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January 25, 2000
Why do we need a National Children’s Agenda?
Trends from The Progress of Canada’s Children 1999/2000
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National Children’s Agenda Vision |
Progress of Canada’s Children reports: |
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1. Supporting parents and strengthening families |
- More families experiencing work/family tension in 1998
than 1991.
- Only 40% of parents mostly agree that "Canada values its young children."
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2. Enhancing early childhood development |
- Child care spaces have dropped or remained static over the last 5 years.
- Increasing evidence that quality early childhood care benefits development.
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3. Improving economic security for families |
- Two-thirds of Canadians report no improvement in finances over past 2 or 3 years.
- Income disparities among families continue to grow.
- Child poverty rate dropping slowly, but remains 50% higher than it was 10 years ago.
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4. Providing early and continuous learning experiences |
- Child care spaces have dropped or remained static over last 5 years.
- Public spending on education has risen, but fallen as a % of GNP.
- University tuition fees rose more than 125% between 1990 and 1999.
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5. Fostering strong, adolescent development |
- More teens are smoking.
- Youth run high risks of STDs. Sex education resources have dropped.
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6. Creating supportive, safe and violence-free communities |
- 300,000 children under 12 are reported to have witnessed violence at home in 1996 – down 8% from 1994.
- Youth crime rates are dropping.
- More children are under the care of child welfare agencies.
- Growing evidence shows that environmental pollution threatens children’s health.
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The Progress of Canada's Children 1999/2000 - Related Material
Canadian Council on Social Development,
190 O'Connor Street, Suite 100,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2R3
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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