Early Childhood Coalitions of Alberta Annual Provincial Report for 2016 April 2017 Contents Message from FCSSAA Executive Director 3 Coalition Highlights for 2016 4 Background 5 ECCA Theory of Change 6 Overview of the Journey 2016 7 Coalition Membership 8 Coalitions in Action 9 Knowledge Mobilization & Community Engagement 10 Collaborative Planning & Coalition Development 11 Measuring Success – Outputs and Outcomes 12 Outcome A 12 Demographics 13 Outcome B 14 Outcome C 15 Looking Ahead 16 Funded Coalitions by Regions 17

How should I use this Report? The information in this Report is descriptive. It provides information and statistics about the “who, what, where, when, and how” of the work of the Early Childhood Coalitions of Alberta to improve community capacity to support our young children. The information in this Report can be used as a benchmark to look at further changes over time. Coalitions are invited to share the report with their community, partners, and stakeholders to support increased understanding of the impact of Coalitions both locally and provincially.

The funding provided by:

2 Message from FCSSAA Director

What an exciting year of transition and growth for our small team at FCSSAA. We are honoured to be working with the Early Childhood Coalitions to have the opportunity to further and honour their community work and to work closely with the Tri-Ministries, which include the Ministries of Health, Education and Community and Social Services, formerly Human Services. We would like to thank and acknowledge all those who have devoted their time and energy in leading, guiding and building a strong network of people from all levels in Alberta in such important work. Deborah Teed, Executive ECCA is the acronym for Early Childhood Coalitions of Alberta. The desire for Director, FCSSAA a provincial identity was a common theme during conversations when Ministry representatives met with Coalitions across Alberta in the summer of 2015. In response to this feedback, a provincial logo was created to represent the 100 Alberta Early Childhood Coalitions. The provincial identity and ECCA name will be used to elevate public understanding of Coalitions and show the provincial connection that exists between local Early Childhood Coalitions. Community Liaisons are available to support coalitions with learning the

Janice Kraemer innovative CoLab-Online “ECCA Community Gathering Space” and research ECD Community Liaison platform that stores information reported directly by Coalitions. Liaisons also are responsive to questions, concerns and suggestions brought forward by coalition members and provide coalition updates and trends to the Management team. The ECCA Support Team reviews interim, final reports, grant applications and data collected to ensure coalitions are on the right track, but mostly to learn from coalitions how they are engaging and supporting their unique communities. We are proud to take part in this provincial program that highlights the importance of the early years and the collective impact communities have on Sherri Henderson ECD Community Liaison the positive development of children and families. FCSSAA, the Tri Ministry and the ECCA Support team sincerely thank the coalitions and their stakeholders and partners for their continued commitment and contribution to Early Childhood Coalitions of Alberta. Warm Regards,

Bev Milroy Deborah Teed, MS., CFCS-HDFS ECD Community Liaison Executive Director, FCSSAA

3 Coalition Highlights for 2016 Coalitions demonstrated 2016 marked the launch of the Alberta EDI Program and the successful transition that participants of Early Childhood Coalitions of Alberta to a new organizational and funding gained an increased structure under this tri-ministry partnership among Community and Social Services, understanding of Early Education and Health. Childhood Development During 2016, Coalitions successfully engaged community members and and an increased stakeholders in a range of activities intended to build community capacity to awareness of ECD support optimal early childhood development. supports and resources in their communities. Coalitions reported that 85,088 Participants attended 1154 Community Activities Coalition members report that they Participants at Community Events by Type Community Activities are working well at 732 their local Coalition 50110 to improve ECD

7063 services and supports 314 through improved 28915 108 communication and

Coalition Wide Events increased opportunity Community Wide Collaborative Workshop and Learning Activities Community Workshops/Learning Activities for joint planning. Other Community Activities (includes Coalition Information Displays in Community) Other Activities (includes Coalition Information Displays)

Coalitions hosted or attended 1887 Activities for members and partners.

Coalition Members and Partners Coalition Activity by Type attending Coalition Activities 963 7375

3409 3165 489 204 999 134 96 Coalition Voice

Coalition Meetings Coalition Meetings ”The Early Childhood Collaborative Planning Activities Collaborative Planning Activities Training Opportunities Coalition model allows Training Opportunities Coalition Presentations to Community Partners Coalition Other (includes Presentations by the Coalition and Coalition Representation on Community Committees) Representation at Community Committees great opportunity for amazing things to Coalitions have built a strong foundation to continue to engage with and happen for children positively impact children, families and communities in 2017. and families within *Outputs gathered through the online reporting tool, are an indicator for the outcome of Increased various communities.” community engagement. **Note that these figures do not reflect unique participants; a participant may be counted in more than one activity.

