Publications

ECELC
Reports

Looking for in-depth information on early learning and care in Edmonton? Download and read the published reports, papers and briefs produced by, or on behalf of, the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care.

If you'd like to use ECELC publications on your website we ask that you refer your readers to ecelc.ca to download the documents.

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Report 2 - Parents’ Views About the Quality of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta

Federal and provincial governments have embarked on a major undertaking to build systems of early learning and child care across Canada that meet high standards for quality, affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility. The success of this plan—the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) initiative—will depend partly on whether changes to early learning and care meet the needs and expectations of parents. To learn about parents’ views, the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care was conducted in 2022 with over 1400 parents in Alberta with young children. The present report, the second in a series based on this survey, is focused on quality. Parents’ Views About the Quality of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta includes detailed findings and recommendations for optimizing the way in which the CWELCC is implemented in Alberta.

Report 1 - Parents’ Views About the Affordability of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta

Federal and provincial governments have embarked on a major undertaking to build systems of early learning and child care across Canada that meet high standards for quality, affordability, accessibility, inclusion, and flexibility. The success of this plan—the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Care (CWELCC) initiative—will depend partly on whether changes to early learning and care meet the needs and expectations of parents. To learn about parents’ views, the Alberta Parent Survey on Early Learning and Child Care was conducted in 2022 with over 1400 parents in Alberta with young children. The present report, one in a series based on this survey, is focused on affordability. Parents’ Views About the Affordability of Early Learning and Child Care in Alberta includes detailed findings and recommendations for optimizing the way in which the CWELCC is implemented in Alberta.

Impact Report 2022-2023: Advancing early learning and care in Edmonton through rigorous research, high-trust relationships, and policy leadership

This report contains a snapshot of the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care’s work and associated impacts between September 2022 and August 2023. It provides context to understand the significance of the ECELC’s advocacy and policy initiatives and demonstrates how they contributed to EPE’s focus area of rigorous research and analysis, high-trust relationships, and policy thought leadership. This report also provides the City of Edmonton a transparent look at the Council's work over the past year and describes its future plans.

Summary: Questions About Alberta’s Cost-Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan

The Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan, released in January 2023, is intended to be an important step in implementing Alberta’s version of a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care. This two-page summary of Questions About the Cost-Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan provides a brief overview of (a) the cost-control framework and expansion plan and (b) six critical questions that must be addressed as Alberta attempts to build an effective system of early learning and child care.

Questions About Alberta’s Cost-Control Frameworkand For-Profit Expansion Plan

The Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan, released in January 2023, is intended to be an important step in implementing Alberta’s version of a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care. It provides insights into the intentions of the Alberta government, but the absence of critical details makes it difficult to anticipate what lies ahead.

Journeys through early learning and child care in Edmonton: The Experiences of ethnocultural families

In January 2021, we launched the Journeys Project. The Journeys Project is a collaboration between the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative, the Community-University Partnership and the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care. The aim of the project was to gather rich firsthand accounts of the experiences of ethnocultural parents with young children (birth to 5 years old) in early learning and childcare (ELCC) in Edmonton. The Journeys Project drew on the cultural brokering practice and intercultural expertise of the MCHB. We engaged 30 parents from 6 ethnocultural communities: Kurdish-speaking, Eritrean and Ethiopian, Bhutanese Filipino, Spanish-speaking, and Chinese-speaking.

Headed Up, But Still Behind: 1-Page Summary

This 1-page document summarizes the main findings and suggestions from the June 2022 brief “Headed Up, But Still Behind: Child Care Coverage Rates in Alberta’s Top Ten Largest Cities, 2016-2021.”

Headed Up, But Still Behind: Child Care Coverage Rates in Alberta’s Top Ten Largest Cities, 2016 – 2021

In this brief, Rob Buschmann analyzes trends in coverage rates and suggests several actions that both municipalities and the Government of Alberta can take to increase the availability of child care in their jurisdictions. These actions are particularly important in light of the new Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.

Exploring Licensed Early Learning and Child Care in Edmonton Day Homes: Interviews with Family Day Home Agencies

In this paper, Jennifer Fischer-Summers examines the accessibility, affordability, quality, flexibility, and inclusivity of early learning and child care in Edmonton day homes. The paper provides a summary of interviews with licensed family day home agencies in Edmonton. The findings highlight some considerable variations that exist between and within Edmonton family day homes and agencies.

Exploring Licensed Early Learning and Child Care in Edmonton Day Homes

This brief provides an overview of the state of early learning and child care in Edmonton family day homes and agencies.

Still Unaffordable for Low-Income Families? A Discussion Paper Summary

This 1-page document summarizes the issues with the new system and suggests some options to make child care more affordable for all Alberta families. 

Still Unaffordable for Low-Income Families? In Alberta’s new child care system, out-of-pocket fee reductions are smaller for lower-income families

The Government of Alberta has released its plan to reduce child care fees in Alberta by an average of 50% by early 2022. Under this plan, every family’s out-of-pocket fees will decrease, but lower-income families will not see a 50% decrease—and some may see a decrease of less than 15%.

How Municipalities Support, Promote, and Ensure Early Learning and Care

The Edmonton Council of Early Learning and Care conducted a review of how municipalities in Canada support, promote, and ensure early learning and care. This document provides a brief summary of some ways in which local governments can include early learning and care in policy and planning.

Why and How Cities Matter to ELC

In this report, Margot R. Challborn examines the role of municipalities in creating and leading early learning and care policy development. Specifically, this report outlines why cities can and should play a role in early learning and care.

Two Ways to Help - How the Liberal and Conservative Early Learning and Child Care Plans Would Affect a Calgary Family

In this brief, Rob Buschmann, Miranda Brown, and Gordon Cleveland provide an overview and analysis of the two major federal early learning and child care plans (Liberal and Conservative) and analyze their effects on early learning and child care affordability for an example family in Calgary. Both the Liberal and Conservative plans would help, but the Liberal plan would make early learning and child care considerably more affordable for the example family at all levels of income.

Recommended Actions for Alberta Children’s Services in Support of Early Learning and Care

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care recommends 13 actions that can be taken by Alberta Children’s Services and that will support many families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID pandemic, and help to address some of the critical priorities of EndPovertyEdmonton.

Still More Work to be Done: A Brief Analysis of the 2021 Changes to Alberta’s Child Care Subsidies

In this brief, Rob Buschmann provides an overview and analysis of the September 2021 changes to Alberta's child care subsidies.

Recommended Actions for the City of Edmonton in Support of Early Learning and Care: Rationale

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care has identified 10 recommended actions that can be taken by the City of Edmonton in support of early learning and care.

Recommended Actions for Education

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care recommends 5 actions that can be taken by School Boards and that will support many families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID pandemic, and help to address some critical educational priorities.

Recommended Actions for City of Edmonton

The Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care recommends 10 actions that can be taken by the City of Edmonton and that will support many families, contribute to economic and social recovery from the COVID pandemic, and help to address some critical municipal priorities.

 
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