Jessica Ball, M.P.H., Ph.D. Early Childhood Development Intercultural Partnerships School of Child and Youth Care University of Victoria

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Jessica Ball, M.P.H., Ph.D.Early
Childhood Development Intercultural
PartnershipsSchool of Child and Youth
CareUniversity of Victoria
Intersectoral Action for Indigenous Childrens
Health and Development
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Childrens health well-being are multiply
determined
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Coordinated action is needed across all levels
(J. Evans 2005)
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Multiple entry points to harness the ecology of
childrens health development

• Adapted from Bronfenbrenner (1979)

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Key messages from researchwith First Nations in
B.C.

• Early Childhood Care Development Programs can
  serve as a socially accessible culturally
  resonant entry point for promoting health
  delivery health services
• Community development supports child health
  development
• One model does not fit all contexts (no best
  practices)
• Research helps to identify promising practices
• Some Aboriginal communities are demonstrating
  promising community-led, community-paced,
  community-fitting practices
• that engage recommendations
• of the AFN, NAHO Romanow
• Commission, Pop Health . .

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Prevailing Individual-Centred, Fragmented
Services
Parent Good luck trying to make it to your
childs appointment with a dental hygienist
SLP Good luck trying to find the child who has
been referred for early intervention! Community-A
dmin Good luck filling out all the forms to
appeal account to many different authorities
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Single-focus programs have limited effects

• Nutrition programs must be combined with
  stimulation (parent coaching, preschool, play
  spaces) in order realize significant gains in
  physical growth, health, learning development
• Programs to stimulate cognitive development do
  not have desired impacts if the child has a
  language delay due to hearing loss due to ear
  infections due to mold growing in their
  sub-standard housing in a wet climate.

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Supporting families

• Most families want to meet ALL of a childs many
  different kinds of needs
• Policies service systems that require parents
  to engage many different professionals and
  programs create barriers (travel, scheduling,
  economic, organizational, social, cultural)
• Program coordination supports family life
  increases the chances of childrens needs being
  met.

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First Nations Early Learning Child Care Action
Plan (AFN 2005)

• sustainable, flexible funding
• community driven
• Integration would empower First Nations to
  integrate child care services and programs across
  jurisdictions to create a new holistic framework
  of First Nations child care programming.

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Coordinated programming

• Supported by
• Common sense
• Ecological perspective on change
• Population health model
• Cultural concepts
• Research
• Families
• Aboriginal recommendations
• What more do we need to make it happen?

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Making it happen Research in Rural First
Nations
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Making It Happen ?Starts with long range VISION

• Communities all had
• VALUE that Children are our future.
• COMMITMENT to invest in early years to create a
  foundation for adult health, achievement and
  economic security
• HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING
• of health development
• PLAN for coordinated programs
• FUNDING
• soft infrastructure training, policy
  development, community awareness
• hard infrastructure buildings, equipment, buses,
  supplies
• What is happening in these communities now?

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From vision to action

• ? Starts with capacity building
• Community - University Partnerships
• Community-based, culturally specific as well as
  mainstream training

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Moving towards community centred, coordinated
programs with ECCD as Hook and Hub
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Features of Hub Approaches

• Family-centred
• Relationship-oriented (cultural safety)
• Population-based streamed to target programs
• Strength-focused rather than deficits oriented
• Efficient
• Coordinated or Consolidated funding

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From Dreams to Reality at Lilwat Nation
Mount Currie, B.C. 140 km NW of Vancouver, near
Whistler
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Supporting childrens health development where
they are . .
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On their traditional territories . . .
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In their community . . .
Pqusnalhcw multi-service community centre Opened
May, 1999
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In the families they have . . .
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Partnership to develop community capacity

• Training UVic partnership
• Incremental implementation
• Starting with child care as a hook
• Community kitchen cultural events
• bringing Elders to the centre
• Incremental addition of programs services
• Creative work to push the envelope
• with funders agencies

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Planned Integration, Coordination, Co-location

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From child care community kitchento.

• Child development pre-school after-school
• Drumming, dancing, pow wow
• Supported Child Care (special needs)
• Uscalmicts language immersion/exposure
• Early Intervention Therapists (SLP, OT, PT,
  dental hygienist)
• Family Wellness Worker
• Community Health Representatives
• Community Health Nurse
• Paediatrician
• Counsellors (NNADAP Residential School)
• Dentist
• Chiropractor
• Elders Activity
• Coordinator
• Home Care Nursing
• Child welfare

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Working together learning across professional
disciplines services
A mutually supportive community of workers with
ongoing professional development opportunities
yields high staff retention
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Many pathways

• Finding our way to supporting wellness among
  diverse communities of children and families
  requires many pathways. No one approach, no one
  program model, will reach or work for everyone.
• Meadow Lake Tribal Council Administrator
• Local innovation resourcefulness can combine
  the right number variety of people,
  professions, services that a community wants
  needs to achieve their own ECCD goals
• Research compare remote, rural urban hub
  potentials demonstration projects

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Key messages from researchwith First Nations in
B.C.

• Early Childhood Care Development Programs may
  be an especially strategic entry point for
  Aboriginal health initiatives
• Planned ECCD training services are effective
  components of Aboriginal community development
• One model does not fit all contexts (no best
  practices)
• Research with Aboriginal communities can explore
  demonstrate exciting new ways to think about
  community-driven designs for action to promote
  child family health quality of life