EI/ECSE - Families

Families

Families are critical in defining a child’s learning and development. Early Intervention and/or Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) impacts a child’s life span across daily activities. These impacts happen both during and after the time that a child engages with services and supports provided by EI/ECSE Agencies.

At the Oregon Department of Education, we believe the following principles to be true:

• Families are the first and true expert on their child, and as partners bring a wealth of information to those who provide special education services to their child.
• Families have their own unique culture and context within a community.
  
• Families are teaching their children all of the time.
• Families have hopes, dreams, and aspirations for their child.
• Every family deserves to be heard, seen, and respected in all of their humanity including their race, language, and disability by those who provide services and supports to them and their child.
• Families have rights that are outlined clearly under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and are leaders that join us in partnership to improve outcomes for their child experiencing disability.
• Together, we are stronger when families have what they need to care for and educate their child.

Resources for Families

The following resources have been developed specifically for families in Oregon. This list supports learning and understanding as EI/ECSE agencies and staff engage with and move forward in partnership with Oregon’s diverse families.

Do you have concerns about your child’s development?

• Oregon Screening Project : Free, confidential, online developmental screening for young children.
• Act Early: Early Childhood Health and Early Learning resources for families and professionals
• Who Can I Call to Refer A Child for Services? (English)
• Who Can I Call to Refer A Child for Services? (Spanish)
• Who Can I Call to Refer A Child for Services? (Russian)
• Video: "What is an IFSP" (for Parents)

Organizations Supporting Families of Children Experiencing Disability

• Family and Community Together (FACT): Oregon's Statewide Parent Training and Information Center, a family leadership organization supporting individuals experiencing disability and their families.
• NWDS (Northwest Disability Support): Community-based organization providing resources for parents of children with disabilities
• Central Oregon Disability Support Network: Community-based organization providing resources for parents of children with disabilities
• Oregon Family to Family Health Information Center: Information for families and caregivers of children and youth with special health care needs
• Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities: Resources and opportunities for involvement, targeted toward parents of children with disabilities
• Disability Rights Oregon: Resource for parents of children with disabilities
• ARC Oregon: Resources for parents of children who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Easter Seals of Oregon: Resources for parents of children with disabilities
• Hands and Voices: Information for families of children with hearing impairments
• Swindells Centers: Resources for parents of children with special health, behavioral, or developmental disabilities

State Advisory Councils

• State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC): Ensures interagency coordination and supports the development of quality statewide services for young children and their families.
• State Advisory Council for Special Education (SACSE): Provides policy guidance on special education and related services for children with disabilities in the State of Oregon (34 CFR 300.167).
• Early Learning Council (ELC): Charged with coordinating a unified and aligned system of early learning throughout Oregon to ensure that all children, no matter what their background or their community, enter school ready to learn and that all families are healthy, stable and attached.
• Oregon Early Learning Division Rulemaking Advisory Committees: Assists the Early Learning Division and Council to make rules that ELD Programs must apply and follow.

Other Agencies Serving the Needs of Young Children and Families

• Oregon Early Learning Division
  • Early Learning Programs
    
  • Find Child Care
• American Indian/Alaskan Native Education
  
• Oregon Equity Initiatives and Partners
  
• Inclusive Partners
  
• Oregon’s Public Health Home Visiting System
  
• Oregon Child and Family Behavioral Health
• Oregon Department of Human Services
  

Family Resources from National Partners

• Division of Early Childhood
  • Websites that have useful family resources
  • Sitios Web Utiles para Familias
• National Association for the Education of Young Children: Research-based resources, tips and ideas for families, including child development, reading, writing, music, and math.
• Just In Time: National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management: Resources to Support Families of Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
• Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)
• Learn the Signs, Act Early! Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Contact:

Meredith Villines