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 CHILD CARE BULLETINIssue 5—September/October 1995 Serving Children with Disabilities in Child Care Settings |
Including Children with Disabilities in Child CareThe keynote speaker, Barbara Cocodrilli Carlson, Program Director in Early Childhood at the Miriam and Peter Haas Fund, stated, "Families with children with disabilities are just like any other family who needs to work and wants a nice nurturing, stimulating, safe place for our kids when we can't be with them. We also want our children to be part of the larger community, and what better way to start?"
According to Joan Lombardi, Associate Commissioner, Child Care Bureau, in the past few years, 28 states have used Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds for special needs initiatives in training, consumer education, and resource and referral, improving the quality of care for all children.
Bob Williams, Commissioner, Administration on Developmental Disabilities, announced the possibility of funding one or more Projects of National Significance. These will demonstrate providing early child development and family support services, coordinating among the child care and disability communities.
During the Leadership Forum, participants developed recommendations in five areas: staffing, facilities and environments, administration of inclusive practices, community resources, and financing strategies. These will be the foundation of a monograph and companion video, Passages to Inclusion: Creating Systems of Care for ALL Children, being developed for child care administrators. The monograph will also describe successful inclusive program models.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has an ongoing commitment to inclusive child care. ACF Assistant Secretary Mary Jo Bane announced that by next March the Child Care Bureau will provide technical assistance to ten qualifying states, tribes, or territories to develop systems to serve children with disabilities in child care settings.
This Bulletin focuses on serving children with disabilities and program supports that are vital to inclusion, such as staff training, resource and referral, collaborations, and new links with organizational resources.
We All Play A Part in InclusionThe Community Connections Project at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. trains teams of early childhood professionals to support others in including children with disabilities in their programs. The teams provide guidance and support through consultations, meetings and workshops. These efforts increase community awareness and commitment to addressing the educational, social, and emotional needs of all children in early education settings.
This project dovetails with the Child Care Plus program, funded by the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The program is managed by the Fairfax County (Virginia) Office for Children and the Visiting Nurses Association, to provide support to children with special needs and their families. Through it, children are placed into care settings with continual interaction and guidance from health care and educational professionals.
For the Fairfax County Employees' Child Care Center, collaboration with Child Care Plus has involved some specific supports. These included supplying provider assistance so that a playground schedule could be altered for a child with severe asthma, and training for staff in using an asthma nebulizer, an infant apnea (breathing) monitor, and a glucometer for measuring blood sugar levels of a child on a restrictive diet. Additional supports for the program included giving resources and advice on communicating with a child who has a profound hearing impairment, and developing observation tools and a family services plan for a child with a complex health needs. The collaboration has also created opportunities for staff to plan curricula, share ideas, and exchange information to better meet the needs of all of the children.
Pam Forbush Pavuk is a teacher at the Fairfax County Employees' Child Care Center, and a member of their Community Connections team. To learn more about the Center's programs, contact Pam at: (703) 324-7370,or Marshann Snyder, Fairfax County Office for Children at: (703) 591-7265.
To learn more about the Community Connections Project, contact George Washington University at: (202) 739-0604.
Gila River TrainingThe Child Care and Development Services Coordinator is developing plans for training that include incentives of higher compensation for providers who complete a specified amount of training.
In addition, the coordinator has created kits of developmentally appropriate materials and activities for working with children with special needs. The kits contain a curriculum which describes specific activities and the developmental areas that each activity promotes. Kits are loaned to individual providers as well as providers from other departments such as Head Start and Special Services.
For more information, contact JoAnn Elliott, Coordinator, Child Care and Development Services, Gila River Indian Community, at: (520) 562-3640.
Collaborative Efforts Promote Inclusive Child Care in ColoradoThis project, Colorado Options for Inclusive Child Care (COFICC), aims to:
COFICC is jointly funded by the Colorado CCDBG and the Department of Education, Part H Unit. There is additional support from a grant to the Colorado Division of Child Care from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families to develop family directed respite options for families of children with disabilities and/or chronic or terminal illnesses.
CORRA (The Colorado Office of Resource and Referral Agencies), the coordinating office for the state-wide network of child care resource and referral, has taken responsibility for supporting and coordinating the COFICC project.