4 Background Coalition Voice The Alberta EDI (Early Development Instrument) Program is a partnership “We have a province among Community and Social Services, Education and Health. that shares the same passion for the early years as our community and has Health is responsible Community and Social the capacity to for data analysis Services provides support the matching, mapping Coalition grant funding development of the and reporting. and supports community early years.” mobilization related EDI results.

Education collects EDI data through the School Authorities.

Early Childhood Coalitions of Alberta (ECCA) ECCA represents the provincial identity of the nearly 100 Early Childhood Coalitions across Alberta, the provincial support team (FCSSAA) “We are grateful for and the Province. the funding and the In 2016, there were 98 Coalitions in Alberta. A list of Coalitions is opportunity it gives provided on page 17. Over $2 million in grants was provided through the members to share the former Human Services ministry, now Community and Social Services. importance of the work Grant funding supports community collaboration and partnerships being done in the ECD in order to improve the community’s capacity to support optimal early world.” childhood development and respond to information about children’s development gathered through the collection of EDI data. “Thank you for providing the tools and FCSSAA acts as the provincial support organization for the Coalitions CoLab platform for our by providing provincial coordination and shared measurement practices; committee to share and mobilizing grant funding; and supporting Coalitions in person and on the update our progress CoLab Platform through conversations, training, resource development and outcomes ” and more.

5 ECCA Theory of Change Coalition

Early Childhood Coalitions work to create and Voice sustain positive action with, and on behalf of, children (prenatal to 6 years) and families. They engage and link with families, community members, Early Childhood Development (ECD) organizations and other stakeholders in their diverse communities. Coalitions communicate knowledge about ECD, its importance, and the need to support it. They use ECD and community research, including the Early Development Instrument, to identify local strengths; opportunities; and needs to mobilize local resources. They foster collaboration and build partnerships to improve the community’s capacity to “We believe the early support optimal early childhood development. years are critical and we will work to increase By facilitating local action, and documenting the impact at the community accessibility of supports and collective (provincial) levels, ECCA will contribute to children and families for families and children establishing the foundations of health and well-being in the early years . . . in these years” which will last a lifetime.

ECCA Vision All children establish the foundations of health and well- being in the early years with ECCA Mission the collaborative support of ECCA engage with parents, families, caregivers, community and provincial and their communities. stakeholders to create and Community and provincial sustain positive change “As we grow, our place policies, practices and for young children and in the community as a environments provide optimal families. This contributes to reliable and valuable support for children and a foundation of health and resource will only families. well-being in the early years strengthen and enrich that will last a lifetime. lives of more and more families.”

6 Overview of the Coalition January 2016 Journey 2016 Responsibility for funding and Voice support for ECCA transitioned to the former Human Services (now Community and Social Services), under the Alberta EDI Program. February 2016 FCSSAA Community Liaisons began work.

March 2016 First ECCA Provincial Gathering was held and the CoLab-Online platform introduced to Coalitions.

“Our impact in the community is continuing to grow as we build awareness of the importance April 2016 of the early years of CoLab was children’s development launched. and collaborate with community partners to strengthen families and July to December 2016 A variety of online reporting tools children in our city. ” and processes were developed for Coalitions to use during 2016. Coalitions gave updates of their work in their Interim and Final Reports.

Coalitions connected through regional meetings and on CoLab. Several Coalition members joined the Outcomes Working Group, and representatives from 81 Coalitions participated at in-person and online discussions around the new Outcome Measurement Framework.

7 Coalition Membership Coalition There is broad cross-sectoral representation at Coalition tables, including from Education, Health Voice and Human/Social Service Sectors. Coalitions “We have strong across Alberta attract community members, Early coalition members, Childhood serving professionals, and municipal whom each bring and faith leaders. Coalitions are developing vital knowledge and membership and community partner relationships connections to our table, with both traditional and non traditional ECD and help the coalition to stakeholders. grow.” In 2016 ECCA had 1495 Active Coalition Members in 98 Coalitions.

• Representation of over 500 different agencies and businesses in their communities. • 400 Community Residents including 200 parents at local coalition tables.

