National Child Day Recognized

Community Services Minister David Morse called on all Nova Scotians to celebrate children during National Child Day, a day to recognize how supporting children today will help us create a healthy and strong tomorrow. National Child Day is celebrated every Nov. 20 in Canada.

"Our programs and services for children and their families support their health, growth and development," said Mr. Morse. "National Child Day is a special time to celebrate children and reflect on the importance of healthy and happy children in our society."

Nova Scotia supports children and families in a variety of ways. The province's Early Childhood Development Initiative (ECDI) is an extensive system of child and family programs and initiatives that include child-care subsidies, parent education and supports, home-visiting services, enhanced training for child-care practitioners, inclusion initiatives for children with special needs and early language and learning services. The ECDI is a jointly funded program that was developed through the federal- provincial-territorial Agreement on Early Childhood Development. More than $12 million has already been invested in children's services in Nova Scotia through the initiative.

Community Services also co-ordinates the province's child-welfare system, which works with families and communities to ensure the safety and well-being of all children. It also oversees the recruitment and support of foster parents and co-ordinates adoption services across the province.

To increase support for children and youths in crisis, the Department of Community Services recently opened the Wood Street Centre, the only secure-care centre east of Montreal. Wood Street Centre helps young people in the care of the Minister of Community Services who need treatment in a secure setting for their safety and well-being.

Community Services also helps low-income families with the cost of child care and provides services that support healthy growth and development. The Nova Scotia Child Benefit Initiative provides low-income families with monthly payments to assist with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age.

To ensure that children of low- to moderate-income families have safe and adequate housing, Community Services offers a wide range of housing programs and services to low-income families in Nova Scotia. Low-income households also benefit from subsidies to housing co-operatives and non-profit housing projects, in addition to mortgages to purchase or build modest homes. The province provides grants or loans for home repairs and renovations to more than 6,000 low-income households and rental housing accommodations or rent supplements to almost 4,500 fixed or low-income families. The new Affordable Housing Program will enable Nova Scotia to create or renovate up to 1,500 affordable housing units for low- to moderate-income households in Nova Scotia over the next five years.

"We must nurture our children to help them grow into healthy and confident adults. Our children have incredible potential to be the backbone of our communities and a driving force behind a prosperous and healthy society in the future," said the minister.