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8.1 Overview

This section of the report discusses the impact of the resources developed/devoted to supporting inclusive child care under SCC. The main provincial resources noted in this report are the Enhancing Accessibility Resource Manual, the Support Guide and the companion Support Guide Handbook, as well as the SCC Consultant Resource Package.

8.2 Enhancing Accessibility Resource Manual

The Enhancing Accessibility Resource Manual addressed accessibility and inclusion issues from the perspective of the people involved in inclusive child care; from the perspective of programming concerns of inclusive child care; and from the perspective of enhancing the place or environment of inclusive child care settings.⁷⁵ Practical ideas were provided that addressed attitudes, skills, and knowledge, as well as easily implemented strategies for child care providers to use in adapting their child care environment and programs. Eighty per cent found the manual to be helpful or somewhat helpful. Though there was a limited response rate to the user survey of the Enhancing Accessibility Resource Manual, 79% of the respondents said that they would recommend the manual to someone else.

8.3 Support Guide

The March 1998, evaluation of the first draft of the Support Guide, praised its impact on the collaborative nature of determining support needs.

One parent is quoted as saying about the Support Guide:⁷⁶

• It gives me an idea of where he's at - to actually sit down and think of it - you know, when you've got other children at home and you might not even notice things, what he does, what he doesn't do, but this makes you look at it and watch what he does.

A child care provider describes the Support Guide process:⁷⁷

• So it really helped in terms of pieces being put together and that as this child came in he had those supports behind him. I had the support in terms of getting some professional advice in terms of what I could expect. So it was great. The family came in and they had some information and some choices made and we sort of met and checked it out.

A SCC consultant reflects on the use of the Support Guide:⁷⁸

• The Guide was there but it was a process that we are already in so I'm not sure if I would refer to it except to back us up to make sure that we're on the right track...it's so much a part of our work, it's what you do. I guess a way of bridging other parties into it as a tool for discussion...it isn't ever the tool that determines one way or the other, it doesn't ever change things, it just supports the decisions that are made.

MCF SCC Contacts made suggestions about the Support Guide that imply:⁷⁹

• (In practice, many offices are moving to this approach, by using the Support Guide plus other tools to arrive at an assessment of the need for supports as part of the eligibility process.)

As the revised Support Guide is new and as yet untested in the full implementation of SCC it is difficult to state emphatically what the impacts will be. The responses of the 1998 survey participants reflects differences in approaches to the consultative process. Those consultants that had knowledge and skills and believed in and practiced the consultative process, had a more favourable response to the stages that the Support Guide took people through. Those providers and families that were involved in the completion of the Support Guide based on a collaborative approach saw far greater benefits to the use of the Guide.

The response to the Support Guide Handbook has been positive. In the feedback on the training offered, the use of the Support Guide in February and March 1999, participants commented on the Handbook and the Support Guide as well. Their comments included:

• great to have a manual that is user friendly and clear
• Handbook is easy to follow
• Support Guide is well laid out samples in the Handbook are very useful

8.4 SCC Consultant Resource Package

The SCC Consultant Resource Package was distributed to consultants at the end of March 1999. Evaluation of the impact of the Resource Packages are not available at this time.

8.5 Summary

This section reported on the impact of the resources developed to support inclusive child care under SCC. The main provincial resources noted are the Enhancing Accessibility Resource Manual, the Support Guide and the companion Support Guide Handbook. Both the Manual and the Handbook (and Support Guide) have received positive feedback for their usefulness in the area of including children requiring extra support. The SCC Consultant Resource Package was not evaluated by the release of this report.

Footnotes

75	Province of British Columbia, Ministry for Children and Families, Enhancing Accessibility - A Resource Manual for Communities, Child Care Settings, and Child Care Providers. F. Bowden. Victoria, B.C. April, 1997.
76	Province of British Columbia, Ministry for Children and Families, Evaluation of the SCC Program Support Guide - Final Report. p. 40, KAPH Associates. Victoria, B.C. March 31, 1998.
77	Province of British Columbia, Ministry for Children and Families, Evaluation of the SCC Program Support Guide - Final Report. p. 30. KAPH Associates. Victoria, B.C. March 31, 1998.
78	Province of British Columbia, Ministry for Children and Families, Evaluation of the SCC Program Support Guide - Final Report. p. 25. KAPH Associates. Victoria, B.C. March 31, 1998.
79	Province of British Columbia, Ministry for Children and Families, SCC Implementation - Reports for Regional SCC Contacts. p. 2. Erickson Associates. Victoria, B.C. May, 1998.