Facilitating the integration and retention of children living with poverty in quality child educational services
In launching its family policy in 1997, the Québec government decided to invest in the development of Educational Childcare Services (SGÉE). The goal was to offer universal support to families and to encourage the optimal development of every child, including those living with poverty, in an equal opportunities perspective. Twenty years later, Québec’s SGÉE network has been cited by many as an example. However, much work still needs to be done in order to reach children living in poverty who don’t often benefit from childcare services.
Indeed, when it comes to these children, many obstacles still limit their access to childcare (e.g. the SGÉE is too far from the home, there isn’t accessible transportation, the mechanisms for gaining access to childcare are complicated) and hinder their smooth integration and long-term retention in these facilities (e.g. the mechanisms for welcoming and integrating these children and their parents are ill-adapted to their needs, the educational staff lacks training).
At the request of the Opération Colibri Regional Committee (an early childhood development organization) the Montérégie-Centre Public Health Board collaborated with a partners’ committee to produce a summary of both facilitating conditions and obstacles to the access, integration and retention of children living with poverty in quality SGÉEs. This summary doesn’t constitute a full list of all the factors, but it does include the key elements involved. The facilitating conditions and obstacles are presented for each category of factors relating to:
- Public policies and societal values;
- The community;
- The SGÉE network;
- The parents.
This summary is intended to spark discussions that lead to actions that will both reduce barriers and promote the creation of conditions that facilitate the access, integration and retention of toddlers living with poverty in quality SGÉEs or in other organizations wanting to welcome these children and their parents. This work should be seen in the context of promoting equal opportunities and alleviating social inequalities in health.
You can download the document by clicking on the following link:
