Initiating an Individual Support Services Plan
Children may enter the support services planning process at several stages in their lives. It is important to ensure the provision of a continuum of services at all developmental stages. To ensure that children’s needs are identified and appropriate plans developed, there are at least three key stages when the support services planning process could be activated.
The support service planning process is the same for all children whenever they enter the process. A key player in the coordination of this process is the Individual Support Services (ISS) Manager. The ISS Manager facilitates the collaboration between all team members and ensures that all members provide the supports and services agreed to in the ISS plan.
The ISS Manager:
A description of the three stages when support service planning could be initiated follows.
Stage One: Early identification (birth)
Early identification is a critical component to the process. All newborns and their families identified to be at risk are referred to the Community Health Nurse and are followed during the preschool period. The Community Health Nurse or the parent normally assumes the responsibilities of ISS Manager during the preschool period:
* when no other services/agencies are involved, or
* until new members from other agencies are involved.
If other agencies/services are involved the Community Health Nurse, in cooperation with the parent/guardian will assess the need for convening a support services planning team meeting to provide all service providers with the opportunity to communicate relevant information, avoid overlaps in planning and prevent gaps in services delivery. When an ISSP team meeting is convened, the ongoing ISS Manager will be selected by the team members.
Stage Two: Preschool (post birth)
Many children are identified with special need(s) during the period subsequent to birth or during the preschool years. In contrast to Stage One, the support services planning process for Stage Two differs only to the extent that service providers may originate from the Health and/or the Social Services sectors (consultation would be provided by the itinerant teachers for the visually impaired and/or itinerant teachers for the hearing impaired where children have a significant visual or hearing loss). Service providers from both these agencies are typically involved with preschool children.With Stage Two, the agency or service provider which initially identifies and begins to meet the needs of the child and family will decide with the parent(s) who will assume the responsibilities of the ISS Manager, at least on a temporary basis. One of the major functions of the ISS Manager is to ensure the necessary services or referrals are actioned appropriately and expeditiously. At the point when two or more services become involved the need for a broader team meeting is assessed by the ISS Manager. Should a meeting occur, the ongoing ISS Manager is determined by the team members. If the individual support services planning process is initiated in the preschool period very few children should reach school age without having their needs identified and addressed.
Stage Three: School age
Based on stage one and two, some children will enter school with an individual support services planning team already in place.In such cases, the child’s ISS Manager is responsible for making contact with the school when the child is 4 years of age, (children of pre-school age who have significant visual or hearing impairment would have itinerant teachers on their pre-school team) in order to involve school personnel on the planning team. Inclusion of school personnel is essential at this point to ensure a successful transition to the school environment.
Some children, however, enter school without having had any specific interventions and may come to the attention of service providers for the first time during their school years.