CRRU | INTRODUCTION | FEDERAL ROLE |  THE BIG PICTURE | THE LONG VIEW |  NOTES AND REFERENCES 
Early childhood care and education in Canada: Provinces and territories 1998
Early childhood care and education in Prince Edward Island
Planning and development Provincial context Legislation History Related services Planning and development Standards and regulations Space statistics Provincial context Child care services Provincial official responsible for child care Legislation Recent developments History Standards and regulations Children with special needs Child care services Key provincial organizations Recent developments Municipal role Administration Funding Standards and regulations Aboriginal child care Children with special needs
Administration PE 

The Department of Health and Community Services Agency is responsible for the regulation of child care services and management of government funds allocated to child care.

The Child Care Facilities Board is responsible for standards and regulations, monitoring, qualifications and certification of child care staff. The Board includes six members who represent the health and social services system, the Department of Education, the Early Childhood Association and the public at large, and a Chair who is a public official..

 
Municipal role PE 
There is no legislated municipal role for the development or delivery of child care..

 

  
Child care planning and development PE

Five principles guide the planning of child care: quality, affordability, accessibility, providing for children with special needs, and parent involvement.

Application to the Child Care Facilities Board for a license must include a needs assessment that documents the need for child care in a particular area.

 
Related services PE


KINDERGARTEN

Average annual expenditure per student k-gr.12 (1996) $4,600

There is no publicly-operated kindergarten program in PEI. Licensed early childhood centres offer kindergarten; some are incorporated into multi-age centres. Some children attend half-day, even though some programs are offered full-day.

A number of centres are established as kindergarten for 5-year-olds only. Approximately 30-40% of these are located in schools. To be in a school, a kindergarten must have a parent board and can only provide a half-day program. Many programs offer two half-day programs, morning and afternoon. Even though they are run as part of the same system, some children attend a half-day kindergarten program in a school in the morning and then attend a child care centre in the afternoon.

All kindergarten is fee-for-service. Subsidy is available for income-eligible families although parental employment is not necessary. Staff training requirements are the same as for other centre-based programs. Individuals with a B.Ed. can apply for early childhood qualifications if they take a 30-hour postsecondary course in early childhood development, a 30-hour postsecondary course in early childhood teaching methods, and have 1 year's experience working in an early childhood centre. Staff in kindergarten have the same professional development requirements as in other early childhood centres (30 hours every 3 years - in transition to 60 hours every 6 years.)

Children with special needs in kindergarten pay a fee but government covers the necessary additional supports. In some instances where it is deemed better for the child to remain in an early childhood environment for an additional year after kindergarten, the Department of Education will pay the cost of care.

Children in kindergarten programs in schools may ride the bus if they are on the route and if there is space.

The overall participation rate in kindergarten is 80% of 5-year-olds. $47,557 was spent through the child care subsidy budget for kindergarten subsidies.

A kindergarten curriculum which will be consistent with the other Atlantic provinces is being developed for PEI by the Child Care Branch and the Department of Education.

COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN - CAPC
(HEALTH CANADA) (1998)
Total number of CAPC projects 6
Number of projects defined by CAPC as child development/preschool programs 6

All CAPC programs in Prince Edward Island are delivered through family resource centres.

ABORIGINAL HEAD START (HEALTH CANADA)

Number of programs none

In 1998, Aboriginal Head Start was expanded to include services for on-reserve as well as off-reserve communities.

OTHER

Employment Initiatives    Employment Enhancement and Job Creation are programs for social assistance recipients. Parents enrolled in either program access regular child care subsidies to use the regulated system. The only exception is for those with infants who cannot find a space, or those who work odd, irregular hours. Those parents may access the same fund in the welfare system that provides for occasional babysitting.

 
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 INTRODUCTION | FEDERAL ROLE  | THE BIG PICTURE | THE LONG VIEW  | NOTES AND REFERENCES
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