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Decoda launches appeal to save long-standing family literacy program after federal funding cut

Published 2:28 PST, Mon January 27, 2025
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Decoda Literacy Solutions, B.C.'s literacy organization, is marking Family Literacy Week (January 26 to February 2) by launching a campaign to save a long-standing family literacy program that helps newcomer families integrate into Canadian society.
In December, the organization learned that the federal government was cutting funding for a number of immigrant support services including Decoda's Immigrant Parents as Literacy Supporters (IPALS) program. The cuts came as a shock to Decoda, which had been receiving ongoing funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the past ten years and had expected the program's $450,000 annual budget to be renewed.
"This Family Literacy Week, we are asking literacy supporters across the province to help us save the IPALS program by making a donation, writing to elected officials and helping us raise awareness of what's at stake," says Sandra Lee, executive director of Decoda Literacy Solutions. "Newcomer families aren't just facing language and cultural barriers—they are navigating a new world of educational approaches. This program helps set them up for success and prepares them for the Canadian school system, but it's now at severe risk of shutting down."
For the past 10 years, Decoda's IPALS program has provided over 4,500 newcomer parents and caregivers the opportunity to improve their language and literacy skills and help their young children with early literacy activities, supporting their successful integration into Canadian society. The program is offered in 19 communities across B.C. in partnership with school districts, settlement organizations, local community organizations and libraries.
“Attending IPALS was a very good experience for me as a parent and for my daughter. IPALS helped me a lot with learning materials and I really like that my kid is learning new skills. My daughter is enjoying her time engaging with other kids and adapting to the Canadian education system. I am really looking forward to more sessions with our teacher. We are learning a lot” Jeallagan, parent (IPALS Program participant in Richmond, 2023)
"As an immigrant mom, IPALS has helped me feel confident in how I'm helping my son adapt to a new country with a new language and obstacles," says Karla Castellanos, an IPALS parent participant in Victoria. "I am so grateful that this kind of program exists and makes my world a lot easier."
IPALS provides support during a critical time in a child's development and lays the groundwork for their future success. Studies by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have shown that children whose parents read a book to them "every day or almost every day" or "once or twice a week" during the first year of elementary school score markedly higher on tests than children whose parents read to them less often or not at all. This difference in performance is equivalent to half a year's worth of schooling.
"IPALS is a great way for parents to learn how they can help their children become kindergarten ready," says Jasdip Jhajj, an IPALS facilitator with the Abbotsford School District. "IPALS provides tools and books to families who may not have access to supplies to help their children's learning and growth. Parents are also able to see if their children are meeting the milestones that they should be meeting. This way, the parent can get support for their child early on before they start kindergarten.
"For Canada to see the full benefit of welcoming newcomers, they need to be provided with supports to help ease their integration into our communities and economy," continues Lee.
"While we understand that immigration numbers have been reduced for the coming years, the government will still be bringing hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees each year and has a duty to those who are already here. Abandoning them will cost our society much more in the long run."
While Decoda does not expect the federal government to reverse its funding decision, it is holding out hope that other levels of government will step up to help fund the program.
People who are interested in supporting the IPALS program can visit Decoda's website (decoda.ca/saveipals) to:
- Donate to directly support the program
- Send a letter to their MLA
- Send a message of support
- Spread the word amongst others
Family Literacy Week is celebrated each year by families, schools, libraries and communities across B.C. and highlights the importance of families learning together through daily activities.