Top 5 Community Roles represented in Coalitions “As a coalition, we took Human Services 21% an innovative and risky Community Member 19% approach to find the Early Learning/Care Professional 18% unusual suspects who were not only supportive Education 16% of the early years but Health 13% passionate about the role that they could have in their community. ” Sector Representation Length of Involvement

66% have FCSS members 4+ Years 37% 60% have members from Parent Link 2-3 Years 21% 72% have AHS members 72% have school staff members 1-2 Years 18% 22% have school board members 6 months - 1 year 13%

8 Coalitions in Action Coalition Coalitions submit a Coalition Community Action Plan (CCAP) with their Voice grant application at the start of each year, with their Goals and planned activities in each of these four areas. CCAP progess is reported twice “Through all of these yearly. efforts we continue to work to bring information to the caregivers of our young children, and strive Knowledge to effect a change Mobilization of culture, to one of Processes and tools to Community awareness and focus on deliver key messages about the importance of the ECD to the community, key Engagement early years, making a stakeholder groups, and target audiences. The process of culture of priority around encouraging community the early years.” involvement in local effots and actions related to early childhood development.

Collaborative Planning Collaboration refers to individuals or organizations Coalition working together to address problems and delivery Development outcomes that are not easily Aimed at building Coalition or effectively achieved by capacity to work with “Wishes and wants do working alone. community stakeholders and no transform; actions partners to take effective action. and reactions do! Show the world your plans by the actions you take progressively and consistently.” ~Israelmore Ayivor

9 Knowledge Mobilization Progress Towards the Coalitions are creating their own unique resources and tools, and Key Priority Areas exploring innovative communication strategies such as social media to deliver key messages in their communities. In their year end reports, Coalitions rated their progress Our Coalition continues to work hard on our social media campaign to towards the goals in their connect and share information with families and professionals about child CCAP on a four category development. scale ranging from ‘At the Starting Gate’ (indicating Our child care provider and preschool teacher professional limited progress) up to ‘We’re development sessions were a success, with many attendees learning new There’ (identifying priority skills as well as becoming more aware of the Coalition and what we do. areas with completed or Our biggest accomplishment has been with the website and toy lending accomplished goals). library, as every family in our community and county now has access to quality age-appropriate toys. Progress on goals under Knowledge Mobilization Because of the coalitions’ events, workshops and regular meetings, and Communication and parents’ knowledge, skills and resources in the domain areas has increased Collaborative Planning had and continues to build. the highest percentage of ‘Nearly There’ and ‘We’re There’ ratings. Community Engagement In 2016, Coalitions hosted a variety of events, workshops and activities to encourage meaningful engagement of community members.

Some highlights of the year include the parent education events where we had an evening that was geared specifically toward dads.

Organizing the first Community Early Years Roundtable was an opportunity for partners, parents and caregivers to come together, identify what is happening in the early years community and look at strengths, challenges and issues.

We feel like our biggest success this year was our Early Years festivals. They were really well attended in all our communities.

Through partnership, the ELCC conference committee worked together with the Coalition to bring a speaker to our community to present on parenting and challenging behaviours.

10 Priorities in Action: Collaborative Planning & Partnerships Coalitions are at different stages in the continuum, moving ECCA and the from cooperation to coordination to collaboration with community Wildfires partners. Albertans from across the province stepped up to lend The new partnerships we have formed with various organizations and a hand in Fort McMurray agencies have helped us to have a wider reach and more impact. and in the communities that were supporting evacuees We are assisting in preventing duplication of services, are able to displaced by the Wildfires pool our resources to increase the quality of our events,…the anxiety of that impacted Northern competition has been replaced with comfortable cooperation between Alberta in May 2016. The agencies. wildfires displaced many from their homes and community, We have had a burst of new energy and partnerships with both town creating stress, loss of and county FCSS, the municipality and all school districts. security and long lasting We have strengthened our relationships with key community partners effects for children and such as the Public Library, Family Resource Centres and Health. families. Coalitions worked with communities to support children and families even as Coalition Development many of their own members Coalitions are continually evolving and growing. In 2016, were affected personally. Coalitions were engaged in strategic planning, supporting Coalitions supported donation efforts, created leadership, and attending and offering professional development care packages, volunteered opportunities. and collaborated with community partners to offer We are focusing on our collective impact and how that ripples in the free children’s activities and community as opposed to “wins” in individual programs. resources. ECCA is proud Our Coalition committed to attending regional and provincial to have had so many of gatherings, and to collaborate with other coalitions. This Coalition our Coalitions reach out to development is effective in keeping our coalition strong and motivated find simple ways to support to continue our work. evacuees that remembered to nurture our children’s Our Coalition has demonstrated that empowered and engaged development even as we members, especially community parents, are the key to coming up with focused on meeting basic creative ideas and trying new things. needs. *Once the ECCA website is available Rural areas can feel very isolated and feel that they are working alone watch for more stories from to move initiatives forward, and the support of the group has been Coalitions across Alberta about their crucial in bringing resources and ideas together for a common goal. work in communities.

