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March 11, 2005

Three Communities To Showcase McGuinty Government's Best Start Plan

Helping Ontario Children Arrive At School Ready To Learn

QUEEN'S PARK— The McGuinty government has selected three Ontario communities to serve as models under the province's Best Start Plan that will provide more access to child care and early-learning opportunities for Ontario families, Minister of Children and Youth Services Marie Bountrogianni announced today.

The Best Start Plan involves a massive expansion of quality and affordable child care, beginning with four and five-year-olds, and investments in every child's healthy early development – all in a convenient and easily accessible location for parents.

"We are putting our Best Start vision into practice across Ontario," said Bountrogianni. "And we are providing additional resources to three communities to fast-track implementation so they can serve as models for the rest of the province."

The three communities are: the District of Timiskaming in northeastern Ontario, which has a large francophone community; the rural areas of Lambton and Kent in southwestern Ontario; and Hamilton's urban east end.

All three communities have a solid network of community agencies that are well-placed for rapid expansion of the Best Start vision, including:

• A rapid expansion of child care spaces for children in junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten
• A half-day learning program and child care spaces for two-and-a-half to four-year-olds
• Early and ongoing screening of newborns to identify needs and supports
• Early identification of specialized hearing and language needs
• A comprehensive 18-month well-baby checkup.

"Accelerating the Best Start Plan in these three communities will inform us and help us to meet the needs of all Ontarians, while ensuring we also meet the unique needs of families in northern Ontario and francophone families, as well as the challenges faced by both rural and urban families," said Bountrogianni.

To help in the implementation of Best Start, the government is also establishing three expert panels. All three panels will report their findings over the next two years.

• The "Getting it Right at 18 Months Expert Panel" is developing strategies for a provincewide developmental assessment for every child in Ontario at 18 months of age.

• The expert panel on an early learning program will guide the development of learning strategies for preschool children that can link to the junior and senior kindergarten learning programs.

• The quality and human resources expert panel will look at recruitment and retention of early childhood educators, and ways to improve informal child care.

"For our children to reach their potential, we have to work together to ensure they get the best possible start in life," said Bountrogianni.

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