For more information, call COFICC Coordinator, Jennifer Burnham, Colorado Office of Resource and Referral Agencies (CORRA), 303) 290-9088, or The Colorado Division of Child Care Grants and Quality Initiatives, (303) 866-2304, (303) 866-4556
Special Needs R&RTo learn more, contact Ginger Barnhart, Resource and Referral Coordinator, BANANAS, Inc., 5232 Claremont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618, (510) 658-1409.
State Initiatives Serve Children with Special NeedsWorkshop presenters include a registered dietitian, a team leader with the Office of Children with Special Health Care Needs who specializes in individual family service plan (IFSP) development, a director of a preschool, an occupational therapist, and the parent of a child with special needs. The topics include developing nutrition care plans, special diets, oral motor development and self-feeding skills, and mealtime environments.
The program was piloted by the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Nutrition Services, in collaboration with the Arizona Self-Study Project/Office of Women and Children, a training and support service that helps child care providers improve their programs and work toward accreditation.*
For more information contact: Linda Rider, Project CHANCE Coordinator, Arizona Department of Health Services (602) 542-1886.
The training utilizes a team approach that includes one participant from a child care resource and referral agency, a community or home child care provider with experience in inclusion, and representatives of a local interagency council, school district, or other child and family service program. Teams work on training and field assignments, such as developing local directories of child care programs and professionals with experience in providing inclusive care, training sessions and onsite consultations with programs to facilitate enrollment of children with disabilities, and interviews with families of children with disabilities on barriers and supports for obtaining care.
The project is funded through the Illinois Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities along with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services.
For further information, contact: Nancy Gaumer, Co-Director, Child Care Resource and Referral Service, (217) 333-8199, or Susan Fowler, Head of the Department of Special Education, University of Illinois, (217) 333-0260.
Beginning as a model demonstration project to expand options for families looking for child care for their children with disabilities, the model was funded for replication in 1990. Project staff have worked with early childhood professionals in 14 states thus far.
Child Care plus+ provides presentations and training on including children with disabilities in everyday activities and routines. Technical assistance for providers is completed by telephone and on-site consultations, as well as through videotape exchanges, and materials from the Child Care plus+ resource library.
The training is funded through the U. S. Department of Education, Early Education Programs for Children with Disabilities.
For more information, contact: Child Care plus+, Rural Institute on Disabilities, 1-800-235-4122, or (406) 243-5467.
Additional support through state and federal funds has enabled Special Care to increase their services. The center also participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and has a Title XX contract.
In addition to child care, therapeutic intervention services are provided on-site. By providing speech, physical and occupational therapies, parents have fewer appointment demands, teachers are able to consult with therapists and incorporate goals into the classroom routines, and children receive therapies at times suitable for their needs. Funds to provide therapies come from private insurance, grants, and contracts with Oklahoma's Early Intervention Program and Medicaid.
Other collaborations with Special Care include the Foster Grandparent and Job Training Partnership Act (JPTA) programs, as sources of volunteers, as well as local universities who work with the program as a practicum site for students.
Special Care has implemented Unique Environments, an on-site training program designed to help providers in centers and family child care homes become more knowledgeable about including children with disabilities in their programs.
For further information, contact: Pam Newby, Executive Director, Special Care, Inc., (405) 752-5112.
The CCDBG funds, through the Early Childhood Developmental Resources (ECDR) project, assist in obtaining adaptive equipment and materials for children with disabilities in child care settings. This equipment is designed to match a child's abilities and facilitate more independent interactions with the environment and with others.
Child Care Management Services (CCMS) contractors work with the ECDR project to assist providers in the purchase of adaptive equipment. In addition, CCMS contractors maintain resource rooms that contain a variety of materials for enhancing program services for children with disabilities.
For more information, contact: Charlotte Brantley, Director, or Jill Flannery, Program Specialist, Child Care Services, Texas Department of Human Services, (512) 450-4158
Vermont also has an in-service training model project that leads to an inclusive family child care home providers' certification. It will increase the supply of quality registered family child care homes that include children with disabilities, and the number of providers who can design, implement, and evaluate family-centered, inclusive, developmentally appropriate environments for all children.
