What is Understanding the Early Years?

Understanding the Early Years (UEY) is a national initiative that enables members of communities across Canada to better understand the needs of their young children and families so that they can determine the best programs and services to meet local needs.

The UEY initiative provides members of participating communities with quality information on the school readiness of their kindergarten children; family and community factors that influence children’s development; and the availability of local resources to support young children and their families.  Parents, teachers, key decision-makers, and others interested in the well-being of children in each community can then work together to address the needs of children from birth to age six.

UEY aims to involve children from all backgrounds including Aboriginal children, children of new immigrants, children in official language minority communities and children in disadvantaged circumstances.

History of UEY

UEY began in 1999 as a pilot research initiative to enhance knowledge about community factors that influence the early development of children and to enhance the development of local action plans to address community needs.  UEY became a national initiative in 2004 when the first group of 21 communities received funding in the fall of 2005.  The second group of 15 communities, which included Kamloops, received their initial funding in the spring of 2007.