Toronto, Ontario had one of the first family literacy programs in Canada. Developed by Mary Gordon in the 1980s, at the Toronto Public School board, the Parenting and Family Literacy Centre programs continue to teach parents and caregivers why and how to read to their young children.
Over the years a number of organizations that focus primarily on adult literacy, have developed family literacy and/or youth programming. For example, Project READ Literacy Network and Kingston Literacy have been very active in the field of family literacy; the Wellington County Learning Centre has had a youth literacy program (for youth still in school) since 1991.
Another nationally well-known family literacy concept that started in Ontario is the Parent-Child Mother Goose program. Since 1986 this program has operated as a non- profit, charitable organization. By the late 1990s Parent-Child Mother Goose programs were available in many provinces.
How is Family Literacy funded in Ontario?
Funding for family literacy in which the adult is the primary recipient of programming has ebbed and flowed over the years. In the early to mid 1990s project-based funding was available from both the provincial Footnote 14 and federal governments. By the mid 1990s this funding had dried up. Programs that focused on improving the literacy skills of children were no longer funded by government departments whose focus was on improving the literacy skills of adults. Family literacy programs that continued did so through their own fund-raising efforts.
By 2000 the pendulum had swung back. For example, funding from the National Literacy Secretariat allowed the Ontario Literacy Coalition to work with practitioners to create Action of Family Literacy Ontario (AFLO). AFLO was launched in 2003 under the leadership and guidance of the OLC, with an initial 3-year funding grant from the National Literacy Secretariat. Between 2000 and 2006 AFLO worked on a number of family literacy initiatives. Although funding has once again “dried up”, volunteers (literacy practitioners) are attempting to keep AFLO active.
Return to note 14 In Ontario, the Ministry of Education focuses on the K to 12 and continuing education aspects of learning. Adult literacy programs, which are delivered by a variety of sectors (including school boards), are funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Other ministries, such as the Ministry of Child and Youth Services, can also provide funding for family literacy when the focus is on the child or youth.