Training participants agree to: take a pre/post self-assessment using an adaptation of the Quality Criteria for Family Child Care, attend 26 hours of training, participate in a year long practicum, and develop a portfolio which can be reviewed by the Child Care Services Division of the State Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services. The certificate signifies a commitment to including children with disabilities in a high quality family child care home, and may serve as an initial step toward attaining a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, or accreditation through the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).*
The training model project is funded through a federal grant from the Office of Special Education Programs, and carried out jointly by the University Affiliated Program at the University of Vermont and the state's Child Care Services Division.
For further information, contact: Kim Keiser, Director, State of Vermont, Child Care Services Division, (802) 241-3110.
Through interagency initiatives, the Division prepared trainers from various state agencies and their local counterparts to conduct statewide training on inclusion for child care providers. The Division has also trained administrators on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and created an ADA brochure for child care providers.
Current plans with GWU include developing a manual for child care providers about working with children with disabilities and the special education system.
To learn more, contact: Elizabeth Whitley Baron, Manager of the Training, Education and Consultation Office, Virginia Department of Social Services, Division of Licensing Programs, (804) 692-1774.
Caring For Our ChildrenFamilies of children with disabilities have had limited choices for child care. To address these needs, quality programs that include children with disabilities must be made available and affordable. Nationwide, coordinated efforts are needed to address issues in recruitment, availability, affordability, and training.
Families often rely on numerous agencies and services to meet the on-going needs of their children. When community-based child care works well for a child with disabilities, it is frequently the result of a collaborative effort among all agencies or programs connected with the family. How well these services work for the child and family depends on the ability of all to communicate with one another their roles, responsibilities, and goals for the child. This occurs when child care providers are regarded as critical members of a team and the child care environment is utilized as an appropriate placement for all children.
In the past three decades, services to individuals with disabilities have changed significantly. Advocacy on the part of families and professionals who believe that children have the right to live and be educated in their homes and communities has laid the foundation for our current service system. Services beginning at birth have been expanded with an emphasis on the child in the context of their family life. This has meant serving children where they typically are: in their home or child care setting.
Bea Gold is a Child Development Specialist and recently retired founding director of Child and Family Services. She has also served on the Editorial Panel of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The above article has been excerpted from information provided by Project EXCEPTIONAL. The full citation is: Gold, B. (1995). "Who Will Care for Our Children? An Historical Perspective for Young Children with Disabilities." In A. Kuschner, L. Cranor, & L. Brekken, (Eds.). A Guide for Training and Recruiting Child Care Providers to Serve Young Children with Disabilities, Vol. 1 (Preliminary Edition). Sacramento: California State Department of Education, Bureau of Publications. For availability, contact the Bureau of Publications 1-800-995-4099 or (916) 445-1260.
Key Federal Legislation
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees equal opportunities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services, child care and telecommunications
Inclusive School-Age Child CareOne SAC program that assures meaningful participation by all students is the Extended Day Enrichment Program, operated by Orange County Public Schools in Florida. The program serves approximately 13,000 children at 82 school sites. Dr. Betsy Fulmer, the district coordinator of school age care services, estimates that about 80 of these children have severe and profound multiple disabilities or medical fragility, and that 300 children have other significant special educational needs, including those who are blind, deaf, mentally retarded, or have mobility impairments.
These are a few features of the Extended Day Enrichment Program:
Dale Borman Fink is the author of many publications, including the book, School-Age Children with Special Needs: What Do They Do When School Is Out? He is also a consultant and coordinator of the Family And Child Transitions into Least Restrictive Environments (FACTS/LRE) Project. To learn more, call (217) 333-7033.
To learn more about the Extended Day Enrichment Program of Orange County, Florida, contact: Dr. Betsy Fulmer, (407) 849-3383.
Head Start RAPsHead Start has both a regional and national training and technical assistance network providing expertise and support to programs. Resource Access Projects (RAPs) work with Head Start programs to enable them to fully include children with disabilities. The services provided by RAPs include maintaining a library of resources, training support, information on adapting technologies to meet childrens' needs, on-site technical assistance, and facilitating interagency agreements with State and Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and others providing services for children with special needs.
