The Human Early Learning Partnership released Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) data for 2017/18 and 2018/19 for 31 BC school districts. MDI data reports on grade 4 and 7 students’ responses to questions about their well-being (health, happiness/sadness, self-esteem, optimism) and their assets (connections to adults, friends, peers). The data MORE
The BC Council for Families invites applications for program funding for agencies that offer Parent-Child Mother Goose, Nobody’s Perfect Parenting or My Tween and Me programs anywhere in BC. The contracts of up to $1,000 will help agencies deliver programs so that families can receive the support they need to MORE
Aboriginal Legal Aid in BC helps Aboriginal peoples in BC understand their legal rights by providing legal information and connecting communities to legal support. Their website relaunch features five videos sharing experiences of overcoming complicated legal issues with the help of Legal Aid BC. One of these videos is Doris’s story about taking her grandchild MORE
A recent study by researchers at the University of British Columbia found that higher levels of music participation in students in grades 7-12 correlated with higher exam scores in all subjects. Highly engaged instrumental music students were, on average, academically over 1 year ahead of their peers. The findings suggest MORE
The UNICEF report — Are the world’s richest countries family-friendly? Policy in the OECD and EU — ranks countries based on their national policies, including the duration and pay of parental leave and access to child care for children from birth to 6 years old. Canada ranks 19th in paid MORE
Plan International Canada and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation recently released the first-ever Youth-Led Roadmap for Gender Equality in Canada. Throughout the process in creating this document, diverse youth across Canada started a conversation about gender equality with more than 300 youth in Canada about the pathways we can take to MORE
In June, First Call sent in a submission to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth Special Project on Children and Youth with Neuro-Diverse Special Needs. Our submission focuses on: acting on a strong commitment to early childhood development and the evidence underscoring the importance of the early years; barriers to MORE
Although there have been thousands of published articles in FASD in general, there has been limited research specifically on adolescents and adults with FASD or on individuals across the lifespan. UBC’s Interprofessional Continuing Education is hosting an interactive conference in 2020 that will provide an opportunity to be at the MORE
Prevention of Violence Canada was formed to move Canada forward in adopting the key recommendations stipulated by the World Health Organization in 2002. Despite the fact that Canada spends $22 billion on policing, courts and prisons, we have the highest annual homicide rate per capita of G7 countries and the homicide MORE
In 2018, the Government of Canada launched a national conversation with youth. More than 5,000 young Canadians discussed the issues that affect their lives, the types of supports they need to succeed, and the ways they wish to be engaged. They identified six priority areas: Leadership and Impact; Health and MORE
BC Council for Families invites nominations for the Carol Matusicky Distinguished Service to Families Award. The award will be presented to an organization, collaboration, program or individual family services professional that provides exemplary preventative family life education and support programs in BC. The winner will receive $500 for training or MORE
Girl Guides of Canada partnered with Ipsos to ask teens, ages 12 to 18, about their summer work in 2018. They found that girls experience a gender pay gap in their summer work. The results showed that girls are paid almost $3.00 per hour less than boys when comparing full-time MORE
Dylan Cohen, Fostering Change Campaign Organizer, worked with Spotlight: Child Welfare to discuss the best practices for journalists interviewing youth, parents and others with lived experience in the child welfare system. He developed tip sheets drawing on existing literature, his own experiences with media, and interviews with youth and parents MORE
At the federal level, Bill C-92 proposes major changes in the federal system of indigenous child welfare. At the same time, reform is needed at the provincial level to achieve better outcomes for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and to protect the rights of all children involved in child welfare. MORE
Verena Tan, coordinator of the criminal justice program at the Canadian Friends Service Committee, spoke on the CBC Sunday Edition last week to discuss their 2018 report on what happens to the children of incarcerated parents. A one-year survey of Canadian case law found an absence of any cases that MORE