Written answers
Tuesday, 23 May 2017
Department of Children and Youth Affairs
Early Childhood Care and Education Programmes
Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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657. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the funding for every level provided within the AIM programme in tabular form. [24166/17]
Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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AIM is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can fully participate in the ECCE programme and reap the benefits of quality early years care and education. AIM is a child-centred model, involving seven levels of progressive support, moving from the universal to the targeted, based on the needs of the child and the pre-school setting.
The total funding allocated in 2017 to each level of AIM by my Department, with the exception of AIM Level 6 (which comes from the Department of Health Vote), is set out in the following table:
| Level | Element of model | 2017 (m*) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | An Inclusive Culture | 4.30 |
| 2. | Information for Parents and Providers | 0.02 |
| 3. | A Qualified and Confident Workforce | 1.20 |
| 4. | Expert Early Years Educational Advice and Support | 10.10 |
| 5. | Equipment, Appliances and Minor Alterations Grants and application process | 2.50 |
| 6. | Therapeutic Intervention | - |
| 7. | Additional Assistance in the Pre-School Room and Application Process | 14.10 |
| 8. | National Oversight | 0.20 |
| TOTAL COST | 32.42 |
*Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
AIM was launched in June 2016. Therefore, it is still in the first full year of operation. The Inter-Department Group, which developed AIM recognised that it would take approximately three years to fully develop and implement the Model. It is expected that demand for all levels of support under AIM will increase in years 2 and 3 and the budget available for AIM makes some provision for this.
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