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Early Childhood Development
Manitoba's Ongoing Commitment to Early Childhood
Development
Manitoba's children deserve the best possible start in life. Recent
research shows that children's early years are an important time
in brain development and a key factor in determining success later
in life. The Government of Manitoba is committed to supporting early
childhood development. As a result, new and expanded early years
programming has been introduced.
Pregnancy, Birth and Infancy
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Healthy
Baby |
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Launched in July 2001, the Healthy Baby
Program supports mothers during pregnancy and the
early years through financial assistance and nutrition
education. The Healthy Baby Manitoba Prenatal Benefit
assists income eligible pregnant women to meet their extra
nutritional needs during pregnancy. Additional resources
have been invested to expand the network of Healthy
Baby Community Support Programs to provide practical
information related to prenatal development, the benefits
of breastfeeding and strategies to support the healthy
physical, cognitive and emotional development of children.
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BabyFirst |
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BabyFirst provides a three-year home visiting
program for newborns and their families based on universal
screening and is delivered through the community health
system. |
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FAS
Prevention Strategy |
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STOP FAS is a three-year mentoring program
for women at risk of having a child with fetal alcohol
syndrome (FAS). Other components of the FAS Prevention
Strategy include Healthy Child Manitoba's collaboration
with the Prairie Northern Pacific FAS Partnership and
support to community organizations. HCM provides consultation
regarding FAS prevention including supporting the Manitoba
Liquor Control Commission in the design of a province-wide
prevention campaign.
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Parenting and Family Supports
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Manitoba Family Services and Housing
- Children's
Special Services |
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Community-based services are provided to
an increased number of families who support children with
a mental and/or physical disability in their own homes.
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Manitoba Health - Early Childhood Health
Promotion |
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Manitoba Health supports Regional Health
Authorities in the ongoing and traditional provision of
early childhood services such as prenatal care, immunization,
baby clinics, and routine medical care. In the last three
years, Manitoba Health has emphasized its support of the
early childhood years through support of prenatal, delivery,
and postnatal services, prenatal and infant nutrition,
and injury prevention.
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Manitoba Family Services and Housing
- National
Child Benefit (NCB) Restoration |
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Families receiving Employment and Income
Assistance have more income to help them provide their
young children with the support they need. Since July
2001, families with children ages six years and under
did not have the National Child Benefit (NCB) reduced
from their provincial benefits. They received the full
amount of this benefit for those children, including the
federal increases, which occurred in July 2001. All families
on social assistance will receive the full increase in
2002/03.
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Early Childhood Development, Learning and Care
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Manitoba Family Services and Housing
- Manitoba
Child Care Program |
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The Manitoba Child Care Program oversees the operation
of child care in the province. The Program is committed
to accessible, high-quality child care for children from
12 weeks to 12 years of age. |
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Early
Start |
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To enhance children's readiness to learn
prior to school entry, Early Start provides a three-year
home visiting program for families with children who have
special social needs and are currently attending licensed
child care. |
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Manitoba
Education and Youth - Early Childhood Development Initiative |
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The Early Childhood Development Initiative
(ECDI) of Manitoba Education and Youth assists school
divisions and districts in their efforts to provide intersectoral
services for preschoolers (birth to school age). ECDI,
in partnership with Healthy Child Manitoba, is designed
to facilitate preschoolers' readiness to learn prior to
school entry. |
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Community Supports
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Parent-Child
Centred Approach |
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This approach brings parents, community
organizations, school divisions, and health professionals
together through community coalitions across the province
to support parenting, improve children's nutrition and
literacy, and build capacity for helping families in their
own communities. Each parent-child centred coalition determines
the unique form that activities will take based on the
needs of their community. Examples include home visitation
programs, family resource centres, parenting programs,
and mobile toy and book lending services. |
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Other Healthy Child Manitoba - ECD Initiatives |
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In addition to the core ECD programs listed
above, Healthy Child Manitoba (HCM) provides financial
assistance to a number of community organizations supporting
ECD activities. HCM also receives funding to conduct research
and evaluation to determine the most effective approaches
to ECD and to ensure that such information is shared with
parents and community organizations. |
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Healthy Child Manitoba Office
219 - 114 Garry Street
Winnipeg, MB R3C 4V6
Phone: (204) 945-2266
Toll Free: 1-888-848-0140
Email: healthychild@gov.mb.ca
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