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Emerging Issues V. Community Resources

The challenge in this area is to identify resources in the community, access and organize the available information, and make it readily available to the child care field and to parents who are seeking programs and services for their children. In addition, the information needs to be conveyed to the general public in a way that demonstrates the benefits and challenges of inclusive programs and services.

Assessing and Identifying Community Needs and Resources

A community inventory of family-centered services is needed to identify existing resources and determine gaps. Child care resource and referral agencies can serve as a primary resource for parents seeking information about choosing child care. Parents may need general information about child care options such as articles or brochures that define types of programs and criteria for selection, or lists of centers and family child care homes located in a specific geographical area. Families may need information on other services such as:

• Prenatal care and health care
• Early intervention services
• Mental health services
• Transportation
• Adult education
• Job training
• Housing assistance
• Substance abuse counseling
• Special education services
• Literacy programs
• Volunteer organizations
• Advocacy/support networks

Parents of children without disabilities may need additional information about the concept and benefits of inclusion. Community service providers can help parents learn about the services available to best meet their needs. Publications such as Child Care and the ADA: Highlights for Parents ⁷ can provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the impact of the ADA on child care programs.

Project Special Care in Indianapolis, Indiana participated in a collaborative process to identify quality community-based programs for children with special needs who receive preschool, special education services through the Indianapolis Public Schools. A multidisciplinary team made up of parents, early intervention transition coordinators, special education preschool teachers and administrators, a representative of Best Practices in Integration, and Project Special Care staff worked together to adapt an existing site evaluation form, and then used it while visiting programs within the school district. The form summarizes specific strengths and areas of concern for each site and is available to families, teachers and administrators.

Community Partnerships, Inc., in Raleigh, North Carolina, sponsors Integrated Preschool Services, an inclusion support program funded primarily through contractual agreements with the Wake County Department of Human Resources (for children under three years) and the Wake County Public School System (for children over three years). The program is staffed with special educators and an interdisciplinary team that provides service coordination for families, direct intervention with the children, and support to a wide range of child care settings. The team consists of a speech-language pathologist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist and a psychologist.

Compiling and Disseminating Information

Identified community resources should be compiled in formats that can be widely disseminated. This listing becomes a valuable resource and should be updated on a regular basis. The compilation of resources takes an enormous effort. Child care resource and referral agencies can help to coordinate this task. Public and private agencies, businesses, and key community leaders can be approached for financial and practical help in compiling a comprehensive guide to available resources. A system for maintaining up-to-date information should also be developed. It is important to design surveys or questionnaires for agencies and other service providers, so that available services and procedural guidelines are clearly stated. Logistical information such as location, hours, and ages of children served and services provided should be included in the guide.

Child care resource and referral agencies may be a major distributor of the community resource information. In turn, R&Rs need to coordinate with others to ensure that the information reaches those who are in need of services. Alternative formats such as large print, and TTY accessible information should be developed. Additional formats for the information that will facilitate access include:

• Videos
• Community access television
• Telephone hot lines
• Online access
• Community forums conducted in places such as child care centers, Head Start, schools, housing complexes, health clinics, and libraries

It is important that the resource guide be translated into the native languages of ethnic groups in local communities. The distributors of the information need to represent the racial and ethnic composition of each community and materials should be culturally relevant.

Consumer Education

Consumer education must be a priority if the existing resources are to be utilized and broadened. To assure that information is accessible, traditional consumers - parents and child care providers - can be involved in the development and dissemination of the resource directory along with resource and referral agencies. They can take part in leading focus groups to define needs for services and then help to identify those services in the community. Parents and child care providers should also be asked for feedback about existing services based on their own experiences.

The Child Care Inclusion Project (see BANANAS) in Oakland, California, disseminated an informational brochure within the project target area. The brochure was designed by a graduate student intern and members of the Project staff, and was translated into Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese. The brochure has been disseminated to parents of children with disabilities, participants at community health fairs, the East Oakland Birth to School Project, Head Start programs, case manager meetings, child care centers and family child care providers, early interventionists, early childhood education students and administrators.

The target audience includes the general public, those in public office at all levels, government administrators, heads of service agencies and early intervention programs, health and medical workers, and the public schools. Ongoing public awareness activities will serve to educate these consumers about child care issues as well as available resources.

Consumer education goes beyond the dissemination of the resource guide. There should be clear messages that identify and publicize outstanding examples of inclusive child care programs and services in each community.

Child Care Plus, in Fairfax, Virginia has sponsored a Family Resource Fair for families of children with special needs for three consecutive years. The fair informs families about available community resources in a "one-stop" manner. Participants can attend a wide variety of workshops, speak directly with representatives from health, educational, human services and child care agencies and view products such as puppets and books that address issues about disabilities.

Part of consumer education is to suggest ways in which individuals and groups can act to help meet the challenge of providing family-focused, comprehensive, affordable, and flexible child care and related services to all children and their families.

Child Care 2000 of the Massachusetts Office For Children is working to develop a statewide system of enhanced resource and referral services for families of children with disabilities looking for inclusive child care in local communities. Child Care 2000 is building upon the existing strength of the Massachusetts Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies to balance parent information services with training and support resources to child care providers. Child Care 2000 works directly with child care resource and referral staff to help parents identify and select appropriate child care which meets the needs of their children. The project also provides a range of services such as training, technical assistance and consultation to local child care providers to assist them in making needed accommodations to best serve children with disabilities.

Support Collaboration

The key participants in interagency collaborations need to work together and support each other to ensure the success of inclusion programs. Each partner should work toward:

• Developing a common vision and set of outcomes for children and families;

• Clarifying roles and responsibilities;

• Dealing openly with issues such as territoriality, potential anxiety about including children with disabilities in child care and education programs;

• Sharing resources; and,

• Planning for training across disciplines.

One way to identify and strengthen collaborative efforts is to become involved in existing interagency groups that coordinate children's services. One such group is the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This Council coordinates services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Expanding this existing group to include an array of child care agencies could serve as an efficient mechanism to share resources and plan services for all children. All of the stakeholders on the Councils could also advocate together for changes in policies and regulations at the federal level.

Maryland's LOCATE: Child Care is a statewide computerized child care resource and referral system that helps parents find child care for allchildren. LOCATE has enhanced services for parents of children with special needs, including a Special Needs Counselor who conducts a database search for providers. Additional services provided by LOCATE include data collection on the availability of child care and other community resources. The service is sponsored by the Maryland Committee for Children, with additional funding provided by the State Department of Human Resources, private employers, and user fees.

A Teacher's Story

My center has enrolled several children with disabilities in the past year. This is a big change for us and quite a few parents have asked me questions about specific disabilities. Our director obtained some brochures from our state child care resource and referral agency about including children with disabilities in child care. We also got some materials from them with information about Down Syndrome, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy. I've sent these resources home in each child's backpack. Several parents have told me how helpful they were. Our resource and referral agency has been very responsive. It's great to know they have the information we need and can get it to us quickly.

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