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.

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.

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%.

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.

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.

The position paper makes suggestions for the review of the Child Care Licensing Act and Regulation.

The purpose of Indigenous Early Learning and Care in the city of Edmonton: Articulating the experiences, perspectives and needs of Indigenous parents/caregivers (2019) is to inform and guide future advances in the design of a system of early learning and care that is responsive to the needs of Indigenous children and their families in Edmonton.

A Profile of Child Care in Edmonton (2019) was developed for the ECELC to provide a shared foundation of knowledge about the current state of licensed, full-day, unparented child care programs for children who have not yet entered kindergarten in the city of Edmonton.

Newcomer Consultations on the Context of Early Learning and Care in Edmonton (2019) was compiled for the ECELC by the Multicultural Family Resource Society

Newcomer Consultations on the Context of Early Learning and Care in Edmonton (2019) was compiled for the ECELC by the Multicultural Family Resource Society