rob Buschmann, Miranda Brown, and Gordon Cleveland provide an overview and analysis of the two major federal early learning and child care plans (Liberal and Conservative) and analyze their effects on early learning and child care affordability for an example family in Calgary. Both the Liberal and Conservative plans would help, but the Liberal plan would make early learning and child care considerably more affordable for the example family at all levels of income.

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care recommends 13 actions that can be taken by Alberta Children’s Services and that will support many families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID pandemic, and help to address some of the critical priorities of EndPovertyEdmonton.

In this brief, Rob Buschmann provides an overview and analysis of the September 2021 changes to Alberta's child care subsidies.

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care has identified 10 recommended actions that can be taken by the City of Edmonton in support of early learning and care.

Authors Chelsea Freeborn, MEd., Alvina Mardhani-Bayne, PhD., and Cheyanne Soetaert using the information from a scoping review of current academic literature to identified existing understandings of indicators of quality and desirable educator dispositions created guiding questions for focus groups made up of educators who support newcomer families.

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care recommends 5 actions that can be taken by School Boards and that will support many families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID pandemic, and help to address some critical educational priorities.

Authors Chelsea Freeborn, MEd., Alvina Mardhani-Bayne, PhD., and Cheyanne Soetaert using information from a scoping review of current academic literature to identified existing understandings of indicators of quality and desirable educator dispositions created guiding questions for focus groups made up of Indigenous families and educators who support Indigenous families.

Authors Chelsea Freeborn, MEd., Alvina Mardhani-Bayne, PhD., and Cheyanne Soetaert conducted case studies with child care directors and senior staff to ascertain how support for Indigenous and newcomer families can be realized in Edmonton child care contexts.

Authors Chelsea Freeborn, MEd., Alvina Mardhani-Bayne, PhD., and Cheyanne Soetaert provide an overview of the joint research between Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care (ECELC) and MacEwan University and findings.

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care recommends 10 actions that can be taken by the City of Edmonton and that will support many families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID pandemic, and help to address some critical municipal priorities.

In this brief, Rob Buschmann and Jennifer Fischer-Summers provide an overview of the latest fees for licensed early learning and care in Calgary. They show that 2020 continues an ongoing trend of early learning and care fees outpacing inflation in the city since 2014. Finally, they discuss what fees in Calgary might look like in 2021.