Understanding the Early Years - Results of the Community Mapping Study in North York

6. Using the Research to Inform Community Action

This chapter summarizes some of the key findings emerging from the Community Mapping Study- findings selected because they point to potential areas of need, gaps in services, or unbalanced patterns of resource distribution. Along with the data from the Early Development Instrument and the NLSCY-Community Study, the synthesis of this information provides new evidence to help guide the development of community strategies to improve child outcomes.

The study of community resources in North York, including the collection of information on its neighbourhoods' physical and socio-economic environments, provides a basis for community-wide discussions on developing strategies to improve child development outcomes. These strategies can use evidence-based decision-making; for example related to the allocation of resources for optimal early child development within the community, according to specific needs of each area.

Findings related to the social environment

A child's social interaction with other people can have an important influence on his or her development. In addition, childhood is a critical stage of development where good or poor socio-economic circumstances have lasting effects.

Mother's education is a particularly strong predictor of children's behavioural and learning outcomes. As well, children with behaviour or learning problems are more likely to be from low income families (McCain and Mustard, 1999; Ross and Roberts, 2000; Willms, in press).

A snapshot of North York's social environment

North York is an area with many families with children. Those EAs with few children tended to be sparsely populated industrial areas.
North York is a community made up of largely residential areas, with several large industrial zones primarily located in the northwest region. Green space, parks, play and recreational areas were distributed throughout the city.
Children between the ages of zero and six were particularly concentrated in neighbourhoods along Jane Street and in the southeastern neighbourhoods of the city.
There were 60 EAs in North York with high mobility (29% or more people in the area have moved within the past year). These EAs had an average individual poverty rate of 40% and about half of their population (46%) was comprised of families with children.
12 % of children lived in areas with a high proportion of individuals (above or equal to 54%) who did not have a high school diploma. These areas also contained high average unemployment rates (18%) and average individual poverty rates of 42%.
There were a few isolated areas in the community with high unemployment (greater than 22%), located mainly in the northwest and southeast regions of North York. These areas were also marked by other forms of social disadvantage, such as a proportion of individuals without a high school diploma and a high individual poverty rate, compared to the national average.
A significant number of neighbourhoods (224 EAs) had a high individual poverty rate (36% or greater). Although North York is relatively affluent in relation to Canada as a whole, over one-third of North York children aged six and younger resided in these low income neighbourhoods. As well, there were pockets of low income neighbourhoods near more affluent neighbourhoods, possibly creating a challenge for resource distribution.
One of the characteristics of North York, making it unique among Canadian communities, is its high degree of cultural diversity. With an immigrant population of approximately 51% — three times the national average — 48% of North York's population had a mother tongue that is not one of Canada's official languages. Although neighbourhoods with a large number of immigrants were spread throughout the city, there were clusters of neighbourhoods with a high immigrant population concentrated on the northeast section of the community and in other areas.

Table 2 — Snapshot of the Social Index findings
	Risk potential of neighbourhoods
	Low (0 to 2 challenges)	Somewhat low (3 to 4 challenges)	Somewhat high (5 to 6 challenges)	High (7 or more challenges)
Number of EAs	125	171	183	256
Percent of EAs	17.0%	23.3%	24.9%	34.8%
Number of children aged 0-6	7,360	10,105	12,605	23,350
Percent of children aged 0-6	13.8%	18.9%	23.6%	43.7%
Individual poverty rate	8.9%	15.8%	27.8%	46.7%

Putting it all together: An overview of North York's social environment

The Social Index is a tool designed to provide a comprehensive profile of the level of socio-economic risk factors in communities. The data in the following table are also found in Chapter 2. They are provided here, as a helpful summary of the results from the Social Index.

Approximately 67% of children aged six and younger in North York lived in EAs considered to be in "Somewhat high" or "High" risk, as compared to 33% of children aged six and under living in lower risk neighbourhoods.
Over 23,000 children six and under lived in high risk neighbourhoods (7 or more risk factors).
The "High risk" and "Somewhat high risk" neighbourhoods were mainly located in the western section of North York, along with scattered pockets of these neighbourhoods located in the northcentral and eastern sections of the community. These neighbourhoods tended to have higher percentages of people with low incomes and with lower levels of education. They also have higher proportions of immigrants in their population and higher percentages of individuals who could speak neither English nor French.

Findings related to the physical environment

Injuries, many of which may be caused by motor vehicle accidents, are one of the leading causes of death for children and youth across the country (Federal/Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health, 1999).

Crossing main streets or busy roads can present a greater risk to children. Younger children have been reported to have higher rates of injury, even though exposure to traffic has been shown to be lower for younger children than for their older counterparts (Pless, Verreault, Arsenault, Frappier, and Stulinskas, 1987).

Children's physical environments, including factors such as overcrowding and poor-quality housing, can have important impacts on their health and well-being. Children living in poorer environments, for instance, are more likely to live in homes that are not well maintained or are in need of major repairs (Ross, Scott, and Kelly, 1999).

North York's physical environment: Key findings

Over 16% of the neighbourhoods were rated as heavy traffic areas.
Just over 12% of the sampled neighbourhoods were rated as having "quite a lot of garbage" or "garbage everywhere."

Putting it all together: The neighbourhood physical environment score

In general, results indicated that the vast majority of neighbourhoods in North York scored relatively well in terms of the quality of their physical conditions. However, close to 100 neighbourhoods were rated as having the least favourable conditions. Significantly, many of these areas had a high proportion of children aged six years and younger. In the northwestern section, most of the park equipment was found to be in only fair condition.

