The Community Outreach Service provides support to designated licensed child care programs within the east, north and south quadrants of Toronto. This service is delivered through the City of Toronto Children’s Services Every Child Belongs (ECB) model framework.
Our Early Childhood Educator-Resource Consultants (ECE-RC) use a child-centred approach to promote capacity building with child care staff using evidenced informed inclusive practices that encourage active participation of all children in their community programs of choice. A child may be identified with a disability, have delays in development or are at risk for delays. Children in child care range in age from birth to 12 years and attend either full time or part-time in programs.
The ECE-RC partners with child care staff and a family/substitute decision maker (SDM) to address any barriers for a child to participate and being included in the child care program.
Services available
Training and education can be tailored to each program and audience. The primary outcome of training and education is to build knowledge and support participants to become agents of change in their programs and communities based on new knowledge. Delivery:
- Planned presentations that vary in length from 45 mins to 2 hours depending on the learning outcomes for participants;
- In-person or virtual presentations at lunch times, meetings or education time (evening delivery);
- Knowledge building on specific diagnosis or disability and how it impacts a child’s participation in child care;
- General strategies for holistic programming such as adapting toys and activities for classroom and playground set-ups;
- Education to advance staff practice and improve observation and skill assessment of children and programming that supports delivering high quality education and care designed for all children.
Program consultation builds staff knowledge and offers resources needed to create inclusive child care environments. Program consultations are not specific to a child but address the whole program environment.
All program consultations are meant to identify strengths and opportunities for changes based on desired priorities of child care staff. Looking at the program ecosystem:
- Classroom/playground environmental screenings;
- Review of classroom/playground activities and/or routines;
- Specific classroom materials;
- Modifying/changing expectations of participation or instructions;
- Decision making for when assistance and what level of assistance is needed by a staff for a child.
Program consultations may lead to a recommendation for staff education and training. Training and education may be delivered by the ECE-RC and/or in parentship with another content expert such as a behavioural analyst or occupational therapist as examples.
Individual consultations support child care staff who are working directly with a child who needs support to increase a sense of belongingness, engagement and learning at the just right level to participate and included with peers and others. Individual consultations are generated by assigned child cares and require family/SDM consent to begin the process. RC collaborate by:
- Partnering with program staff and a family/SDM to identify concerns, resources available, current staff knowledge, child specific strengths, possible barriers to participation and inclusion to be addressed;
- Developing in collaboration individual goal plans that included recommendations built around universal design for learning (UDL) that can be used within a classroom/playground environments;
- Offering regular program visits where the RC can be a model and coach for implementing recommendations so staff can see and problem solve in real time;
- Assisting with school transition to kindergarten and/or to another child care program;
- Referring for additional specialized consultation within the ECB model that may include behavioural analyst (BA), occupational therapist (OT), psychiatrist/psychologist; and/or nurse;
- Linking with other community supports for coordinated programming across environments (i.e., Preschool Speech Language service; Entry to School; private therapy).
Referrals
Referrals to this service are made externally by child care programs assigned to a Holland Bloorview ECE-RC, through the City of Toronto’s ECB portal.
The ECE-RC connect with a family/SDM once a referral is received to explain the service model and gain informed consent and complete required documents.
Participation in the individual consultation service model is voluntary, and a family/SDM is free to decline the referral.
Please note: registration with this Community Outreach Service does not facilitate access to other Holland Bloorview services.
