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·	From Theory To Practice

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) management would like to thank those individuals who participated in the evaluation of the Child Care Initiatives Fund (CCIF). Overall, we feel the evaluation is generally supportive of the CCIF. It is gratifying to know that almost every one of the hundreds of people surveyed or interviewed had high praise for the program, its missions its people and its accomplishment.

The primary conclusions from the evaluation are that the CCIF has played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for improved quality child care in Canada through its extensive support in building a strong infrastructure. It was also very effective in increasing the awareness of available resources throughout Canada.

Evaluation findings also determine that CCIF activities have helped to create and sustain child care organizations, build a network of agencies and individuals involved in child care, increase community awareness, increase sharing of ideas and information, and enhance the development of partnerships that involved community groups, professional associations, union locals, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, government, Indian bands, tribal councils and native associations.

We are pleased that the results of the evaluation supports a demonstrated need for continued federal support in child care research and development. The federal government has addressed this need through the creation of Child Care Visions (CCV) which was approved by Treasury Board April 1, 1995. The primary objective of CCV is to support research and evaluation activities that study the adequacy, outcomes and cost-effectiveness of current best child care practices and service delivery models.

The structure of CCV includes a Technical Advisory Committee, appointed by the Minister and consisting of experts in the child care field. The mandate of the Committee is to provide expert advice on priorities for funding. These will be based on the issues and service areas in child care most in need of further investigation and new solutions.

There are two areas of the evaluation that management would like to address. The first is the CCIF's inadequate dissemination of final products. It is important to note that the CCIF never intended to disseminate final products, this was the responsibility of the project sponsor. However, administrators of the program did recognize this as a weakness in the program's design. As a result, different approaches were implemented to improve the situation. Some of these included attempting to enhance dissemination plans prior to project approval, attending child care conferences where end products were displayed and disseminated, and promoting the inclusion of project outlines in various child care publications.

The second area pertains to project duplication. The program was not able to find any factual evidence to support this statement. We do agree that some projects may have similarities in the overall project design. However, this does not suggest duplication of projects, it simply indicates common child care needs across Canada which may have resulted in comparable project activities.

In conclusion, the evaluation confirms that the CCIF played an integral part in advancing child care in Canada. The results of the evaluation provides an excellent opportunity to ensure the continued effectiveness of Child Care Vision. All of the recommendations resulting from the evaluation will be considered by management and staff of the Employability and Social Partnerships Division.