Learn More About Determining Strategy Action Steps, Supports, and Services

On the Florida IFSP, strategies are statements of action steps to achieve each child and family outcome. Action steps include the team members responsible for each action step. They should be specific enough that the family and other team members know what to do, when to do it, and who will do it. The process of developing strategies and action steps for the IFSP guides collaborative conversations between providers and caregivers as they begin planning for the 5Qs caregivers will use during routines to support their child's priority skills.    

 

Strategy Action Steps 

 

Strategies for supporting child outcomes and progress indicators should "fit" with the skills indicated in the outcome and be implemented by people with whom the child regularly interacts in everyday routines. Strategies should also "fit" with the child and family routines, build on what a family is already doing, and include the child's interests and preferences. Inclusion of child interests and preferences when planning strategies and action steps encourages child participation and engagement in learning. For example, if a caregiver wants their child to make a choice during snack time by pointing to food, they might offer a choice between two preferred snacks, such as crackers and apple sauce. Offering a choice is an example of strategy. The caregiver might also consider offering one highly preferred snack and one less preferred snack to increase the likelihood the child will point to the highly preferred option. 

 

Identifying strategies and action steps on the IFSP that "fit" a child's priority skill, family and child routines, and include child and family interests and preferences helps inform collaborative conversations between caregivers and providers as part of the FL-EPIC and the 5Q framework, including the "HOW" strategies. 

 

Descriptions of caregiver strategies to support social-emotional skills are available in English and Spanish. Caregivers can also use many strategies listed to support skills in other child outcomes areas. 

 

Team Member Roles with Strategies and Action Steps 

 

When identifying team members who will support the implementation of each strategy action step and their roles, providers and families use information exchanged about informal and formal supports. The team should first consider the individuals with whom the child regularly interacts. If families and providers have completed an ecomap , they might reference it to help inform decisions about who to support strategy action steps. 

 

Examples include: 

• Parent/caregiver 

• Friends or relatives (e.g., aunts, uncles, grandparents) 

• Early education and care teachers 

• Providers from the Early Steps team (i.e., ITDS, OT, SLP, PT, other specialists) 

 

For example, the IFSP might specify that the child's mother will use the strategy during routines, and the family's provider will coach the mother. Another strategy might indicate that the child's classroom teacher at their early learning center will support the child's outcome by using the strategy action steps during routines at school. Designating team members and their roles in supporting strategies on the IFSP helps inform collaborative conversations between caregivers about the FL-EPIC 5Q framework, especially "WHEN/WHERE/WHO."