Researchers

Nobel laureate Dr. James Heckman will be among the many experts coming to Moose Jaw this May for a comprehensive conference on early childhood development (ECD).

Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, will be the keynote speaker for Imagine Our Future – Investing in the Early Years, May 9 to 11.

The Moose Jaw Early Childhood Coalition is hosting the conference. Among those joining Heckman will be Dr. Stuart Shanker, Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at York University; Dr. Clyde Hertzman from UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership; Jim Grieve, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario ELD; and Dr. Jean Clinton, McMaster University.

Aboriginal children make up a quarter of Saskatchewan’s child population, but they account for 80 per cent of the children within the child welfare system.

This is one of the key findings from a new report called Kiskisik Awasisak: Remember the Children, Understanding the Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in the Child Welfare System.

The report on Aboriginal children is part of the overall Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse 2008. It was put together from data in 2008 by a team from universities across the country and follows up similar reports using data from 2003 and 1998.

This month, in Saskatoon, one of the research team members, Dr. Vandna Sinha, assistant professor from McGill University’s Centre for Research for Children and Families, outlined the report’s findings concerning the characteristics of children and caregivers, of households, of cases and forms of maltreatment.

“Neglect is the primary category of maltreatment in 46 per cent of investigations,” Sinha said.

A new report from the Canadian Pediatric Society adds further support to the call for more investment in early learning and child care.

Are We Doing Enough? A status report on Canadian public policy and child and youth health cites the economic rationale behind early learning and care, saying the return to society on money invested ranges from $4-8 for every $1 invested.

It also cites the high costs and lost productivity associated with child poverty as well as mental illness, which can be prevented or at least treated more effectively and less expensively through early intervention rather than later in life.

The University of Saskatchewan's Innovation Place will be the site of a gathering this month to examine First Nations children and their representation in the child welfare system. The event takes place Jan. 17 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the University of Regina's Faculty of Social Work Saskatoon Campus, Classroom 1 - The Atrium, Innovation Place (153-111 Research Dr.), Saskatoon.

The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Vandha Sinha, assistant professor at McGill University’s Centre for Research for Children and Families, on “Kiskisik Awasisak: Remember the Children, Understanding the Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in the Child Welfare System.”

Kiskisik Awasisak was publicly released on Nov. 14, 2011, and is the first report of the First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008.

The full report can be viewed online, as can a briefing document.

Canadians 55 and older think younger adults should “wait their turn” when it comes sharing in the country’s wealth, despite evidence that it’s getting harder for adults with young children to raise families.

This was a finding from a recent poll conducted for UBC researchers Paul Kershaw and Lynell Anderson from the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP). The poll included respondents from Saskatchewan, as well as those in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada; the full polling data is available here.

UBC researchers commissioned this poll as a follow-up to the release of their national report card, Does Canada Work for All Generations? The report looked at the challenges today’s young families – Generation Squeezed – are facing across the country.

Kershaw partnered with kidSKAN’s Nazeem Muhajarine and Sue Delanoy to release the report card at the University of Saskatchewan on Oct. 18. The Generation Squeezed story received media attention across the country and even from the New York Times.

We’re encouraging members in kidSKAN to fill out a survey on new physical activity/sedentary behaviour guidelines for children aged 0-4 that are being developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP).

New Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for older children were released in January 2011.

CSEP is looking for feedback on the draft guidelines. The link to the survey monkey is only open for 10 days, so fill it out quickly. It should only take about 10 minutes.