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| Publications | Partnership/Collaboration
Information Center | What's New? |
| Winter 1995/1996 | Vol. I, Issue No. 57 |
Corinne W. Garland, Executive Director/Project Director, Region III Resource Access Project, Child Development Resources, Norge, Virginia
When a new baby joins a family, it is a time of change for everyone. Family roles and responsibilities change, schedules for sleeping and eating change, and relationships alter. When a baby has a disability, the changes in a family's membership and lifestyle may be accompanied by changes the family never expected to make.
Early Head Start (EHS) programs offer families of young children with disabilities or developmental delays a natural and inclusive environment. EHS has the unique opportunity of playing a role in providing information and support to families whose infants or toddlers have disabilities or delayed development.
Services are available to those infants and toddlers in each State as a result of Part H, the Early Intervention grant program, of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is the same law that guarantees a free and appropriate public education for preschoolers who have disabilities or delays in their development.
Part H encourages States to plan and provide services for infants and toddlers from birth to 3 years of age who have disabilities, delays in development, or are at risk due to biological or environmental factors. States receive Part H funds to plan and implement statewide systems of early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families.
Head Start's philosophy for working with children and families is also embedded in the Part H legislation. Infants and toddlers served under this law are served within the context of their families and in family centered services that reflect a respect for the family's role as primary caregiver and decision maker for their own children. These services also honor each family's unique strengths, priorities, beliefs, values, and culture.
Part H legislation promotes an interagency system that is not only family centered but community based, coordinated, collaborative, and comprehensive. EHS programs, Parent-Child Centers, Comprehensive Child Development Centers, and Head Start migrant programs are all important parts of that interagency system, and infants and toddlers enrolled in these programs may also be eligible for services under Part H. Programs can get information about eligibility from their State's Part H coordinator, Resource Access Projects (RAP's), or EHS technical assistance contractor.
Within 45 days of referral to the early intervention program, each infant or toddler is entitled to receive a multidisciplinary team assessment to determine the child's eligibility and answer the family's questions. The assessment helps the team determine the child's developmental levels, strengths, needs, and outcomes the families hope for.
Early intervention services which a child and family receive are individually determined as part of the IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) process. A service coordinator is appointed to help plan the assessment and develop the IFSP, let families know about advocacy resources, and assist in planning the transition from EHS or other services to early childhood programs.
EHS staff may find that their relationships with families and other community agencies make them well suited to work as the service coordinator for and with a family receiving early intervention services. In that regard, EHS directors and staff will want to be part of their communities' early intervention systems to ensure that infants and toddlers and their families who are doubly challenged by poverty and disability receive services that will help them to reach their full potential.
| Head Start Bulletin Issue No. 57 Contents | "Promoting Positive Early Relationships between Parents and Infants" |
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