On October 16, 2018, First Call sent a letter to Minister of State for Child Care Katrina Chen on behalf of the Early Childhood Development Roundtable. The roundtable has been discussing concerns arising from the experiences of families who have children with special needs about the fees they are being MORE
On November 2 2017, First Call sent Minister Dix a letter asking for more details about this change from his ministry, and for the minimum outdoor play space per child to be increased. Sue Bedford, Director of Community Care Facility Licensing and Assisted Living Registry, responded on Minister Dix’s behalf on MORE
Welcome to our monthly update about First Call’s advocacy work and key developments in child and youth policy in BC. Highlights this month include: First Call Submission to Federal Budget Tent Cities: Open Letter Calls For Public Health Approach To Reducing Health And Safety Risks Welcome Nadine Gagné-L’Hirondelle Living Wage MORE
Welcome to our monthly update about First Call’s advocacy work and key developments in child and youth policy in BC. Highlights this month include: First Call is Hiring a Living Wage for Families Campaign Organizer First Call Advocacy in June Living Wage Employers Event Welcome to New First Call Coalition MORE
In our 2017 child poverty report card, we made a recommendation to enhance BC’s current early childhood benefit to more effectively reach poor, children-supporting households. We know, from international data that, on average, social transfers in high-income countries reduce child poverty rates by about one third. Of the provinces offering a child benefit, BC MORE
February 2018 Highlights this month include: MCFD reps at upcoming First Call Coalition Meetings to discuss BC Budget Living Wage petition for Capilano University cleaners Update: Review of the Representative for Children and Youth Act New team members join First Call and Living Wage Campaign Don’t miss the award-winning Liyana MORE
Each year First Call publishes a BC Child Poverty Report Card, analyzing the latest federal and provincial data to accurately portray the extent of child and family poverty in our province. In 2017, using the most recent available data, we found that 153,300, or 1 in 5, BC children are MORE
Published November 21, 2017, in The Province By Adrienne Montani A generational opportunity to change the child-poverty story in B.C. is knocking. The provincial NDP government and the B.C. Green party have committed to work together to design and implement a province-wide poverty reduction strategy. The new cabinet includes a minister MORE
Media release: November 21, 2017 Looking for Action to Change BC’s Child Poverty Story Data in the 2017 BC Child Poverty Report Card, released today by First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, highlights the income inequality that leaves far too many British Columbia families struggling to cover basic MORE
Youth Policy Options Day – BC 2018 Budget Submission – Opioid Action Plan – and more! October 2017 Highlights this month include: First Call Youth Policy Options Day BC 2018 Budget Submission Call to increase child care outdoor play space BC Opioid Action Plan open letter First Call out and MORE
With unanswered questions about why the minimum outdoor play space per child as determined in the Child Care Licensing Regulation was reduced from 7 square metres for licensed child care programs to 6 square metres, First Call sent Minister Dix a letter asking for more details about this change from his ministry, MORE
To address the ‘difference in opinion’ between government and the BC Green Caucus that has delayed child care commitments in the provincial budget, First Call’s ECD Roundtable sent a letter to Minister of Children and Family Development Katrine Conroy and BC Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver: Early childhood advocates and MORE
As firm commitment to a universal child care plan was omitted in the September 2017 budget update, First Call wrote this letter to urge the new provincial government to strive to overcome any internal differences of opinion that may be delaying implementation of a universal child care plan. First Call MORE
First Call has submitted a written brief, Respecting Child & Youth Rights with Timely Investments, to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services as part of their public consultation to prepare British Columbia’s 2018 budget. Each fall, the Committee drafts recommendations for the provincial budget based on the MORE
On September 28, 2017, First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition met with Minister of Children and Family Development Katrine Conroy and Minister of State for Child Care Katrina Chen, and presented the following briefing note to highlight our coalition’s priorities regarding child welfare and early childhood development, and MORE