Parent Child Coalitions

Bringing communities together for Manitoba's families

What is a Parent Child Coalition
Coalition Membership
Goals and Guiding Principles
National Child Day and Regional Forums

Additional information about parent child coalitions can be found on the community-based Council of Coalition website.

What is a Parent Child Coalition?

Parent Child Coalitions bring together parents, early childhood educators, educators, health care professionals and other community organizations to plan and work collaboratively to support the healthy development of children aged 0-6 years. Research shows that experience-based brain development in the early years affects learning, behaviour and health throughout the life course (The Early Years Study, 1999).

Parent Child Coalitions support existing community programs for families with young children and develop new initiatives that reflect each community’s diversity and strengths. Coalition partners encourage a broad range of services and programming for young children and their families, based on the priorities of positive parenting, nutrition and physical health, literacy and learning, and community capacity.

Recognizing that parents are the first, most important and most lasting teachers in a child’s life, coalition activities create opportunities for parents and children to participate in quality programming together, and offer supports to families.

Manitoba supports 26 parent child coalitions province-wide, based on Regional Health Authority Boundaries and Winnipeg Community Areas:12 regions outside Winnipeg,  13 community areas within Winnipeg,  and one cultural organization that serves the needs of Francophone communities. In addition, a number of family resource centres across the province receive funding for parent-child programming, under this initiative.

Parent Child Coalition contact information can be found on the following primary contact document:

Parent Child Coalition Primary Contacts (PDF)

Coalition Membership

Parent child coalitions bring together community partners for a variety of purposes, including:

  • Sharing community level EDI results
  • Mapping available community resources
  • Gaining access to resources (space, personnel, materials)
  • Integrating policies and services
  • Sharing funding
  • Reducing duplication of services
  • Increasing the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of community services


Parent child coalitions engage a variety of community partners, including representation from:

  • Parents and community members
  • School Divisions
  • Regional Health Authorities
  • Child Care Community
  • Friendship Centres
  • Child and Family Services
  • Aboriginal peoples and organizations
  • Newcomer, refugee and immigrant peoples and organizations
  • Children’s advocates
  • Business or civic leaders
  • Cultural and/or faith-based organizations
  • Police services
  • Local political leaders and others

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Goals

  • To support early child development through parent child activities that build upon and enrich existing programs or introduce new programs to address identified gaps in services or resources for families of children aged 0-6 years.
  • To promote healthy outcomes for children and families through the priority activities of positive parenting, nutrition and physical health, learning and literacy, and community capacity building.
  • To engage community partners in a shared vision to support healthy children, families and communities.
  • To establish a working coalition of community stakeholders to share expertise, experience and resources and to identify and address community needs and priorities.
  • To share local level Early Development Instrument (EDI) results with coalition partners to help communities make informed decisions about how to support the development of their children.

 

Guiding Principles

Parent child coalition programs strive to be:

Community-based – Communities are partners with government in the governance and delivery of supports for children and families. Partnerships and collaboration for service delivery builds on existing community networks and foster new networks. The most effective approach for building self determination and healthy communities is developing services sensitive to the local capacities and needs of children and families.

Inclusive – Programs and services invite and welcome the participation of all children and their families, sensitive to their traditions, culture, language and abilities.

Comprehensive – A spectrum of services, across sectors, is available to support families and the healthy development of children.

Integrated – Program and planning and service delivery are coordinated across sectors to provide the best possible integration of supports for the specific needs of each child and family. Local community agency networks are utilized for integrated service delivery.

Accessible – Services and programs are available and accessible to families and their children across Manitoba.

Quality Assurance –Programs will follow play-based, developmentally-appropriate practice and will adhere to the guidelines outlined in Parent Child Coalitions: Program and Funding Guide (PDF) and On the Road to Best Practice: Recommended Guidelines for Parent Child Programs (PDF)

Publicly Accountable – Governments and communities share responsibility for ensuring that programs achieve their outcomes and are delivered in a cost-effective manner.

 

National Child Day and Regional Forums

Manitoba hosts a National Child Day Forum or Regional Forums for representatives of regional parent child coalitions and community partners from a variety of government and community sectors to come together, to learn from renowned experts about the latest research on early child development. Read the information from past forums.