Nearly one in three B.C. children enter kindergarten vulnerable

Jan. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Original issue date: Oct 27, 2009

Vancouver and Revelstoke may be part of the same province, but they are worlds apart when it comes to children’s development at kindergarten entry.  Thirty eight per cent of Vancouver children start the school system vulnerable, whereas just 6.7 per cent of Revelstoke children do.

According to new research released by Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), an inter-university research network headquartered at the University of British Columbia, early childhood vulnerability greatly affects people’s chances of staying healthy and thriving in adulthood.

This latest research represents the third wave of population level data collected by HELP, which has monitored the state of B.C. children as they enter kindergarten since 2000 using an assessment tool called Early Development Instrument (EDI). The EDI covers five key areas including language, cognitive, social, emotional, and physical health.

“Now that we have at least three data collection points, trends in children’s development over the entire period of time can be considered,” said Dr. Clyde Hertzman, Director of HELP, Canada Research Chair in Population Health and Human Development and Professor in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC.  

“The trends provide a solid understanding of children’s development now and in the future. For example, we can use the vulnerability scores to predict their learning, health and behaviour later in life.”

Despite some significant differences at the community level, over the last eight years more than a quarter of B.C.’s children have been developmentally behind in kindergarten. No health regions in the province have less than one quarter of children vulnerable and some have had vulnerability rates consistently over 30 per cent. Vulnerability is not just a problem for poor families.  Data show the majority of vulnerable children are middle class.

Key findings from the 2008/2009 data collection broken down by local health authorities:

•   Revelstoke has the lowest vulnerability area in the province with 6.7 per cent.
•   Higher vulnerability rates are found in regions across the province, including in Kitimat and Prince Rupert where the rates are 57.6 per cent and 48.1 per cent respectively.
•   Some Vancouver neighbourhoods report vulnerability rates above 40 per cent, including the Downtown Eastside at 46.5 per cent and South Vancouver 42.9 per cent.
•   West Vancouver and North Vancouver revealed the lowest vulnerability in Metro Vancouver.
•   The largest decreases by neighborhood vulnerability occurred in Burnaby Mountain, Burnaby; Peden Hill, Prince George; Queensborough, New Westminster; Fernwood, Victoria; and Macmillan, Victoria.
•   Larger increases in vulnerability occurred in Black Creek, Courtney; Central East, Penticton; Kitimat; North Peace River, Fort St. John; and Oakridge, Vancouver.

On the low end, some neighbourhoods report rates of vulnerability that are below 3 per cent of children, others report vulnerability rates over 60 per cent.  

“These differences can be attributed to different populations, socio-economics, community-specific strengths and limitations of existing early child development services and supports in different parts of B.C.,” explained Hertzman.

“The good news is that most childhood vulnerabilities are avoidable and preventable. Biologically speaking, the provincial rate should not be above 10 per cent. Young children in B.C. would have the best start in school and life if the province invested in policies that support parents and their children during their early years. This includes allowing parents to enjoy more time to care personally for their children, and  providing them with adequate access to income as well as a range of community supports. At present, we are compromising this start for far too many.”  

The evaluation tool helps government and individual communities guide policies, programs and services for children and parents based on the community's identified strengths and needs.

Recognizing the importance of early childhood development, the B.C. Government has committed to lowering the provincial rate of early vulnerability to 15 per cent by fiscal year 2015.

Last month HELP articulated a policy framework entitled, “15 by 15: A comprehensive Policy Framework for Early Human Capital Investment in BC”, which is designed to reduce child vulnerability to the levels targeted by government.

The report's first author, Dr. Paul Kershaw, assistant professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at UBC, has used these findings to provide six key recommendations that support major policy innovations to create broad and equitable access to the conditions that help children and families thrive:

1.   Extend maternity and parental leave to 18 months per pregnancy, reserving time for fathers.
2.   Shorter full-time working norms to support work-life balance for fathers and mothers.
3.   Build on income support policies to reduce family poverty.
4.   Enhance developmental monitoring of infants from birth to 18 months.
5.   Enhance early learning and care services for children age 18 months to age 6.
6.   Build on the work of local planning tables to support greater coordination of services for families with children from birth to age 6.

“Steps need to be taken to reduce the vulnerability rate to 10 per cent,” said Kershaw. “This requires us to dramatically increase our federal and provincial investment in early learning programs and services.

“If we’re going to make a difference, incremental policy change is no longer adequate. The current rate of vulnerability is three times higher than it should be.  So we need to reprioritize smart family policy to reflect the enormous importance it has for other social programs and economic growth.”  

About HELP
The Human Early Learning Partnership (www.earlylearning.ubc.ca) is an interdisciplinary network of faculty, researchers and graduate students from B.C.’s six major universities. HELP is led by Dr. Clyde Hertzman, a world-renowned expert in early childhood development, and a team of more than 100 faculty members who work collaboratively on early childhood development initiatives. The HELP team has expertise in education, child and youth care, early childhood education and care, health care, public policy and financing, and economics.

HELP works with governments, educators and communities to understand how different environments contribute to different developmental outcomes for children. The organization’s work in early child development research contributes information and knowledge to provide better programs and services for young children and families.  HELP is funded in part by the B.C. Ministries of Children and Family Development, Education and Healthy Living and Sport.

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