Daycare helps at-risk kids
The Daily News (Nanaimo) - Canwest News Service
June 4, 2008

Students who are at risk of developing behavioural problems and learning difficulties can be identified as early as Grade 1, a new Quebec study shows.

The study links risk factors like poverty, dysfunctional families and lack of neighbourhood safety to difficult behaviour and poor grades.

"From a very young age, these kids are already behind," said Christa Japel, a Universite de Quebec a Montreal researcher who presented the study Tuesday as part of the Institute for Research on Public Policy symposium.

Better access to quality daycare early in life would help them succeed in Grade 1 and beyond, Japel said.

The study recommends "early, intensive and continuous interventions from pregnancy to school" to help children come out ahead.

The study, "Vulnerable Children in Canada: Research Insights and Policy Options," … evaluated over 2,000 children born in Quebec between October 1997 and July 1998.