Child care operators in Chatham-Kent (CK) may now request “Enhanced Support Funding” to support children with special needs.
An information report being presented at CK council on Monday night stated the funding can be used to hire fulltime or part-time staff or extend the hours of casual call-in staff.
The additional staff are intended to support the entire classroom while another educator works directly with the child who would benefit from the additional support.
Under the new model, approved funding will flow directly to the child care operator who will have the flexibility to determine how best to use that funding within the guidelines.
"While this is occurring, the team of educators continue to work together with support from an inclusion coach to implement new strategies that may benefit all the children in the classroom and may lead to a lesser future need for enhanced support," the report stated. "Alternatively, by working together, support can be shared across classrooms as effective strategies begin to work and child care educators gain confidence in implementing these strategies."
Before the new model went into affect in April, child care operators were receiving on average 762 hours of supports per week, according to municipal staff, but the current average has increased 22 per cent to 932 hours per week.
Administration said all enrolled children who were previously waiting for support are now receiving them, adding the increase is largely due to the hard work and commitment to inclusion that the child care operators have shown.
The municipality noted child care operators can now allocate other funding to increase hours where appropriate.
Operators can also reduce travel and administrative time, resulting in more hours in the classroom and more supports for children. said staff.
Administration also expects to see a decrease in the hours of direct support while seeing an increase in educators’ confidence and overall job satisfaction based on the increased focus on capacity building and on-site, side by side mentorship.
