Speaking on investing in early childhood, Heckman revealed through his years of research that for every dollar invested in childhood development before they reached the age of five, society in general could see seven dollars in return, with “short-term costs more than offset by the immediate and long-term benefits through reduction in the need for special education and remediation, better health outcomes, reduced need for social services, lower criminal justice costs and increased self-sufficiency and productivity among families.”
The Heckman Equation has since become a framework and proof that early education and other development work is crucial to the future of children, especially from their time as babies until they start school.
That support and focus on improved outcomes is in part of what the Early Childhood Coalition is all about. A network of education, health, early learning, and childcare organizations from throughout Moose Jaw and the South Central region, the organization focuses on improving and developing the lives of children ages zero to five through a wide range of programs.
Christine Boyczuk with the Moose Jaw Literacy Network — the office of which can be found in the soon-to-be-opened Early Years Family Resource Centre, located in the former John Chisholm Alternate School — is one part of that group. And with National Child Day declared in Moose Jaw by Mayor Fraser Tolmie for Nov. 20, the importance of supporting children and securing their future through strong foundational development is once again a focus.“This is our future, really,” Boyczuk said. “And I think it’s so important because this is the most critical part of brain development, and the more we can do to support and help families and help children, the better start they can get off too. There’s no way you can make those years up, because they’re so critical to human development.”
The Early Childhood Coalition meets once a month to help brainstorm and plan activities and events for children and their parents. That includes one of their upcoming fun contests, a National Child Day Bingo, which will see families filling out a bingo card filled with local places and organizations beneficial to children before dropping it off at the Early Years Family Resource Centre to claim a prize. You can see the Facebook post explaining the rules right here.
Then there’s the Family Resource Centre itself. Plans have been in place to fully open the facility since the new year, but COVID-19 put a damper on that occasion. That hasn’t kept them from running a Facebook page loaded with interesting activities and information, though, and Boyczuk is among the many who look forward to seeing the facility open it’s doors.
“It’s an amazing, amazing spot, they’ve worked so hard to develop for early year’s children and their families,” she said. “They’ve done a wonderful job and it’s beautiful.”
For more information on the Early Childhood Coalition and their organizations in the city, be sure to follow them on social media.
