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Child Care and Education Programs - Special Needs Care
ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS:
In addition to the Essential Elements listed in the section on Childhood Care and Education, inclusive practices include the following 1:
- Programs responsive to each child's individual capabilities and needs;
- Materials and equipment appropriate for children of varying abilities, interests and needs;
- Curriculum that includes rich opportunities for play and is responsive to the needs of the whole child - including cognitive and language, socio-emotional and physical development;
- Activities and instructional practices that are based on on-going child assessment, and reflect an appropriate balance between child-initiated and teacher-directed activities;
- Daily schedules that allow children to explore and develop sustained engagement with materials and peers and that support individualized transitions from one setting to another;
- Environments that foster social interaction, collaborative projects interdependence, and independence;
- Family involvement in program planning and implementation and program activities for children and family members that reflect cultural diversity; and
- On-going program evaluation to assure that inclusive practices are being followed and goals for children are being achieved.
As referenced in the Nine Essential Elements listed under Childhood Care and Education, appropriately trained personnel are essential to quality care for children with special needs.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Inclusion - Glossary of Terms
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, Public Law 105-17) is federal legislation that assures children with disabilities free and appropriate education, public accommodations, and services operated by private entities.
The law has four parts:
- Part A covers the general purpose of the law and definitions.
- Part B addresses requirements for the education of all children with disabilities.
- Part C covers the specific requirements for services to infants and toddlers (children from birth to 36 months). Part C emphasizes the rights of eligible infants and toddlers to receive early childhood intervention services within "natural environments." Part C also states that when group settings are used for intervention, the infant or toddler with a disability should be placed in groups with same-aged peers without disabilities, such as play groups, day care centers, or whatever typical group settings exist for infants and toddlers with disabilities. The state service system for infant and toddler services is often referred to as the "Part C program," and every state and locality has a "Part C Coordinator."
- Part D authorizes national activities to improve special education services (research, personnel development, technical assistance and state improvement grants).
Early Intervention Services (EI or EIS) are designed to meet the developmental needs of children from birth to 36 months with disabilities in any of the following areas: physical, cognitive, communication, socio-emotional, or adaptive development. EIS includes the following services: identification, screening, and assessment; family education and training; home visits; special instruction; health services; social services; and assistive technology. Specialized service areas include speech-language, audiology, occupational and physical therapy, and health services.
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a written plan describing services, providers, locations, and goals for services and supports provided to the child and family. The IFSP is prepared by a team that includes the infant or toddler's family and all service providers (including the child care provider). Services are to be family-focused and provided in the "natural environment, including home and community settings in which the infant or toddler with disabilities participate."
Natural Environments are settings in the community where the infant or toddler with disabilities might participate. Center and family child care programs are considered natural environments. EI services are to be provided in the child care setting "to the maximum extent appropriate." Decisions about appropriateness are to be made by the IFSP team.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is federal legislation that extends civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities. Child care programs are affected by the public accommodations sections as well as the employment provisions. ADA applies to privately owned as well as publicly operated child care. Child care programs operated by religious organizations are exempt from some of the ADA provisions. For more information, call the ADA Information Line at 800/514-0301 (voice); 800/514-0383 (TDD).
Interagency Coordinating Councils: IDEA helps states develop and implement statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs providing appropriate early intervention services to all eligible children and their families. States must bring together a State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) to design and oversee the state system. Similarly, local governments must have a coordinating council to ensure interagency collaboration at the local level (this is the Local Interagency Coordinating Council, or LICC.)
Ways to Promote Inclusive Quality Child Care
Children with special needs can offer enrichment and diversity to the child care experience and should not be excluded unless it is medically necessary. The following strategies highlight ways to promote inclusive quality child care 2:
- Identify child care providers who care for Children with Special Needs and widely disseminate information on model programs and strategies.
- Collect and disseminate information on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act that relate to the provision of quality child care.
- Encourage parents who have Children with Special Needs to serve as mentors for child care providers.
- Distribute information on available funding and resources to families who have Children with Special Needs and advocacy groups that offer to support these families.
- Provide those who care for Children with Special Needs with educational materials on physical safety requirements for facilities, such as the required placement of ramps and railings in the child care setting.
- Set up ongoing trainings and a support network for child care providers serving Children with Special Needs.
- Invite pediatricians familiar with child care environments to serve in an advisory capacity to child care programs.
- Ask representatives from programs serving Children with Special Needs to meet with families and pediatricians (or other primary care clinicians) to iron out inconsistencies between pediatric treatment guidelines, state health regulations, and program policies.
Special Needs Care:
1 Passages to Inclusion: Creating Systems of Care for ALL Children, a synthesis of solutions and strategies generated during the Leadership Forum, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families' Child Care Bureau in conjunction with the Administration for Developmental Disabilities and Head Start Bureau; the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education.
2 Blue Print for Action is a publication of the Healthy Child America campaign, a collaborative effort of health professionals, child care providers, and families working in partnership to improve the health and well-being of children in child care settings. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Child Care Bureau and Maternal and Child Health Bureau and is coordinated in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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