Findings related to neighbourhood resource availability

Theories of neighbourhood resource availability view the community as a resource for human development. Such theories imply that increased availability of programs and services will lead to enrichment of experiences, more opportunities for development and support of social networks, and fewer chances of developing problems.

Kindergartens and early childhood education programs — ECEP were located almost exclusively in the eastern portion of the city and in neighbourhoods with less than five risk characteristics. Higher-risk areas were less well served. On the other hand, kindergartens appear to be located wherever the need for them was present, regardless of neighbourhood characteristics.
Family resources - There were no parent or family relief programs in the western portion of the community, an area that contained a large proportion of multiple problems.
Programs for children at risk - In the western-most half of North York - an area with both high numbers of risk characteristics and a high density of children — there was a relative lack of resources for children at risk or with special needs.
Community centres — These were often located in or in proximity to areas with high numbers of children. Some exceptions were found such as in the southcentral region of North York.
Nutrition and health promotion programs - The southeast portion of North York had fewer of these resources than any other region of the city, despite the fact that this area included pockets of neighbourhoods with higher numbers of risk factors.
Arts and cultural facilities - The majority of these resources were located in neighbourhoods with the fewest number of children.

Putting it all together: The Resource Availability Index

The Resource Availability Index provides a composite measure of the distribution of programs and services in different Census Tracts across the community. Census Tracts were used as the base of this index because EAs were not large enough for this purpose.

While many children lived in relatively high resource areas, over 50% of children aged six and younger lived in relatively resource-poor Census Tracts. Also, clusters of Census Tracts with the most resources still contained less than half of the 19 key resources identified in the Resource Availability Index. This pattern points out an apparent discrepancy between the distribution of resources in North York and the families with young children who might need them.

Acting on the evidence from the Community Mapping Study

Research results of the Community Mapping Study can bring together key actors for collective action. It can be an effective tool to reach and inform various constituencies within the community who have both a direct and an indirect influence on policies and programs affecting young children and their families. From municipal and provincial officials, to local program directors and child and family service professionals, this information can help inform decisions regarding policy, program development and funding, and set priorities.

The Community Mapping Study provides an opportunity to make professionals and the public at large more knowledgeable about the impact of the socio-economic and physical environment on children's developmental outcomes. The Social Index, augmented with supplementary research findings from the NLSCY — Community Study, demonstrating the effect of socio-economic status (income, education and employment) on child development outcomes, can provide a powerful case for improving or expanding supports for young children and their parents in areas with a high number of risk factors.

One of the early goals of the North York EYAG was to bring together the myriad of groups and services involved in supporting young children and their parents. In the absence of an integrated system of early child development, the EYAG sought to bring the various players together in an effort to promote collaboration and work towards the development of a seamless web of services designed to improve developmental outcomes for all children in North York. The results of the Community Mapping Study provide data and information critical to moving forward on this community-wide agenda.

In some cases, the data might show the lack of a program in particular neighbourhoods or areas of the community. Or, it may show an abundance of a program in particular neighbourhoods or areas of the community. To understand the impact of these patterns, it is important to look closely at the Social Index Map (Map 13) and the Resource Availability Index Map (Map 29). The Social Index Map demonstrates whether the gap in a particular service occurs in areas with a high or low number of risk factors, or conversely, whether the clustering of a service in a particular area has a high or low level of risk factors. The Resource Availability Index Map, in addition to providing information on the overall resource availability in North York, provides data on whether the particular service — or gap in service — is located in areas with a high or low child population. Together, these maps help uncover the significance of gaps or clustering of particular programs or services, and provide a framework for discussing the spatial distribution of services, and allocation according to potential need.

The maps and information in this report, along with information from the report "Understanding the Early Years Early Childhood Development in North York" (Connor, 2001) and findings from the Early Development Instrument, will provide information on the links between children's outcomes and the factors influencing these outcomes.

In a climate of competing interests and limited funding, it is often not possible to have recommended courses of action for each research finding. Only the community can determine its priorities and the options and actors that are feasible to addressing them.

Regardless of the approach a community adopts, community response is about more than starting a new program or adding a cross walk to a busy intersection - this process is about looking holistically at problems and opportunities, basing decisions on data, and bringing the players together to move forward. By integrating all of the data on the prevalence of potential risk factors, with both the distribution of the child population and the availability of resources, community members can engage in an evidence-based discussion on what is needed to improve child development.

Critical to this discussion is the existing or potential collaboration and co-ordination of services within a particular area. Even in areas with an apparent abundance of community resources, the lack of co-ordination may reduce their efficacy and effective use by parents and their children. Some neighbourhoods may not offer the best mix of services for their particular distribution of need. The philosophy and goals of the North York EYAG embodies this integration of community resources into a seamless system of supports for children aged six and younger and their families. In addition to fostering sector collaboration and service integration, the community may also encourage the active involvement of neighbourhoods and parents in the development of early child development strategies and programs.

The First Ministers' Communiqué on Early Childhood Development (September, 2000) underlines the importance of supporting families and communities in their efforts to ensure the best possible future for their children. At the same time, the province of Ontario is planning the implementation of the Early Years Study (See McCain & Mustard, 1999.) Both of these initiatives, coupled with dedicated community commitment to children, will improve child outcomes. This report is intended to support that effort.

Contents

Understanding the Early Years - Results of the Community Mapping Study in North York - May 2001