1. Poverty and Early Childhood Development in Ontario Patrick Saunders-Hastings PhD (c) Population Health University of Ottawa

2. Table of Contents 1.Background 2.Target Groups and Objectives 3.Theoretical Framework 4.Policy Recommendation 5.Key Messages and Conclusion 6.Further Reading

3. 1. Background Relationship between poverty and other SDH 1 3 million Canadians live in poverty 2 Losses of $73-84 billion 3 Immediate risks and sustained impact Figure 1. Child poverty rates 4

4. 2. Target Groups and Objectives Target Groups “Early childhood”: prenatal development to age eight 5 Early childhood poverty results from poverty in the family and community Objectives 1.Explore consequences of poverty 2.Provide policy recommendations to reduce poverty in Ontario

5. 3. Theory Figure 2: The TEAM-ECD model 5

6. 4. Policy Recommendations Figure 3. Policy intervention points 6.

7. 4. Universal Access to Early Childhood Education (ECE) 9:1 Return on investment 3 Canada among lowest spenders on ECE 7 17% of Canadians have access to regulated childcare 1 Investment increase to 1% of GDP

8. 5. Key Messages and Conclusion OPRS has experienced successes and failures The focus is on early childhood Three priority policy initiatives are proposed: 1.Increase minimum wage, 2.Scale up early learning and child care investment, and 3.Expand the Community Opportunities Fund Intersectoral action and collaboration

9. 6. Further Reading 1.Canadian Medical Association. (2013). Health care in Canada: What makes us sick? Canadian Medical Association Town Hall Report. 2.Mikkonen, J. & Raphael D. (2010). Social determinants of health: the Canadian facts. Toronto, Canada: York University School of Health Policy and Management. 3.Canada Without Poverty. (2013). “Poverty: just the facts”. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.cwp-csp.ca/poverty/just-the-facts/ http://www.cwp-csp.ca/poverty/just-the-facts/ 4.Monsebraaten, L. (2013, May 2). Ontario budget 2013: Minimum wage stays at $10.25 an hour. The Star. Retrieved (October 20, 2013) from http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/05/02/htmlhttp://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/05/02/html 5.Irwin, L., Siddiqi, A., & Hertzman, C. (2007. Early child development: a powerful equalizer. Final Report for the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Vancouver: HELP. 6.Hill, M. & Sandfort, J. (1995). Effects of childhood poverty on productivity in later life: implications for public policy. Children and Youth Services Review, 17, 91-126. 7.CBC News (2013, July 23). Child care by the numbers: safe and affordable daycare remains elusive. CBC News. Retrieved (October 21,2013) from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/child-care-by-the-numbers-1.1327893 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/child-care-by-the-numbers-1.1327893