Final Version Included In The Tri-Cities Children's Accord

On May 12, 2016, the Tri-Cities Children's Accord (including the final version of the Tri-Cities Children's Charter of Rights) was signed in front of over 180 people at the 7th Annual Tri-Cities Champions for Young Children Awards of Excellence Event.

Thanks to all of the Early and Middle Childhood Public Partners for agreeing that the Early and Middle Childhood Years (birth to 12 years) are critical in the healthy development and future well-being of children in our communities.

Here's a bit of background information on the journey…

At the 2nd Annual Tri-Cities Champions for Young Children Awards of Excellence Event in 2011, our public partners (collectively known as Early Childhood Public Partners) signed the Tri-Cities Early Childhood Development Community Accord. This important document affirms their recognition of the importance of supporting early childhood development. The Accord has been re-affirmed each year since, at the same event.

In June 2015, at a meeting of the Early Childhood Public Partners, Susan Foster (Tri-Cities Early Childhood Development Community Development Co-ordinator) and Angelo Lam (Tri-Cities Middle Childhood Matters Coordinator) presented the Tri-Cities Children's Charter of Rights to discuss the possibility of including the Charter in the Accord. The idea was favourably received and required some updating of the Tri-Cities Early Childhood Development Community Accord.

At the November 2015 meeting of the Early Childhood Public Partners, an updated version of the Tri-Cities Early Childhood Development Community Accord was presented by Susan and Angelo. These were the key updates:

  • The name of the Tri-Cities Early Childhood Development Community Accord was changed to the Tri-Cities Children's Accord.
  • The Accord now covers children ages 0-12. Previously, the Accord covered ages 0-5.
  • Signing parties are now collectively known as Early and Middle Childhood Public Partners.
  • The Tri-Cities Children Charter of Rights is now included in the Appendix.

On May 12, 2016, the Tri-Cities Children's Accord was signed. Since starting the Children's Charter journey on April 30, 2014, this has been a major milestone we've been focused on. This is also a new starting point for our work.

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