Oliver Centre - Edmonton

Oliver Centre has been a not-for-profit community agency providing children's services and family resources since its inception in May of 1980 as an Out of School Care program serving 22 children. The Centre now has an enrollment of over 300 children and their families, through a variety of programs.

Due to the transient population of the neighborhood and to the continual requests for child care for younger children. The preschool program emerged in January of 1986. Oliver Centre expanded its preschool program in September of 1990, to include children as young as 13 months. Currently we are serving 58 children and their families in a Head Start program with wrap around Child Care. This service enables low-income families to remain in the workforce and student families to complete their education. The addition of younger children and the later expansion of Head Start Child Care spaces has been a stabilizing factor for our families.

In 1996, Half-day Head Start was introduced as a satellite program located in Calder Elementary School in order to serve a high needs neighborhood. To date, the Centre has a second site at Oliver now accommodating 122 children and families between both programs. Due to the over crowding of schools in the Edmonton area the Half Day Head Start has moved to Dover Court School for the September 2013-2014 school year.

In 1997, Success by 6© requested Oliver Centre to administer the first Classroom on Wheels program. This was a unique program that travelled into communities, bringing services directly to pre-school children and families who may have needed additional supports due to the effects of poverty. This program expanded to provide a toddler/infant program; both programs served approximately 80 children per week. The Classroom on Wheels Program ended in the summer of 2006.

As an acknowledgement that the majority of our families are living below the poverty line, the services have expanded to better help children and families. Social Workers, teachers, early childhood educators and a speech/language pathologist have been added to our program, providing early intervention services to all of our families.

All the children in the mentioned programs receive developmental screenings, speech/language assessments, Occupational Therapy assessments, and primary/mental health screenings. For the children needing extra supports to be put in place, funding is sought to provide them with various services. The goal of the various programs is to provide children with social and school readiness skills. Parents are supported through home visitation and parent groups.

Over the years, the Board has become more pro-active, and involved with the expansion of the Centre. The Centre provides supports and services to meet the needs of families and children with multi-abilities and multi-ethnic backgrounds. This action has often led to financial challenges. Actively seeking assistance from varied funding sources currently numbering ten (10) requires an inordinate amount of time. Typical-funding contracts are usually for one (1) to three (3) years. Feelings of uncertainty regarding ongoing services to our children, families and job security for staff are a direct outcome of contract funding.

The "vision" for the future is to obtain sustainable funding for all programs served by Oliver Centre.