British Columbia announces pilot program to help the province's most vulnerable refugees

Last week, the government of British Columbia (BC) announced a new, $7.2-million pilot program that offers young refugee children in BC and their families safe and comfortable places where the needs of the children can be assessed, and where their parents and caregivers can share experiences and learn about early childhood development and learning.

The Early Years Refugee Pilot Project is focused on helping young refugee children (aged zero to six) in BC and their families, many of whom have experienced trauma in refugee camps and war-torn countries.

"Our government is committed to ensuring that refugee children and their families, often traumatized by the life they leave behind, receive relevant services that help them adjust to their new life in our province," said British Columbia Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development Moira Stilwell.

The end goal of the program is to transition the young refugees into mainstream British Columbia services and resources, and ultimately into early learning centres and schools.

"This $7.2-million in targeted funding is critical to provide meaningful services that will help transitions for young BC refugees and their caregivers, smoothing the way for their future in British Columbia," Stilwell said.

The pilot project has five centres in BC's Lower Mainland, located in Langley, Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby and Tri-Cities. In addition, in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, there will be an outreach program instead of a centre, and program workers will visit and work with the families in their homes.

The pilot project will be in effect until December 31, 2010, after which they will be evaluated to inform future early childhood support projects for immigrants and refugees.

The program is being provided through Welcome BC, the province’s immigration and settlement resource. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) transfers approximately $120-million per year to the BC government to administer settlement services as part of the Agreement for Canada-BC Co-operation on Immigration, and Welcome BC is supported by this agreement.

"This government is committed to helping refugees and their families succeed in Canada. Programs such as the Early Years Refugee Pilot project assist young newcomers and their families on the path to integration," said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada Minister Jason Kenney.

"We are very pleased to be working in partnership with the Province of BC to support these early learning centres and to make newcomers feel safe and comfortable in their new surroundings."