Acknowledgements
T
hese Guidelines have been made possible by the groundwork undertaken by a number of people in the Caribbean region and elsewhere.
Technical and financial assistance to early childhood development in the Caribbean region has enabled the development of standards and regulatory mechanisms in many countries and highlighted the need for comprehensive policy in the sector. The assistance of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Caribbean Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank and the University of the West Indies (Caribbean Child Development Centre and Institute of Education) is acknowledged with gratitude. Leon Charles, Development Consultant, undertook research on the status of policy development within the region, with particular reference to the Windward Islands, and drew on the international work in planning policies for early childhood development undertaken by Emily Vargas-Baron of the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development. This work informed Chapters 1, 2 and 3. Barry Carrington, Attorney-at-Law, Director of the Office of Public Counsel, Barbados and Idamay Denny, Deputy Chief Education Officer (Planning and Development), Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport, Barbados, provided guidance on the technical aspects of establishing regulatory frameworks and of managing the implementation processes. This work laid the foundation for Chapters 4, 5 and 6 The Early Childhood Development Minimum Service Standard for the Caribbean was drafted at the CARICOM Policies and Standards Regional Workshop, Antigua, September 25-28, 2006, made possible by funding from UNESCO and UNICEF with Inter-American Bank and Caribbean Development Bank, and facilitated by Leon Charles and Sian Williams, UNICEF Early Childhood Development Adviser for the Caribbean. The following representatives drafted the standard: Earla Esdaille, Antigua and Barbuda; Ellenita Harrigan, Anguilla Catherine Blackman, Barbados; Joeann Smith and Jennifer de Rosa Holder, Bermuda; Agatha Archer, Commonwealth of The Bahamas;
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Developing Policy, Regulation and Standards in