11 Measuring Success: Outputs and Outcomes Outcome data gathered “a systematic way to assess the extent to which a program or service has from the Community achieved its intended results.” ~Outcomes for Success, Reisman and Clegg Participant Surveys, In 2016, Coalitions reported on three Interim outcomes: Coalition Member Surveys, and the Activity Increased Awareness of ECD Supports and Assets in the Community Output Tool, and Increased Engagement of Community Members Membership Tool. Increased Collaborative Planning among Service Providers and Organizations

Outcome A: Increased Awareness of ECD Supports and Assets in the Community

Almost 90% of participants surveyed indicated an increased understanding of ECD and improved awareness of ECD community supports and resources as a result of attending Coalition hosted activities. This results for these indicators locally and provincially creates a baseline for future comparison and analysis.

Community Participant Survey Respondents

48 Increased understanding of ECD Coalition 42 Voice

45 Increased awareness of ECD “The online reporting Resources and Supports 43 process was very straightforward and Strongly Agree Agree easy to navigate... Thanks for making this option available! We 5609 of 57173 total participants completed a survey for an average response are proud of the work rate of 10% and accomplishments in Community Wide Events had a survey response rate of 6% and Workshops and the past year and look Learning Activities had a response rate of 38%. forward to what 2017 will bring.” * Surveys were distributed at Community Wide Events and Workshops. 144 Surveys were completed at other Coalition hosted events and are included in the demographic data only.

12 Participant Surveys include optional demographic questions, which provide more detail about the children and families that Coalitions are engaging. Analyzing Demographics responses by demographic will increase our undestanding of the families and community members Coalitions are reaching and support future planning at Analyzing information Coalition and provincial levels. involves examining it in ways that reveals the Demographic Charts relationships, patterns, 69% (3972) of the survey Reponses included demographic information. Of trends, etc. that can be these: found within it. 72% of those who indicated being parents were parenting at least one child between the ages of 0- 5 years

Participant Age Category Children by Age Range 46% 26-35 years 55% 0 to 5 years

35% 36-50 years 28% 6 to 12 years 10% 50+ years 17% 12+ years 9% 18-25 years

“To have an eye for opportunity is to be a Heritage New Canadians: Length of Time in Data Scientist.” Canada by % of Respondants Were you born in Canada? ~Damian Mingle More than 5 years 76% of respondents Born in Canada; 24% were not. 75%

1 to 5 years

22%

Less than 1 year

10% of the participants born 3% in Canada were of Indigenous Heritage.

13 Outcome B: Increased Engagement of Community Members 85,088

*The Outputs are interim indicators for the outcome of increased engagement participants of community members, and are intended to provide a baseline measure for have attended future measurement of engagement. **Note that these figures do not reflect unique participants; a participant may 1154 be counted in more than one activity. community Participation at Community Activities activities in 2016 50,110 Community-Wide Events (Coalition sponsored or co-sponsored) 7,063 Community Workshop and Learning Activities (Coalition sponsored or co-sponsored) 27,915 Other Community Activities • 25,823 Information/Display Activities • 2,092 Other Activities 85,088 Participants Attended Community Activities Community Activities Included: 732 Community-wide Events 314 Workshop/Learning Activities 96 Information/Display Activities 12 Other Activities 1,154 Total Community Activities Coalition Participation at Coalition Activities Voice 7,375 Coalition Meetings 3,409 Collaborative Activities “[We have had] 999 Training and Development opportunity to offer 3,165 Coalition Other Activities quality workshops, speakers, events, 14,948 Participants attended Coalition Activities resources as well as Coalition Activities Included: excellent learning, sharing, and networking 963 Coalition Meetings opportunities...in our 489 Coalition Collaborative Activities community to improve 204 Coalition Training Opportunities optimal early childhood 231 Other Activities development” 1,187 Total Coalition Activities

