KidsFirst Strategy Vision -- Children enjoy a good start in life and are nurtured and supported by caring families and communities. Supports and services are provided through partnerships between families, communities, service organizations and governments.
Regional KidsFirst Programs operate within health region boundaries to identify and build upon strengths and capacities of early childhood programs and services. Community developers work with agencies, programs and community members to facilitate collaboration, education and action planning around early childhood development at the community level. Regional KidsFirst is a joint initiative of:
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Social Services
- Ministry of First Nations and Métis Relations
- numerous community agencies
Direction and guidance is provided by the South East Regional Intersectoral Committee. Within the Southeast Region, Regional KidsFirst Community Developers are located in Yorkton, Grenfell, Carlyle and Wolseley:
| Alison Wagner | 786-5879 | alison.wagner@gov.sk.ca |
| Larry Tittle | 697-4048 | larry.tittle@rqhealth.ca |
| Madeleine Valentine | 453-2071 | mvalentine@sasktel.net |
| Sharon McCarthy | 698-7375 | sharon.mccarthy@pvsd.ca |
KidsFirst - http://www.learning.gov.sk.ca/KidsFirst
Early Childhood Unit - http://www.learning.gov.sk.ca/ECD
Regional projects include:
Info Sheets: Quality, up to date information on a variety of topics related to early childhood development, including Prenatal Care, Bonding & Attachment, Brain Development & Stimulation, Play & Learning, Language & Communication, Optimal Physical Well Being, Safety, Choosing Child Care, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Share it Forward... is about sharing the key messages on Comfort, Play and Teach with others so that they can share with others, and so on and so on…ultimately increasing the number of parents who understand and apply the basic concepts of comforting, playing with and teaching their children. Share It Forward encourages the notion of “tell a friend”. Share It Forward Parent Sessions bring parents together to share their knowledge as parents, using the concepts of Comfort, Play and Teach. Those interested may learn how to apply the Share It Forward principles through facilitating parent sessions. Visit our new online blog!
Invest in Kids – www.investinkids.ca
Partnerships:
The Regional KidsFirst Programs Provide support and partner strongly with others in the region working to enhance Early Development. Some of their partnerships include:
Prairie Children…Prairie Futures, Understanding the Early Years: The Regional KidsFirst Community Development workers are proud partners with the UEY project in South East Saskatchewan. They were instrument in writing the proposal for this project and submitting it to HRSDC. The work of the UEY will provide the direction for the work of the Regional KidsFirst in the Future. These positions will be instrumental in moving the Child Action Plan for the Region forward.
Circle of Learning Communities: Parents and children come together to spark an interest in reading from a very young age using the “Every Child Ready to Read At Your Library” Program. This program is available in Carlyle, Canora, Balcarres, Estevan, Kamsack, Lestock, Melville, Moosomin, Punnichy, Radville, Stoughton, Weyburn, and Yorkton. Facilitation training will also be available for those interested in leading the “Every Child Ready to Read At Your Library” Program.
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/ecrr/ecrrhomepage.cfm
Prenatal Guide
The perfect companion for expectant moms, our Prenatal Calendar is full of health related information and makes a great keepsake! It is available at no cost from your local pharmacy, or you may contact your community developer for your free copy!
Click to view the online version of the calendar!
Stickers now available for use on the calendar!
Contact your Regional KidsFirst Community Developer for a free copy!
Birth Screening Questionaire
In Saskatchewan, all babies are screened at birth, so that parents and babies receive the best possible care right from the start. The questions relate to your pregnancy and delivery, the circumstances you are going home to, and your general health history. Your participation in this voluntary questionnaire will help to develop and provide the programs and supports that families need. Information from the questionnaire will be shared with your public health nurse. It will give them an idea of what supports or information you may need when they visit you and your new baby at home. Saskatchewan's In-Hospital Questionaire - Birth Screening
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Ruth Barker - Community Coordinator - UEY Project Prairie Children... Prairie Futures ruth.barker@holyfamilyrcssd.ca
Ph: 306.848.4371
C: 306.861-5021 Fax: 306.842.7033
Holy Family RCSSD - 110 Souris Ave. Weyburn, SK S4H 2Z8
The Understanding the Early Years initiative is funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. For further information, visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca