Accommodating Children with Disabilities – Navigating Through the Process

Intended For: Supervisor/Director, Registered ECEs, Home Child Care Providers, Owner Operator - Early Learning and Care Programs, Specialized Resource Consultants, EarlyON Practitioners, Resource Consultants, Licensed Home Child Care Programs, EarlyON Practitioner, Licensed Child Care Programs

Registration Closed

Date: Nov 07, 2024

Time: 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM

Fee: $77.90 (Plus HST)

Current Availability: 23

Description

Childcares, private schools, school boards and those in the child sector have a legal duty under the Ontario Human Rights Code to accommodate children with disabilities up to the point of undue hardship. As parents become more informed about their rights, there has been a significant increase in litigation as more parents have either been filing complaints to the College of ECE and/or Human Rights Tribunal arguing their child’s disability has not been accommodated when decisions have been to either modify, condense hours of services, suspend, or withdraw a child

The expectations placed on childcare operators, and their staff to find suitable accommodations for children with disabilities has never been more challenging. As organizations struggle with staffing shortages and limited funding to meet the needs of the individual child, they also find themselves caught between competing obligations from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ontario Human Rights Code to protect the safety of staff and other children in the program.

This practical and interactive course will provide participants with a better understanding of their legal obligations to accommodate children with disabilities in an inclusive manner from the perspective of a parent with a child with special needs.  The perspectives of a parent who has a child with special needs will be provided, as well as the challenges faced by those in the child care sector to understand the various and sometimes competing perspectives involved.

Participants will learn how to create a collaborative relationship with parents when faced with an accommodation request. We will also look at the complicated issue of how to respond and to address health and safety concerns that may arise from staff and parents of other children by the inclusion of a child requiring an accommodation in your program. Interactive and practical case studies will be provided to reinforce learning objectives. 

Session Objective

The session objective is to equip childcare owners and operators, supervisors and directors with effective conflcit resolution skills  and to educate them on their legal obligations under the Human Rights Code  regarding their obligations to accommodate and provide inclusive  care to children with disabilities.   The session also addresses how to navigate challenging situations where services to a child may have to be modified or withdrawn if there are health and safety risks to other staff and children.  Other learning objectives for the training include the following:

• Overview of what is entailed in accommodating a child to the point of undue hardship as required under the Human Rights Code
• Discussing what happens if a childcare provider cannot accommodate a child
• What are the health and safety requirements that childcare operators must adhere to to prevent incidents of harm to staff and other children?
• How to deal with complaints/concerns from other parents
• Overview of the importance of good documentation
• When a safety plan should be created and what should be included in the plan.

Location: Online

Standards of practice

• Safety, Health, and Well-Being in the Learning Environment
• Confidentiality, Release of Information and Duty to Report

Presented By: Asha Rampersad (),