For pregnant women and very young children from birth to 18 months, especially those exposed to higher risks, community-based home visiting programs have proven to prevent many problems and result in better child development and a greater competence for mothers in child rearing and in finding employment. Evidence has shown that successful programs include a focus on nutrition, substance abuse prevention, preparation for labour and delivery, early childhood development, parenting skills, enhancement of support networks and linkages with other services. We recommend that a program with regular home visits be a method of choice for at-risk families from the time of pregnancy to 18 months of age. A number of community-based programs already exist and are funded by the federal and provincial governments, through the Community Action Program for Children and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program. We recommend that existing programs be supported and strengthened and where programs do not exist, that they be implemented.
All children have the right to high-quality care.
Most families in Canada need non-parental child care arrangements. Canada s child care system has unacceptable gaps due to problems with quality, availability and affordability. All of these problems create hardship for families and children in most regions of the country. The negative effects of poor quality child care and the positive effects of high quality child care have an impact on children, regardless of social class. Access to affordable, high-quality child care and early childhood education services should be accessible to all, with parents paying fees on a sliding scale based on their ability to pay.