PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)
ADDITIONAL FINANCING
Report No.: PIDA2376
Project Name Early Childhood Development Project (P147074)
Parent Project Name Jamaica Early Childhood Development Project (P095673)
Region LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Country Jamaica
Sector(s) Pre-primary education (100%)
Theme(s) Child health (100%)
Lending Instrument Investment Project Financing
Project ID P147074
Parent Project ID P095673
Borrower(s) Ministry of Finance
Implementing Agency EARLY CHILDHOOD COMMISSION
Environmental Category C-Not Required
Date PID Prepared/Updated 20-Nov-2013
Date PID Approved/Disclosed 02-Dec-2013
Estimated Date of Appraisal 11-Dec-2013
Completion
Estimated Date of Board 11-Feb-2014
Approval
Decision a. Authorized the team to appraise and negotiate.
b. Authorized the team to seek an earlier Board date.
c. The team would consider the possibility of incorporating
retroactive financing so that disbursement can occur as soon as the
project becomes effective.
d. The team would explore the option of a higher value for
the initial DLTs to enable the client to meet the peak financing gap
requirements expected around October 2014.
e. Project preparation risk will be rated as Low, Project
implementation risk will be rated as Moderate, and Country Risk
will be rated as High.
I. Project Context
Country Context
Jamaica is a small, lower-middle income country with economic and human development indicators
below most countries in the Caribbean region. It is the largest English speaking country in the
Caribbean, is a small upper middle income country with a long history of elusive growth, high debt
and great exposure to shocks and natural disasters. While overall inequality remains relatively low
compared to the rest of the region, people at the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution have
Page 1 of 5
suffered more than the average household in recent years, and inequality and poverty have been
constantly rising since 2008. Unemployment has substantially increased, especially among women
and young people. Jamaica was hit hard by the global economic crisis, as tourism and bauxite
revenues plummeted, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and remittances declined, and the economy
contracted by 1.2 percent on average per year between 2009 and 2011. As in many other small open
economies, economic recovery has been subdued. Moreover, Jamaica faces extreme difficulties in
improving its debt situation. To avert a crisis and return to macroeconomic sustainability and
growth, an agreement has been reached with the IMF on an ambitious economic reform for US
$932.3 million, supported by a four year Extended Fund Facility approved in May 2013.
Sectoral and institutional Context
Since 2008, the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) has been implementing its first NSP for ECD
2008-2013. This plan served as a road map for improving the quality of ECD in the country. The
NSP has proved to be a carefully crafted, comprehensive, unifying and guiding tool that helped
coordination among the various implementing agencies, including: Early Childhood Commission
(ECC), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Ministry
of Finance and Planning and HEART Trust. The Gross enrollment rate at ECD level is 99 percent
and there are no significant differences by income quintile, gender and geographical location.
Progress has been made in each of the seven areas as follows:
Area 1. Access to Effective Early Childhood Parenting Education and Support. GoJ developed the
National Parenting Strategy, established parenting standards and an accreditation system for early
childhood parenting education programs in 2010, and, the National Parenting Support Commission
was established.
Area 2. Effective Preventive Health care for Children 0-6 Years Old.Child Health and Development
Passport (CHDP) was introduced to monitor holistic development of children, resulting in every
child born since September 1, 2010 being issued a CHDP. In addition, a service delivery model for
nutrition support for 4-6 years old, an Infant and Young Child Feeding Policy, and an accreditation
system for health centers offering well-child clinics were approved.
Area 3. Effective Screening, Diagnosis and early Intervention for At-Risk Households and
Children. The first line screening tool (The Eleven Question Screen) was institutionalized for high
risk-households. In addition, a comprehensive screening tool was developed in 2013, and the first
batch of students was enrolled in the child therapy program.
Area 4. Safe, Learner-Oriented, Well-maintained Early Childhood Facilities. Inspectors were
recruited and trained to inspect ECIs. The ECC also trained and deployed development officers to
support decentralized ECD activities. Approximately 92 percent of all ECIs have received at least
one inspection, and 52 percent have been issued with a permit to operate.
Area 5. Effective Delivery of the Curriculum through Trained Early Childhood Practitioners and
Teachers. Comprehensive human resource strategy for ECD practitioners was approved by the ECC
Board in 2010. The percentage of ECD practitioners with only basic qualifications (level I) has
fallen drastically and the percentage of ECIs with at least one level III or IV practitioner has
increased substantially. The ECC, in collaboration with other key actors, developed, piloted and
Page 2 of 5
approved an ECD standardized curriculum in 2012 and a classroom observation tool for use by all
development officers.
Area 6. Frameworks that promote achieving results in a consultative environment. Governance
framework was put in place to promote coordination across the Ministry of Health (MOH),
Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MLSS), HEART Trust, Child Development Agency,
Ministry of Education, Planning Institute of Jamaica, and Ministry of Finance and Public Service
was established, and a concept paper for development of an ECD policy was completed.
Area 7. Timely, Clear and Current Appropriate Information to Support Evidence-based Decision
Making. National early childhood Management Information System (MIS) has been established. In
addition, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) added a child development module to the Survey
of Living Conditions in 2009 to track ECD outcomes at the national level.
