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News from Ontario: a message from Linda Taylor, Home Child Care Association of Ontario Member Services The Home Child Care Association of Ontario (HCCAO) is conducting a pilot study of a caregiver home study tool called “I Care for Kids, I Care for Quality.” This quality caregiving tool was developed and tested by the Elora Group as part of a caregiver accreditation pilot project in 2003/2004 and was given to the HCCAO in October, 2004 for use among member agencies. Manitoulin Family Resources Inc. Home Child Care and Region of Waterloo Home Child Care are the two sites for the current project. Both of these home child care agencies have launched the tool with their caregivers and are reviewing and evaluating the experience of caregivers and staff in the use of this self-evaluation tool. Several evaluation activities are taking place over the course of the pilot project and a number of collateral activities are taking place in both agencies to support the caregiver and staff experience. The results of the pilot project will be shared with members of the HCCAO at their Annual Conference on October 19-21, 2005 in Ingersol, Ontario. The home study guide is the first comprehensive quality self-evaluation tool available for home child caregivers in Ontario. The six sections of the guide represent standards of quality that are based on research and “best practice” in home child care. Whether used alone, or as a tool to compliment other quality initiatives such as Reggio Emilia, High/Scope, the Family Day Care Rating Scale or Raising the Bar, the home study guide is believed to be an important step toward increasing quality and standardizing home child care practice across the province of Ontario. It is believed that the “I Care for Kids, I Care for Quality” program will assist the home child care sector in continuing to be an equal quality child care choice for children and families. For more information about the Home Child Care Association of Ontario, please visit www.hccao.com For more information about the Annual HCCAO Conference, please contact Eileen Smith at eileen.oeyc@lcc.on.ca or Brenda Pearson at bpearson@oxfordccc.ca. For more information about the “I Care for Kids, I Care for Quality” initiative, please contact: Linda Taylor
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