What is NCPC?
Niagara Children’s Planning Council (NCPC) is the local, provincially mandated Best Start Network, with representation from a multitude of sectors. Formed in 1998, the NCPC mandate is to improve collaborative and coordinated service system planning for improved outcomes for children and their families.
Backbone supports are provided to the NCPC by Niagara Region Children’s Services, the designated local service system manager for the licensed child care and early years system on behalf of the provincial government. Niagara Region Children’s Services works to ensure access to a coordinated and diverse range of affordable quality services and supports for children and families residing in Niagara.
How we work
Since 2015, the Niagara Children’s Planning Council (NCPC) has been working with Innoweave (https://innoweave.ca/) on a Youth CI project to improve the social-emotional well-being of children and youth in Niagara. The Launch phase (concluded in 2019) of the collective impact framework allowed for further testing of the Theory of Change, validated data and identified additional data gaps, strengthening the membership base and moving NCPC’s work to the point where it is ready for the Execution phase.
NCPC Meeting Information
The Niagara Children’s Planning Council meets on a regular basis throughout the year, unfortunately, due to Covid-19, all meetings are currently cancelled. Please watch this space for future meetings to be posted.
NCPC Governance Information
As NCPC’s collective impact work progresses, the governance structure of the Council is undergoing some changes to ensure that it is able to properly support the work that needs to be done.
Current structure includes:
- NCPC Chair – Darlene Edgar, Director of Niagara Region Children’s Services
- NCPC Full Council of all members
- Middle Years Development Instrument Working Group
- Infant Mental Health Working Group
- Book Bag Project Working Group
For additional information on any of these groups, please Contact Us.
NCPC Membership Information
NCPC’s diverse members are working collaboratively to improve the lives of the children and families that they serve. Membership is reflective of the diversity of organizations and services that are supporting children and families in Niagara. Any individual or organization interested in working to improve the well-being of children and families is welcome to participate – new members are always welcome!
Interested in learning more about the Council and how you can become involved? Contact Us.
