First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society has submitted recommendations for BC Budget 2027, calling on the provincial government to put children and youth first in public spending decisions. Our submission highlights three priority areas: reducing child poverty through stronger…
Our letter to Minister Beare urges strengthened investments and action to expand access for all families. Updates and Responses: March 5, 2026 Minister Beare’s response to our letter
The letter urges governments to increase public funding, prioritize non-profit and public delivery, reduce fees for low-income families, improve workforce compensation, expand access equitably, ensure transparency, and fully implement Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Frameworks. Child Care Now is…
Following the release of First Call’s 2025 BC Child Poverty Report Card, we wrote to Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) across British Columbia to share the findings and outline urgent provincial actions needed to address not just the rate…
June 5, 2025 Hello Committee Members and thank you for your time. I’m Adrienne Montani, Executive Director of First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society. Along with our Affiliate network of over 100 member organizations– including non-profits, professional and industry…
As part of their 2024 election platform, the government prioritized the creation of a universal school food program to ensure all students have access to healthy meals that support children’s health and development. As a member of the BC Chapter…
With the start of the Spring 2025 BC Legislature session about to begin, we wanted to ensure that all elected and re-elected MLA’s were familiar with the statistics and stories about how worsening poverty is affecting families with children in…
First Call is calling on the Minister of Children and Family Development to amend the regulations under the Social Work Act to require mandatory registration with the BC College of Social Workers for all social workers in BC in order…
In 2018 First Call made a submission to the BC Government recommending that they redesign the BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit into a BC Child Benefit that would cover children under age 18, instead of under age 6, increase the…
First Call’s submission to the BC government’s Budget 2024 consultation included recommendations in three key policy areas. Drawing from the recommendations in our 2022 BC Child Poverty Report Card we encouraged government to increase investments in targeted child poverty reduction…
Our recent submission to the review of the BC government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy is informed by the cross-sectoral expertise and province-wide reach of our diverse network of affiliates, a commitment to the Four Keys to Success, and findings from our…
On behalf of our Early Childhood Development Roundtable, First Call submitted a letter to Mitzi Dean,Minister of Children and Family Development, requesting the restoration of the positions of Provincial Advisor for Infant Development Programs (IDP) and Supported Child Development Programs…
In February 2023, First Call sent a letter to all Members of the Legislative Assembly in BC about the release of our 26th Annual Child Poverty Report Card and its findings. The report contains 25 child poverty reduction recommendations for…
In response to the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s request for feedback on their July 2022 Youth Transitions Implementation Paper, First Call reviewed responses from several youth servicepartner organizations, as well as previous reports containing research and the perspectives…
On behalf of our Early Childhood Development Roundtable, First Call submitted a letter to Katrina Chen,Minister of State for Child Care, in support of the 32 Young Parent Programs (YPPs) in BC that are part of the Alliance of Professionals…
