Abstract

This study examined the extent to which children with special needs were successfully integrated in school-age care programs. It also investigated the factors presented in the literature as being related to successful integration. These included quality of the environment, attitude and level of education, training and experience of staff members, preparation and planning, communication with the parents, modifications made to programs, and centre policies on integration. Twenty school-age care programs in the metropolitan area participated in the study. Interviews were conducted with 20 directors and 17 educators of the school-age care programs regarding the factors related to successful integration. Participants also answered a questionnaire investigating the child care staff's attitude and experience with integration. Parents of the special needs children attending the participating school-age care programs were sent a questionnaire examining their satisfaction with the quality of the centers as well as their previous and actual experience with the integration of their children. The quality of the school-age care programs was assessed with the School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)