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ABOUT US

What is Parent Voices?
Parent Voices is about working with parents to make the case for quality, affordable and accessible child care. It’s about bringing parents together so that their voices are united and strong when they speak out about the child care services they need in their communities.

Parent Voices is a two-year project sponsored by the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada and funded by the Social Development Partnerships Program of Human Resources Development Canada.

Parent Voices : Strengthening the Network is funded by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program. The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the government of Canada.

What parents say about Parent Voices
“Like most parents, I can’t work unless my children are in high quality arrangements and I can’t access quality child care unless it’s affordable. We need a way to get this message out so governments will listen.”
– Sharon Gregson, Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C., Vancouver, B.C.

“Parent Voices is a very exciting initiative because it will provide parents with a truly independent voice, and parents across Canada will be able to learn from each other and strive towards a common goal.”
– Jody Dallaire, Parents for Quality Care, Moncton, N.B.

Who's involved in Parent Voices now?
Since Parent Voices began, we've established linkages with child care groups and parents in six regions: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. Momentum keeps building, and we're exploring opportunities to work with parents in other provinces/territories.

A steering committee helps guide and support our work. The Committee includes representatives from the Board of Directors and individuals from various geographic regions. Click here to find out more about the Steering Committee.

What is the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada?
The CCAAC is a non-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to promoting quality child care accessible to all. Parent Voices will contribute to shaping the advocacy messages of the CCAAC's Council of Child Care Advocates. The CCAAC works for:

The right of all children to access publicly funded child care.
A child care system that's comprehensive, accessible, affordable, high quality and non-profit.
A range of child care services for children 12 and under, including full- and part-time care; group, family, school age, preschool (nursery school) and in-home care; rural care; care for children with extra support needs; and culturally sensitive care.
Child care that complements other policies and services for families, including those with a parent at home.
Improved parental rights and benefits.

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OUR GOALS

What are the goals of Parent Voices?

We work in partnership with parents and existing parent groups. We provide support and resources for parents to:

Better understand local, provincial/territorial and pan-Canadian child care issues.
Come together and share information, experiences and strategies.
Build strong links – in their own communities, regionally, across Canada, and with other equity-seeking groups.
Influence child care policies at all levels of government.
Bring parent perspectives to child care advocacy efforts.

What will the project do?

Develop a pan-Canadian Parent Voices network with a grassroots foundation. We’ll work with community-based parent groups and networks already on the go, and with emerging groups.
Provide information and tools to share and use – bulletins, flyers, practical advocacy tips, articles and parent advocacy activities across Canada. All of these tools will be available on our web page.
Provide hands-on support to interested parent groups. This includes finding statistics and articles on request, providing ways to share community-based campaign strategies, helping with local information flyers and linking different parent groups with one another.

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CONTACT US

To find out more, contact: Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada,
151 Slater Street Suite 714, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3. Telephone: (613) 594-3196.
Web site: www.ccaac.ca
OR Dianne Goldberg, Project Consultant, E-mail: info@parentvoices.ca

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