Coast Garibaldi receives a B minus, focus on child care The grades are in for the Coast Garibaldi region’s health. The Community Health Council, Community Health Services Society and the Ministry for Children and Families looked at all factors regarding health and gave Coast Garibaldi a B-minus in their Regional Profile. The 1998 profile focused on children and youth. Overall the profile shows children and youth in Coast Garibaldi to be among the healthiest in the province. However the report goes on to say that further action is needed if all children are to achieve the same high level of health enjoyed by the top group. One of the recommendations of the report is that action be taken to reduce child poverty and provide decent child care. "We should support families who want to look after their children at home by providing training in parenting skills and financial incentives," says the report. "And we should ensure that those who need child care outside the home receive child care services that are high quality, accessible without financial barriers and accountable. Just as children five years of age and older have universal access to education, so too should children under five have universal access to quality care and education. General findings in the report find that the crime rate, birth rate, asthma hospitalization rate, unemployment and the number of students fully immunized have all decreased. On the other hand, life expectancy, overall poverty, instances of teen pregnancy, smoking rates for youth and unintentional injury rates have all increased.
