How are our young children doing? : Final report of the Early Child development Mapping project (ECMap)

A number of pilot studies of early and community resources, development have been conducted in Alberta in the • studied the impact of socio-economic factors and community resources on early development, and past, but these were limited in size and scope. [...] The ECD • built the capacity of communities to tap into local Mapping Initiative was the first population-based study of knowledge and expertise to share, interpret and preschool children to encompass the whole province. [...] The percentage of children experiencing great difficulty in one or more areas of development ranged from a high of 53 per cent in one community to a low of 12 per cent in another community, as compared to the Canadian norm of 25.4 per cent. [...] Studies have shown that the greater the difference between the highest and lowest income groups (that is the greater the economic inequities), the greater are the problems in early development and the years that follow at school and in adulthood. [...] Building community capacity ECMap community development coordinators were based in ten zones throughout the province to facilitate the development of community coalitions and collaborate with existing coalitions to promote positive early development locally and further the work of the project.