This past summer the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (our licensing agency) instituted a new rule requiring licensed childcare facilities to create a behavior support plan for any child with behavior issues. In conjunction with the child’s parents, the facility will construct a plan to improve the child’s behavior and outline support for both the child and family. The goal is to improve behavior without the disruption of changing programs.
In years past when a child was repeatedly disruptive the administrators would remove the child. Parents then needed to scramble to find another daycare. Childcare facilities did this to keep order in the classroom, allowing teachers to evenly spend time with the children in their care. This was also done to protect the other children when a physically aggressive child was present. To be honest many providers did this to also protect the adults. There are many horror stories of childcare personnel being accused of restraining children improperly or not properly supervising an aggressive child when another child got hurt. (To be honest we all see reports of unprofessional care givers and teachers who were accused properly and at fault. We really hope those people are far and few between and out of the childcare profession).
Now before any child is removed from care by the facility there must be a behavior support plan in place and has failed to work. There must also be a transition plan created by the facility and parents. This is to give the parents resources to help ease the troubled child into a new facility. We think these new requirements are a positive move to help those children with behavior issues and the families who are just trying to make it all work.
You should also know if you will be removing your child from any childcare facility, they are required to have you write a note stating the reason why you are removing your child. All childcare facilities are required to compile that information and report it to the state once a year.