Since states must provide services to children with disabilities, Head Start and LEA collaboration is essential, as well as coordination with the rest of the child care community. Head Start, child care, and LEAs can pool their resources to maximize financial potential and reduce duplication of efforts. Child care programs can work collaboratively with their local Head Start partner to provide comprehensive services for children with disabilities and their families.
Philip Printz is the Director of the Head Start New England Resource Access Project (RAP) at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). To learn more, call EDC at (617) 969-7100.
Tribal Leadership in Child CareWorkshops presented opportunities to learn from experts in the field and exchange ideas on planning and administering quality child care programs. Topics included training for new administrators, computer applications for managers (and Internet/ World Wide Web technologies), developing organizational infrastructure supports and funding strategies, such as networking with foundations. Other sessions covered collaboration with Head Start and other agencies, managing multiple funding streams, and special initiatives, such as culturally appropriate care for infants and toddlers, care during nontraditional hours, and the Healthy Child Care America campaign.
Sandra Ninham, Councilwoman of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, spoke of tribal resource allocation to support native families. She discussed growth in economic development in the Oneida Nation and the impact on child care and family issues. According to Ms. Ninham, "As we generated more jobs in the community...we knew we would also need to provide the infrastructure for our people to work without having to worry about child care." In response to rapid growth, the tribe has acted strategically to strengthen families, with immediate actions and long range plans that address economic, social, and educational goals.
Overall, the conference was rich in honoring tribal languages and cultural traditions. Many people were involved in planning workshops and coordinating activities in culturally respectful ways. Special efforts by Dee Henry of the Suquamish Tribe and Shirley Fiander of the Yakama Nation as coordinating liaisons contributed to the conference's success. The National Indian Child Care Association, along with the Suquamish Tribe, Muckleshoot Tribe, and the Yakama Nation, (a few of the tribes located in Washington), sponsored a cultural evening including a traditional salmon bake, Pow Wow, and an Inupiaq (Eskimo) blanket toss.
In one of the key events of the cultural evening, Greg (Tungwenuk) Nothstine, an active speaker for the Native Sobriety Movement, wove a theme of family support and community involvement into the basic elements of the traditional blanket toss. The "pullers" represent a community that, working together, create an environment of support, trust and safety; the "blanket" (a large walrus hide) represents the culture, laws, or beliefs through which communities interact; and a "tossee" can represent an individual, or collectively, all children which the community is entrusted to support and keep safe. The blanket toss is an exercise in trust and teamwork. A tossee cannot control how high or in which direction she is tossed. That is determined by the community, through the pullers' efforts. The importance and role of culture, traditions and tribal languages in child care settings were discussed in the workshops and illustrated through story telling and traditional dances.
According to ACYF Commissioner Olivia Golden, tribal leadership is exemplified by development of a shared vision, cooperative partnering, flexibility, and determination. By example, tribes have extended family networks that nurture children while teaching them native language and culture. These systems provide an infrastructure for comprehensive, family focused support. Traditions of respecting elders, children, and families, along with community unification to help raise all of the children, are models from which everyone can learn.
Plans for the third annual (1996) Tribal Child Care Conference are being developed. To offer suggestions, call Linda Kills Crow, Child Care Technical Assistance Project, at: (202) 639-4465; or Roger Iron Cloud, Child Care Bureau, at: (202) 690-6244. Tribal Tech: At the Tribal Conference, participants visited the World Wide Web (WWW) Home Page for the Child Care Bureau and one for Tribal Grantee Information (under development). Other web sites visited included ACF, the National Child Care Information Center, NativeNet, Indian Health Service, and the Tribal Voice. Listed below are the uniform resource locators (URLs), or addresses, of these web sites:
Child Care: A Place of Healing for Young Children with ChallengesChildren come into child care from a variety of family situations. Their behavior and self-esteem are deeply affected by family circumstances such as separation, death, depression, dysfunction, substance abuse, neglect, violence, and many other causes of mental and emotional stress. How providers help children handle challenges and harsh realities are important, life-shaping experiences. Understanding all of the individual fluctuations in each child's behavior and adjusting to the level of support that the child needs is an everyday reality for child care providers.
Three-year-old Kimberly, although bright, talkative, and imaginative in her play in the child care center, refused to join in any group activities, ignored requests, and often grabbed toys from other children, hitting and biting if the other child protested. Kimberly's parents and child care providers sought to understand the cause of her behaviors. A neuropsychological evaluation revealed that Kimberly had above average cognitive functioning, an attention deficit disorder (ADD), a mild expressive language problem, and motor planning difficulties. As Kimberly's parents and her child care providers understood her behaviors, they could focus more on her strengths, help her compensate for her difficulties, and build her self-esteem.
Mental health consultation can be an invaluable support to child care centers. Specialists may provide assistance to parents and caregivers around the needs of individual children who exhibit challenging behaviors, sometimes providing group therapy within the child care program itself. Consultants may also address program issues, improving the overall quality of care as they understand and empathize with caregivers, to help them be more aware and understanding of children's experiences (see also "Meeting Mental Health Needs," in the Child Care Bulletin, July/August, 1995).
Some models of mental health consultation and intervention in child care settings include:
Update: Seattle-King CountyIn Washington, a service that began as informal consultation to child care programs by the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health is now the Child Care Health Program, an integral part of services provided to the community. The program is staffed by a health educator, public health nurses, nutritionists, and a child psychologist, and has support from a dental hygienist and nurse epidemiologist. Staff consult with all licensed child care providers in education and training; provide consultation on specific issues at an individual site; and assist with early identification and referral.
The Child Care Health Team offers classes including communicable disease prevention, behavior management, and safe environments. Staff work with providers and families to help access community resources for children with special needs. They also work with the mental health system, child care subsidy programs, resource and referral agencies, state licensing, and community colleges to help provide comprehensive services to the child care community.
Jan Gross is the Coordinator of the Child Care Health Program for the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. For more information, call Jan at: (206) 296-4368.
Short ItemsSix training modules include workshops on topics related to quality care and inclusion, classroom visits, and home visits to adapt information and strategies to the home setting. The combination of information, modeling, and adaptation has improved the quality and availability of care for all children, including those with special needs.
For more information about the Institute or the FCCIP model, contact Dr. Mary Ellen Hoy at: (703) 683-1774; FAX (703) 683-1793.
A model demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities, was recently awarded to the Massachusetts Office for Children. Project Child Care 2000 will assist children and families in accessing inclusive child care services, targeting children with severe or low incidence disabilities and their families. Services include parent counseling, technical assistance, access to resources via the Information on Disabilities Exchange (INDEX), and linking experts in disabilities to child care service providers.
Demonstration sites will develop, implement and evaluate a model system to refer families to child care providers who are able to administer medication, provide site modification, special equipment, and make other accommodations to meet a child's needs for assistance in communication, mobility, behavior management or other areas. Intake procedures will gather additional information about the child's strengths, needs, and disability. Services will include facilitating a team approach for those working with the child.
By offering training through Wheelock College, the model will be made widely available to staff from Massachusetts and from other states as well.
For more information, contact Margaret O'Hare, Project Director of Child Care 2000, Massachusetts Office for Children, at: (617) 727-8900. Project EXCEPTIONAL provides training and resource development through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS). The Project aims to increase the quality and quantity of child care options for children with disabilities. The above article is excerpted from a ten part training curriculum designed to train child care and development staff on the inclusion of children with disabilities in child care settings.
For more information, contact Project EXCEPTIONAL, The California Institute on Human Services, Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, CA 94928 or call: (707) 664-2051. Partnerships for Inclusion (PFI) provides technical assistance to North Carolina communities to develop inclusive services for children birth to five, with and without disabilities, and their families. Located at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, PFI collaborates with state agencies to develop policy and program initiatives that support early childhood inclusion.
PFI has developed innovative models for delivering technical assistance through on-site consultation, community forums about inclusion, and train-the-trainer activities. Funding for PFI comes from the North Carolina Department of Human Resources and through the Division of Child Development and the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Substance Abuse, along with the Department of Public Instruction through the Division for Exceptional Children's Services, and the University of North Carolina.
