Under IDEA ’97, infants,
toddlers, and young children may be eligible for services designed to meet
their specific developmental needs.
Preschool
services for children ages three to five (school age) is provided through the
Department of Education under the Mutually Agreed upon Written Agreement
(MAWA). There are 34 MAWA agencies, 27
are intermediate units, 6 are school districts, and 1 is a private provider,
approved private school (APS).
In
our area, the Seneca Highlands Intermediate Unit Nine Early Intervention
Program services eligible young children from the ages of three to entrance to
school age and their families. Staff
includes certified teachers and therapists who work in cooperation with parents
to help children succeed. Services are
free to eligible young children in need.
Classroom sites are available in Bradford, Coudersport, Emporium, Kane,
Ridgway, Smethport, and St. Marys.
A
wide range of support is offered including consultative services, itinerant
services, part-time classroom, full-time classroom, and combination
itinerant/classroom based. Other
services include hearing support, vision support, and speech and language
support. Related services include
occupational therapy, physical therapy, and transportation.
Who is Eligible?
Children
with a diagnosed disability as well as children with a developmental delay may
be eligible to receive services.
Developmental delays are significant delays in one or more of the
following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication
development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. Eligibility is determined by a
Multidisciplinary Team Evaluation (MDE).
An Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is written based on the child’s
needs. Parents are an active member of
both teams.
How do I make a referral?
Anyone
can make a referral…parents, doctors, agencies, etc. After the referral has been made, a case manager will arrange a
home visit. Information is gathered and
a brief screening is completed. With
parental permission, a comprehensive evaluation is completed within 45 calendar
days. An IEP team determines the need,
level, and location of services.
Seneca Highlands
Intermediate Unit Nine – Early Intervention Program
Demographics
-
Rural, remote area serving
17,114 public school students
-
Fourteen school districts and
2,353 non-public school students in 21 schools
-
Four counties covering 3,300
square miles with a population of 105,000
Strengths
-
A staff of caring, competent
and dedicated professionals
-
A vigorous, ongoing staff
development plan
-
A commitment to providing
quality programming in developmentally appropriate settings
-
A procedure for positive
behavior support strategies has been instituted
-
Positive interagency
collaborations which are actively pursued to provide eligible young children
and their families with a range of services without duplication of resources
-
Opportunities for peer
consultation and observation
-
Ongoing parent communication
and consideration of parent input
Challenges
-
Geography and distance between
school districts and communities
-
Availability of licensed,
developmentally appropriate child care centers to provide inclusive
opportunities for eligible young children
-
Availability of certified
professionals to provide related services to eligible young children
-
Time and resources available
to meet the requirements of IDEA ‘97
Goals
-
Expand inclusive opportunities
for eligible young children and their families
-
Heighten the awareness of
Early Intervention services available to young children and their families
-
Meet the challenges related to
the successful implementation of IDEA ‘97
-
Maintain effective interagency
collaborations
Division
for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children
The
Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC) is a nonprofit organization advocating for individuals who work with or
on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age eight, and their
families.
National
Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)
NICHCY
is a national information and referral center that provides information on
disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other
professionals.
National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
NICHD,
part of the National Institute of Health, conducts and support laboratory,
clinical, epidemiological research on the reproductive, neurobiological,
developmental, and behavioral processes that determine and maintain the health
of children, adults, families, and populations.