The basic approach for the support of children with disabilities at daycare facilities is to:
・Guarantee what is in the best interest of children with disabilities
・Improve the well-being of children and their families
・Promote participation and inclusion in communities

1. Developing a system of daycare support for children with disabilities in the community led by child development support centers (CDSCs)
・ Core functions of CDSCs
a. Providing developmental support and family support functions based on a wide range of high-level expertise
b. Providing supervision and consultation functions for local daycare service providers for children with disabilities, i.e., the function to provide advice and assistance in relation to the content of support for those working with children with disabilities at daycare facilities.
c. Promoting inclusion in the community
d. Handling consultations as an entry point for developmental support in the community

The study group discussed the direction of a core-based approach to promoting CDSCs with all four core functions mentioned above.

・Direction after the integration of welfare and medical approaches:
The study group discussed the possibility of mass deployment of childcare workers and child guidance staff. They also discussed the direction of unifying the three main types of welfare approaches (for the hearing impaired, the severely mentally challenged, and persons with mobility impairments) and conducting the necessary support evaluations according to the disability characteristics of the children needing support.

2. Child development support and after-school daycare services:
a. In addition to the respective roles stipulated in each guideline, the study group recommends providing comprehensive support as the fundamental approach which entails all perspectives, including the five areas, i.e., health and daily life, movement and sensation, cognition and behavior, language and communication, and human relations and social skills.
b. On top of comprehensive support, specialized support (e.g., physiotherapy) in specific areas according to the child's condition may be possible. In such cases, the need for such support should be carefully determined on the basis of an assessment and systematically implemented, for example, by positioning specialized support in the support utilization plan for each individual child with a disability.
c. Support that only provides piano or painting lessons is not considered appropriate as support borne by public funds. Therefore, it is necessary to ascertain that the contents of support is in line with the standpoint set forth in the guidelines.
d. Support hours vary depending on the child's use of services. Therefore, a detailed evaluation needs to be carried out, considering the time each child uses the support service, the status of staff support, and the kind of support needed.
e. Some working parents need someone to look after their children while they are away. Given this fact, to support the whole family, it is important that child development support services and after-school day services also respond to the needs identified through child and family assessments.
f. It must be emphasized that, unlike schools and homes, after-school daycare services must be conducted in a safe and secure place where children can be themselves. Moreover, after-school daycare services should likewise support children not attending school (or those absent from school) in cooperation with related organizations.

3. Facilitating inclusion:
a. It is important to create a regional system in which mainstream childcare support and support for children with disabilities are closely coordinated enough to help each other. For example, schemes for children with disabilities, such as Visitation Support at Regular Childcare Centers where such children are enrolled, can be implemented. It will back up general services provided at mainstream childcare facilities. In doing so, interaction with visiting care workers for children with disabilities can help improve the skills of staff working in regular childcare facilities.
b. For the effectivity of Visitation Support at Regular Childcare Centers, it is necessary to review the staffing and evaluation methods in terms of remuneration and operation. (Consideration should be given on how to evaluate the content of support, the team approach, including assessments by a team and the certain types of support they give, and the time they spent in providing support.)

4. Deciding on the benefits relative to daycare support for children with disabilities:
a. Survey indicators must be reviewed to determine the need for developmental support and the extent of its benefits. These indicators will also help determine the state of the child's development for future support.
b. Given the current high rate of self-planning support, efforts should be made to improve planning through consultation support services. In addition, even in areas where consultation support services are not yet in place, looking for ways to ensure the appropriate service coordination is necessary.

5. Quality improvement of daycare support for children with disabilities
a. Municipalities need to establish a subcommittee dealing with childcare under the council to support the self-reliance of persons with disabilities. CDSCs should participate in this subcommittee to consolidate and analyze local issues and work on improving the quality of available support in the community.
b. It is necessary to study effective ways to utilize the submitted results of self-evaluation and parental evaluation on providing support for children with disabilities in daycare centers, such as by consolidating, analyzing, and publicizing the results of such evaluations.
c. In terms of human resource development, it is necessary to promote the establishment of a step-by-step training system for basic, mid-career, and specialized trainees in order for them to acquire expertise.