For more information, contact Molly Weston, Editor of All Together Now!, a publication of Partnerships for Inclusion (PFI), at (919) 966-0059.
Organizational ResourcesFor information on linking with disabilities and child care resources, contact: The National Child Care Information Center 1-800-616-2242, or 1-800-716-2242 (fax) 1-800-516-2242 (TDD)
The Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, manages grant programs with the goal of forming partnerships with State governments, local communities and the private sector to assist people with developmental disabilities reach their maximum potential through increased independence, productivity, and community integration. For more information, contact Lynne Lau or Shirley Redmond at 202-690-6590.
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is a private, nonprofit membership organization of professionals committed to improving educational outcomes for exceptional individuals. CEC operates the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education (ERIC-EC). For more information, contact ERIC-EC, 1920 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091-1589 or call either 1-800-328-0272 or (703) 264-9474.
The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a professional organization designed for individuals who work with, or on behalf of, infants and young children, birth through age 8, who have special needs and their families. For more information, contact The Division for Early Childhood, 1444 Wazee Street, Suite 230, Denver, CO 80202, or call: (303) 620-4579.
LINKS: Linking Networks for Kids is a national consortium of key organizations in the fields of early care and education, health, development, and disability. LINKS encourages collaboration between organizations to increase public knowledge about available resources and to support delivery of comprehensive services to developmentally vulnerable children and their families. LINKS is coordinated by the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. For more information, contact LINKS, 1101 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 1212, Washington, DC 20005-5002, or call: (202) 467-5730.
National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NEC*TAC) is a collaborative organization funded through the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education. NEC*TAS assists state agencies in developing and implementing comprehensive services for young children, birth through age 8, with special needs and their families, and assists with projects in the Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities (EEPCD). NEC*TAS consists of the Coordinating Office and five collaborative organizations. To learn more about NEC*TAS publications and services, contact the Coordinating Office, NEC*TAS, 500 NationsBank Plaza, 137 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514 or call: (919) 962-2001 (voice) or (919) 966-4041 (TDD).
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) is a clearinghouse that provides free information on disabilities and disability-related issues that affect children. For more information, contact NICHCY, P.O. Box 1492, Washington, D.C. 20013-1492 or call either 1-800-695-0285 or (202) 884-8200.
The National Parent Network on Disabilities (NPND) was established to provide a national voice for parents of children, youth, and adults with special needs. NPND shares information to empower parents to be aware of and respond to policy issues concerning the needs of people with disabilities and their families. For more information, contact NPND, 1727 King Street, Suite 305, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 684-6763 (voice/TDD).
The Children's Foundation has just completed a 20-minute videotape, Yes, You Can Do It, that looks at the "fears" and "myths" of caring for infants and toddlers with disabilities in a family child care setting. An Annotated Resource Directory: Caring for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities will accompany the video. The Directory lists training materials and other resources relevant to those caring for young children with disabilities. For more information, contact Sandra Gellert, Project Director, at (202) 347-3300.
United Cerebral Palsy Associations (UCPA) is a non-profit, human service organization that aims to improve the quality of life for persons with cerebral palsy and other disabilities, and their families. UCPA has informational brochures, books, videos, and other materials for parents and others who work with children with disabilities. UCPA has also conducted national teleconferences on topics related to family support, child care, early intervention, and technology. To learn more, contact UCPA, 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036-5602 or call: 1-800-872-5827, or (202) 776-0406.
The ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools (ERIC/CRESS) has prepared a packet of six brief reports for parents of children with special needs. ERIC/CRESS also provides information about organizations that provide support to families with special needs children. For the free packet and other information, call ERIC/ CRESS at: 1-800-624-9120, or send an e-mail message to the User Services Coordinator at lanhamb@ael.org.
Resources in Child Care
| The document is for informational purposes only. No official endorsement of any practice, publication, program, or individual by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families, the Child Care Bureau, or the National Child Care Information Center is intended or is to be inferred. For additional information on this or related topics, please contact the National Child Care Information Center at (800) 616-2242 or info@nccic.org. |
