The Government of Alberta provides Program Unit Funding (PUF) for children to access Early Childhood Services (ECS) for free, in an educational setting. This is programming for children who require additional support to help prepare them for Kindergarten and Grade 1. Depending on the level of support needed, children may have access to professionals like speech therapists, occupational therapists and more. Children can access PUF services as early as 2 years 8 months old. Children can access PUF for a maximum of 3 years, with the last year available in Kindergarten. Children must be at least 5 years old as of December 31 of the year they have started Kindergarten.
There are two ways PUF services are delivered,
- In independent ECS operators and community preschools (community based)
- In Special Needs congregated settings (facility based)
Community based – some PUF providers do not have the facility to provide services to children so they partner with community preschools and independent ECS operators. Not all preschools & ECS have PUF available so call your community preschool directly if you are interested and ask them if they could provide PUF supports for your child.
The following list includes service providers (agencies) that work with a child in their community school as well as some independent schools that have their own therapy team on site. These organizations can offer PUF services when FSCD funding for home services is not in place. Some also offer Mild/Moderate support for children without severe delays that do need extra help within the classroom.
Some service providers may offer FSCD rates, however not all professionals within an organization charge the same, so some may still require parents to top-up the rate. Please check in with each service provider individually.