Family Literacy in the Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories Literacy Council (NWTLC) is a territory-wide organization whose mandate is to promote and support literacy development in all the official languages of the NWT. NWTLC is the lead organization for family literacy development and program coordination. In this role it:

• trains and supports family literacy programs and practitioners
• develops resources to support family literacy programming
• builds community partnerships to integrate family literacy programming into existing community-based family and early childhood services
• supports a network for practitioners, volunteers and agencies involved in family literacy.

How is family literacy funded in the Northwest Territories?

In May 2001, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) published its strategy to address the needs of young children in the NWT. The strategy, Framework for Action: Early Childhood Development, outlined four key areas of focus:

• Health and Wellness Awareness and Risk Prevention
• Parenting and Family Support
• Child Development—Care and Learning
• Community Supports and Capacity Building.

A new literacy strategy is being developed. Part of the new strategy will formalize programs for children.

As the NWTLC had already been playing a lead role in the development and delivering of family literacy programs and supports, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment partnered with it to:

• develop and deliver regional family literacy training institutes to people from all communities
• distribute funding and provide support to community family literacy projects
• provide community outreach to family literacy providers
• develop and support the distribution of Family Learning Kits (literacy backpacks).

This new source of funding (from HRSDC) provided a more solid funding base for family literacy programming.