II. Proposed Development Objectives
A. Current Project Development Objectives – Parent
The Project endorses the objectives of the National Strategic Plan. Its Development Objective is to:
(i) improve the monitoring of children's development, the screening of household-level risks, and
the risk mitigation and early intervention systems; (ii) enhance the quality of early childhood
schools and care facilities; and (iii) strengthen Early Childhood organizations and institutions.
B. Proposed Project Development Objectives – Additional Financing (AF)
The Project endorses the objectives of the National Strategic Plan. Its development objectives are
to: (i) improve parenting education and support programs; (ii) improve monitoring of children’s
development, the screening of household level risks, and the risk mitigation and early intervention
systems, (iii) enhance the quality of early childhood schools and care facilities; and (iv) strengthen
early childhood organizations and institutions.
III. Project Description
Component Name
Component 1: The AF will support implementation NSP activities through SWAP Modalities.
Comments (optional)
Will support all the seven areas of the NSP.
Component Name
Component 2: Technical assistance, studies and materials for ECIs.
Comments (optional)
Component two under AF will support technical assistance and materials required to achieve the
objectives of the NSP 2013 -2018.
IV. Financing (in USD Million)
Total Project Cost: 14.00 Total Bank Financing: 12.00
Financing Gap: 0.00
For Loans/Credits/Others Amount
Borrower 2.00
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 12.00
Page 3 of 5
Total 14.00
V. Implementation
The ECC will be responsible for overall Project implementation. As the Project's Implementing
Entity, the ECC, a statutory body within the MoE, will enter into a Subsidiary Agreement with
Jamaica that will detail the obligations of both parties in the execution of the Loan including, inter
alia, articles governing the utilization of the funds, withdrawal and disbursement mechanisms, and
project execution. During Project implementation, the ECC will ensure that legal requirements are
met, including the timely audit of the Project, facilitate Project supervision, including the monitoring
of Project indicators, and respond to project-related, external inquiries.
Project implementation arrangements will build on the institutional arrangement of the NSP. The
NSP will serve as the overarching action framework for activities to improve ECD system
performance carried out by a wide-range of ECD organizations (hereafter referred to as participating
entities). The implementation of the NSP will be coordinated by the ECC, which will enter into
annual Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with each of the participating entities. The MoU's shall
detail the roles, responsibilities and obligations of each of the signatories, including timetables for
achieving disbursement-linked targets, requisite budget allocations and reporting requirements vis-a-
vis the ECC. The ECC's Chairman will lead discussions with the MoFPS about increases of the
resource envelope for ECD each year in
November. Its Directorate for Cross-Sectoral Coordination will coordinate the budgeting of ECD
activities across participating entities and prepare an ECD system-wide budget proposal
and, together with the Directorate of Finance, & Information Technology, monitor resource
availability, resource use, progress in the implementation of activities as well as progress
towards the NSP objectives.
The ECC will carry out Project-specific implementation activities with support from the
participating entities. As regards to Component 1, the ECC will enable the Bank to review proposals
for the system-wide budgets prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, will monitor (with support of
participating entities) expenditures under eligible budget lines established for the monitoring of
budgets and expenditures on disbursement-linked targets, will review and report to the Bank every
six months progress towards disbursement-linked targets and other Project indicators, and will
prepare and submit disbursement requests. As regards to component 2, the ECC will prepare and
carry out annual operation and procurement plans and submit disbursement requests. Project-
specific obligations of participating entities vis-a-vis the ECC will be established in the Project's
Operational Manual and the MoU's governing the relationship between the ECC and participating
entities within the context of the NSP. For both
components, the ECC will submit quarterly interim, unaudited financial reports (IFR's).
The flow of funds will differ for the two project components. Under Component loan resources 1,
will reimburse expenditures under eligible budget lines flowing through the Consolidated Fund at
the MoFPS to the MoE and to the ECC. Disbursements will take place twice a year, the first against
actual expenditures (to a maximum of US$1 million) and the second amount dependent on
achieving disbursement-linked targets. Under Component 2, activities will be reimbursed through
funds flowing from a designated account. 41, 'T.he lroject will use the report-based disbursement
mechanism for both components. Fhe ECC will be responsible for sending the following reports to
Page 4 of 5
the Bank: IFR's, a request for reimbursement of budget lines financed under Component 1 and a
request for reimbursement into the designated account for expenditures under Component 2.
VI. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation)
Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No
Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 ✖
Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 ✖
Forests OP/BP 4.36 ✖
Pest Management OP 4.09 ✖
Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 ✖
Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 ✖
Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 ✖
Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 ✖
Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 ✖
Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 ✖
Comments (optional)
VII. Contact point
World Bank
Contact: Harriet Nannyonjo
Title: Senior Education Specialist
Tel: 458-5907
Email: hnannyonjo@worldbank.org
Borrower/Client/Recipient
Name: Ministry of Finance
Contact:
Title:
Tel:
Email:
Implementing Agencies
Name: EARLY CHILDHOOD COMMISSION
Contact: Joan Reid
Title: Executive Director
Tel: 8769229296
Email: earlychildhoodcommission@ecc.gov.jm
VIII. For more information contact:
The InfoShop
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone: (202) 458-4500
Fax: (202) 522-1500
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop
Page 5 of 5