The two primary goals of this project fall directly within the mandate of the Max Bell Foundation in that we are presenting an innovative and dynamic framework within which to:
The first major stage of the research involves the development of a sound and empirically based assessment protocol and an inventory for the Early Intervention Services Model to help guide screening, diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation decisions. To this end, experts from medicine, psychology, social work, therapeutic schools (e.g., speech, occupational physiotherapy) and other relevant domains from around the world will be consulted to derive at a sound protocol. The protocol will be developed and tested at the Yaldei Developmental Centre (YDC) and subsequently used to evaluate the services provided by YDC and compared to the services and intervention outcomes of other EI centres.
The second major stage of the research involves a longitudinal panel design where all children and families at YDC and other comparison sites in Quebec and Ontario are followed over the three years duration of the project. Such a design has a distinct methodological advantage of providing more detailed information describing developmental processes over time.
The third major stage of the research involves the comparison of YDC to other selected sites over time. Therefore, this will also involve a longitudinal panel design. The contrast between YDC and the comparison sites, as well as retrospective data, would allow for a comparative analysis of the relative efficacy of different models of service delivery for this population. We would be able to ascertain which of the dependent variables have changed and to what degree as well as those variables that are less affected by the particular type of EI community service delivery model.
Overlaying all of these major stages is the development and implementation of a public policy action plan in Early Intervention for families and children with developmental delays. The public policy action group will be comprised of key stakeholders and decision makers in early intervention policy and practice. Group members will identify key policy change agents and provide input on current areas of deficiency with recommendations for change implementation. Information will be disseminated on an ongoing and systematic basis and group members will come to a consensus regarding what changes are necessary and how to implement said changes.
The primary goal of this project is to engage practitioners and decision makers in early childhood development to reassess and facilitate the change of current service and legal structures and practices in this area where necessary. The major goal of this project is to collect and disseminate information to key stakeholders and decision makers across Canada. This information will be used to engage them in a review of service and legal frameworks which can be found on this website, addressing accessibility to Early Intervention services and programs for children with developmental delays and their families. This project will provide critical information that will assist decision makers in developing a national consensus on EI service structures and programs in an effort to achieve a greater national coherence and helping Canadian children and their families to have access to the services they need in order to improve their quality of life.
Bullying is recognized as a world-wide phenomenon that continues to severely affect the well-being of children and youth (e.g., Craig & Pepler, 2003). In spite of the consistent recommendations and call for systemic interventions to address the problem of bullying, there is limited assessment of the multi-level actions and influences that need to be involved in such an intervention, and even less research in terms of how changes in these multi-level dimensions (e.g., school climate) can lead to change in policy and actual practice in schools and communities. In light of this, the current project addresses the follwoing questions: