Program Planning

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As soon as a facility is aware a child requiring supports will enroll in their facility, they should identify a trained, lead staff to collaborate with the other team members and to attend meetings. This person is responsible for sharing information with co-workers, to ensure all educators are aware of the child’s goals and needed supports.

Families are encouraged to visit the child care facility before the intake meeting to ease the transition into child care. This will help their child become comfortable in the program’s environment. It will also allow the family to share pertinent information about their child with the educators.

When the child has been registered in a child care facility, the facility should set a date and time for an intake meeting. The purpose of the intake meeting is for all team members to share information. This meeting should be held before the child’s start date, or shortly after, to ensure a smooth transition into the child care facility. All members of the team should attend the intake meeting, if possible.

Individual Program Plans

Typically, the child care facility staff lead the development of the child’s Individual Program Plan (IPP). The Individual Program Plan (IPP) is developed through a collaborative planning process with all team members and outlines the child’s goals and required supports. Goals build on the child’s strengths, so each IPP will be child specific. The IPP will also identify who will provide the resources required to support the child in meeting the identified goals. With the parent/guardian’s consent, each team member will receive a copy of the IPP.

A planning process will identify goals for the child that will be written in the IPP. Goals build on the child’s strengths, so each IPP will be unique to each child. With the parent/guardian’s consent, each team member will receive a copy of the IPP.

An IPP meeting must occur annually and be reviewed and updated, as children’s needs change as they grow and develop. The child care facility records changes to the IPP throughout the year. The facility must keep a copy of the most recent IPP on file.

Unified Referral and Intake System (URIS)

The Unified Referral and Intake System (URIS) supports children with special health needs to safely participate in eligible community programs, including early learning and child care facilities.

URIS provides a standard way of classifying health care needs based on their complexity to determine the professional qualification needed by those who support eligible children.

The URIS classification system has two components:

Group A: Children who need complex health care procedures that must be performed by a registered nurse.

Group B: Children with health care routines that can be safely supported by child care educators who receive training and ongoing monitoring by a registered nurse.

For more information about URIS, visit the Unified Referral and Intake System website.

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