Special Needs Resourcing Supports

Resource and behaviour consultants

To request service, the child must be enrolled in licensed child care, licensed home child care or an EarlyON program.

• When to refer to a resource consultant
  • The DISC Preschool Screen score is six or less. If the score is higher, but the parent or child care / EarlyON staff has questions about the child’s development.
  • If the child has a diagnosis impacting development milestones
  • If the child does not have a diagnosis, but is involved with other agencies to support development
• When to refer to a behaviour consultant
  • The DISC Preschool Screen score is seven to 12 and there are no apparent developmental concerns
  • The child's behaviour / emotional self-regulation is presenting challenges in the early years environment
  • The Children's Actions, Relationships and Emotions (C.A.R.E) Behaviour Screening Tool has been completed. If C.A.R.E is not completed, refer to the pathways chart.
  • If the child has a mental health diagnosis impacting functional interactions and participation

Apply for a resource or behaviour consultant

Short-term specialized support funding

All Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care enrolled licensed child care agencies with program sites in Niagara can access and receive special needs resource services funded by Niagara Region.

This funding is for temporarily hiring additional non-ratio child care educators to help permanent staff implement recommendations from the resource consultant and behaviour consultant. The goal is to support inclusion for children with special needs. This is not one-to-one support and does not count toward staffing ratios.

Funding is approved in 14-week increments.

• When to apply for short-term specialized support funding

  Children 0-13 years of age may be eligible for short-term specialized support funding in a child care centre if they meet the following criteria.

  This child care centre:

  • Has reviewed the funding policy
  • Has an agreement with Niagara Region Children's Services
  • Has used and exhausted all internal and community supports, including training to build internal capacity and to address the needs of the child on an ongoing basis
  • Is consistent with implementation and monthly reporting requirements of Quality Child Care Niagara
  • Is compliant with any additional service agreement requirements with Niagara Region

  The child must be:

  • On a resource / behaviour consultant caseload and the consultant is available to visit the centre at least weekly to support the classroom educators, unless otherwise approved
  • Enrolled in the program for at least 20 days before funding is requested, unless otherwise approved
• Exhausting community supports

  Using and exhausting community supports means that you have:

  • Conducted a comprehensive environmental assessment, for example ITERS-3, ECERS-3, SACERS
  • Administered the Caregiver Interaction Scale
  • Collaborated with community partners / therapists to explore additional strategies, such as a child's SLP / OT
  • Consistently implemented recommended resource and behaviour consultant strategies
  • Attended relevant professional learning opportunities
• Funding considerations

  If the child requiring support is 0 to five years of age (or turning six between Jan. 1 and June 30), the child care centre must use their Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care allocation to fund additional staff, if funding is available within the centre's budget. Centres are advised to review their cost-based allocations internally.

  If the child care centre deems they do not have available funds in their allocation to cover the costs of additional staff, an application for short-term support funding can be submitted.

  When approved for short-term specialized support funding, you will need to submit invoices that demonstrate how funding is being used in your program. Watch how to complete an invoice for short-term specialized support funding.

• Application procedure
  1. The child care centre supervisor, in partnership with the resource / behaviour consultant, will complete the application form. The application form must be submitted at least five business days before the required start date, wherever possible.
  2. If funding is approved, the service system performance management advisor will email the approval document to the child care centre supervisor and resource / behaviour consultant. The approved hours of day and days of week will be for the first seven weeks of the funding approval.
  3. During the first seven weeks:
  • The child care centre supervisor will meet with the Quality Child Care Niagara advisor and complete a Program Inclusion Tool. The completed Program Inclusion Tool will be emailed to csreferrals@niagararegion.ca within five days of completion.
  • The resource / behaviour consultant and in-ratio educators will meet and complete the Classroom Inclusion Reflection Tool. The completed Classroom Inclusion Reflection Tool will be emailed to csreferrals@niagararegion.ca within five days of completion.
  • At the seven-week point, the service system performance management advisor will meet with the child care supervisor and resource / behaviour consultant to discuss and review the Program Inclusion Tool and Classroom Inclusion Reflection Tool to determine if the funding necessitates ongoing provision. Based on the meeting:
    • If ongoing hours are deemed necessary, the service system performance management advisor will send an approval document by email within three days of the date of the meeting to the child care centre supervisor and resource / behaviour consultant, for the remaining seven weeks of funding.
    • If the hours need to be increased or decreased, the service system performance management advisor will send an updated approval document by email within three days from the date of the meeting to the child care centre supervisor and resource / behaviour consultant, with the adjusted hours for the remaining seven weeks of funding.
  4. Should the licensed child care centre need to apply for continued support after the initial fourteen weeks, the short-term specialized funding renewal application must be completed by the deadline outlined in the funding approval. The need for ongoing support will be discussed at the meeting at the seven-week mark, between the child care centre supervisor, the resource / behaviour consultant and service system performance management advisor. Discussion will focus on the possibility of reducing hours of support for the new approval period.
  5. For any and all subsequent approvals beyond the original fourteen weeks, days and hours will be confirmed every seven weeks via csreferrals@niagararegion.ca. The child care centre supervisor and resource / behaviour consultant are responsible to confirm via email, hours and days of ongoing support needed every seven weeks. Online or in-person meetings to discuss the need for ongoing support may be required by the service system performance management advisor.

  Funded hours of support are based on the child's actual attended hours and days only. Payment will be based on child attendance. Support will not be paid when the child is absent or if the child attended but no support was available.

  The child care centre is responsible for sending an invoice with a record of the child's attendance no later than the fifteenth day of the following month. The invoice must be emailed to csreferrals@niagararegion.ca to be processed for compensation.

• Appeals

  Parents and / or licensed child care centres have the right to appeal funding decisions.

  Appeals process

  1. The child care centre will email the service system performance management advisor via csreferrals@niagararegion.ca that they and / or the parent wish to appeal the funding decision to reduce or terminate funding
  2. Within five business days of receiving the email, a case conference will be held with the parent, child care centre, representative(s) of the Resource Consultant Agency, service system performance management advisor and any other agencies providing support to the child as deemed necessary to discuss the situation
  3. Alternate supports will be discussed during the case conference to determine any and all other possible funding that may be accessed or other support options within the child care operation

  Should no alternatives be available, the appeal will be forwarded to the Child Services Community Strategies manager to determine if ongoing funding is approved.

Apply for short-term specialized support funding

To renew your funding, complete the short-term specialized support funding renewal form.

Child Care / Assistance

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