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.

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

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.

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 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.

In Quality Indicators and Dispositions in the Early Learning and Child Care Sector:
Learning from Indigenous Families authors Chelsea Freeborn, MEd., Alvina Mardhani-Bayne, PhD., and Cheyanne Soetaert bring attention to a range of quality indicators and educator dispositions valued by Indigenous Families.

In Quality Indicators and Dispositions in the Early Learning and Child Care Sector:
Learning from Newcomer Families authors Chelsea Freeborn, MEd., Alvina Mardhani-Bayne, PhD., and Cheyanne Soetaert bring attention to a range of quality indicators and educator dispositions valued by Newcomer families.

In Quality Early Learning and Care Depends on Qualified Early Childhood Educators, Marie Lesoway summarizes the arguments, evidence, and key recommendations from two recent and extensive reports.

In Regulations Can Support Quality Early Learning and Child Care, Marie Lesoway highlights some of the critical elements from the Beach report, including issues in defining and implementing measures to support quality. Lesoway also summarizes specific recommendations regarding staff qualifications, child-to-staff ratios and group sizes, physical environments, and curriculum frameworks.

The Child Care Act and Regulation provides the legislative basis for early learning and care in Alberta. The Act has undergone review by the Ministry of Children’s Services, and a new Act was tabled in the Legislature in November 2020. This report is a comprehensive review of how jurisdictions can, and do, support quality in early learning and care through a combination of regulation and other policy vehicles and mechanisms.

This brief is about particular concerns with temporary changes to the rules and regulations for family day homes and agencies.