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Yukon pre-school children will benefit from a new funding agreement between the Department of Education and three child care organizations.
The department's advanced education branch is providing $80,000 to the Yukon Child Care Association, the Yukon Child Care Board and the Society of Yukon Family Day Homes.
The funds, announced recently, are to provide training opportunities for child care workers so they can help address the literacy needs of pre-school-age children.
"It is fundamentally important we work to provide Yukon people of all ages with opportunities to gain the literacy skills they need to be successful in life," Education Minister Cynthia Tucker said in a statement.
"Providing those opportunities to Yukon pre-schoolers by supporting effective training for their caregivers is especially significant."
"The Society of Yukon Family Day Homes is happy to be part of the group receiving literacy training funding," Karen Blysak Macklon said in the statement.
"Increased training and learning opportunities and professional development in the child care field will provide benefits to children through further training and education of their caregivers."
"This funding will allow us to provide specialized training to caregivers, including child care workers, family day home providers, group home workers and foster parents," said association president Becky Scherer.
"It means that through a variety of methods - early childhood development courses, mentoring and workshops - caregivers will develop their abilities to provide early literacy support to preschool children."
The government is acting upon a commitment in the 2001 Yukon Literacy Strategy to help child care organizations and agencies to develop training programs on early childhood literacy.
The branch prepared the literacy strategy after consultation with Yukon organizations, governments, professionals and individuals, the statement said.
reprinted from The Whitehorse Star.