News release

Literacy Pilot Project to Benefit Newborns, Their Families

Education (July 1999 - March 2013)

EDUCATION--Literacy Pilot Project to Benefit Newborns, Their Families


Education Minister Jane Purves and author Sheree Fitch were among the dignitaries on hand to launch the Read to Me! literacy pilot program this morning at the IWK Health Centre.

The Read to Me! program will introduce reading from an early age to all Nova Scotia newborns and their families. The pilot program will begin at the IWK Health Centre (about 5,000 births each year), the Cape Breton Regional Healthcare Complex (about 1,200 births each year) and the Yarmouth Regional Hospital (about 450 births each year).

Read To Me! will present each newborn and family at these sites with a gift bag that includes infant books, baby's first library card, and a booklet on reading development and community resources.

"The Read to Me! program will welcome every newborn in the province into the world with the gift of books," said Carol McDougall, director, Read to Me! Nova Scotia Family Literacy Program. "It will ensure that every child has the best possible start by presenting them with their first books at birth."

The IWK Health Centre is partnering in this new family literacy initiative with the Nova Scotia Department of Education, Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), the Halifax Youth Foundation, the IWK Auxiliary and the CBC.

"The Nova Scotia government continues to support literacy at all levels -- in the early years to improve literacy in young children, through the public school system and in adult programs," said Education Minister Jane Purves. "The Read to Me! program is the perfect foundation to build upon this comprehensive approach."

"The government of Canada has set skills and learning as a main priority in the coming years," said Robert Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of Jane Stewart, Minister of HRDC. "Literacy is at the very heart of skill development and lifelong learning, so a program which serves to reach our newest Canadians will certainly prove beneficial to the future of our country."

In the second year, the program will expand to reach all newborns in Nova Scotia (about 10,000 newborns) and their families. The final phase of the Read to Me! Program will involve the distribution of books to children in the Emergency Department at the IWK Health Centre. It is anticipated that this model will be adapted in pediatric emergency departments across Canada.

Research has shown that development in a child's early years is critical in influencing educational, career and social success. Also, literacy skill has been shown to correlate significantly with socio-economic status. The 1995 International Adult Literacy Survey showed that more than half of Atlantic Canadians struggle with literacy. In 1999, Nova Scotia had the second-highest child poverty rate in Canada.

Concentrating efforts and resources towards the crucial early years can play an important role in breaking this cycle.