14 Outcome C: Increased Collaborative Planning Among Service Providers and Organizations

At its foundation, ECCA is modeled on the values and principles of collective impact. Coalitions are made up of a diverse group of community and professional stakeholders steadfast in their beliefs about the importance of early childhood. Developing collaborative relationships is a critical element in increasing community capacity to support young children’s development. Coalition Voice 932 Coalition Members completed the Membership surveys in 2016 “We have increased relationship building with Membership Survey community partners, 62% increased awareness We are working well together at the about the coalition and Coalition table to strengthen ECD developmental domains, services and supports. 34% grown the membership, developed our brand, There is improved communication 55% [completed] invaluable among service providers at the strategic planning Coalition table. 38% sessions, and had a stronger team emerge 56% with a renewed sense of There is more opportunity for joint purpose.” planning among Coalition members. 37%

Strongly Agree Agree

The survey demonstrates very good results on all three indicators. Responses from 2016 create baseline information for future measurement and anaylsis and inform the development of indicators for intermediate and long term outcomes related to Collaborative Planning.

15 Looking Ahead “It starts with a voice. It leads to a conversation. One conversation at a time. 2017 promises to be another busy One equals a million.” year for ECCA and for Coalitions in their communities! ~Janice Kraemer FCSSAA is currently developing an external website for ECCA, within which Coalitions will have individual pages. Development of the spaces on CoLab- Online platform will also continue. Other Priorities for 2017 include: • Encouraging Coalition connections through Regional meetings. • Adding a resource section and Regional pages to CoLab. • Creating Task Groups to support the implementation of the new Outcome Measurement Framework. • Developing a Tool Kit to assist Coalitions in developing SMART action plans and goals. • Preparing for the release of the 2016 EDI results. • Developing a comprehensive communication plan including key “People coming messages, information and resources to support Coalitions in together as a sharing the results with their communities. community can make things happen.” ~Jacob Rees-Moog

16 Funded Coalitions by Region

Region 1 - Northwest Region 4 - Edmonton Evergreen Region 6 - West Central continued Big Lakes/Smoky River Beaumont Red Deer & Area Central Peace Brazeau/Drayton Valley & District Rimbey & Area East Grande Prairie County Edmonton City Centre Sylvan Lake & Area Fairview/Clear Hills Edmonton Mill Woods West Red Deer County Grande Cache Edmonton North Central Wetaskiwin & Area Grande Prairie Edmonton Northeast MacKenzie District Edmonton Southeast Manning & District Edmonton Southwest Region 7 - Calgary Bow River Northwest Peace Edmonton West Fort Saskatchewan Bow Valley Slave Lake Calgary Bowness Montgomery Smoky Lake & Area Leduc County & Area Spruce Grove & Area Calgary Deep South Valleyview & Area Calgary Downtown West Grande Prairie County St. Albert & Sturgeon County Stony Plain/Wildwood Calgary East Strathcona Rural Calgary North Central Strathcona Sherwood Park Calgary North of McKnight Calgary Northwest Region 2 - Northeast Calgary South Central Region 5 - East Central Anzac/Willow Lake Calgary Southwest Acadia & Area (Special Area 3 & 2) Barrhead/Fort Assiniboine Calgary West Camrose & Area Elk Point Chestermere/Rocky View Drumheller & Area Fort McMurray Cochrane & Area East Red Deer County Fort McMurray First Nations 468 Foothills & Area Flagstaff/Beaver County Janvier, Wood Buffalo North Rocky View Hanna & Area Lac La Biche Vulcan County Lamont County Lac St. Anne County Lloydminster & Area Lakeland Region Paintearth & Neutral Hills St. Paul & Area Provost & Area Two Hills County Region 8 - South Stettler County Westlock/Thorhild County Vegreville Brooks/Newell County Vermilion & Area Cardston County/Warner County Wainwright & Area North Crowsnest Pass & Area Cypress County Region 6 - West Central Fort Macleod & Area Clearwater County Forty Mile County Innisfail Lethbridge Region 3 - Yellowhead Kneehill Area Lethbridge County Edson Lacombe & Area Medicine Hat Hinton/Jasper Mountain View County Pincher Creek & Area Whitecourt/Swan Hills/Fox Creek Ponoka & Area Taber/Warner County Porcupine Hills/Willow Creek Wheatland County

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