Government of Canada announces funding for Understanding the Early Years (UEY) in Saint John New Brunswick

SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK — Paul Zed, Member of Parliament for Saint John, on behalf of Ken Dryden, Minister of Social Development, today announced the Government of Canada plans to invest $382,698 in a new Understanding the Early Years (UEY) community in Saint John, New Brunswick. The funding will provide information and research that will help the community support the success of children entering school.

"Understanding the Early Years helps communities give their young children the best possible chance of success when they begin school," said Minister Dryden. "This initiative is an important part of our government's commitment to Canadian children and to strengthening communities."

"We know that the early years are critical to a child's development," said Mr. Zed. "By forging partnerships, collecting information, and sharing knowledge, the community sets its own course to support young children effectively."

UEY is a community-focused initiative, involving parents, teachers, schools, and community agencies. Through community-level research and mapping, the initiative provides communities with high-quality data on their children's readiness to learn and on family and community factors that influence children's development. The goal is for communities to better understand their children's readiness to learn and to develop action plans to respond to their needs.

The UEY initiative began in 1999 as a research project. The Government of Canada announced the expansion of this initiative in 2004 and allocated $68 million to extend it to as many as 100 communities over seven years. The first UEY call for proposals closed on April 11, 2005. It invited proposals from communities that had at least 300 five-year-old children entering senior kindergarten or an equivalent level, had an established community coalition, could ensure local school board participation, and had potential candidates for the community coordinator role.

Twenty-one UEY communities were selected from across the country.

Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2005 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework. This project has been reviewed to ensure compliance with the Department's administration of its grants and contributions program.

For more information on UEY, visit www.sdc.gc.ca.

This news release and backgrounder are available in alternative formats, on request. Call 1 800 788-8282 on a touch-tone phone or through a teletypewriter (TTY).

For more information:

Aaron Kennedy
Office of Paul Zed, M.P. Saint John
(506) 657-2500

Media Relations
Social Development Canada
(613) 941-1110
www.sdc.gc.ca