You are here: Home > Child Care Bulletin Issue 21, Jan/Feb 1999 - Inclusive Child Care Quality Child Care for All Children

Issue 21

Inclusive Child Care—Quality Child Care for All Children

Contents

• Inclusive Child Care – Quality Child Care for ALL Children
• Building Capacity To Serve More Children with Disabilities Through Child Care
• Serving Children with Disabilities: It's the Law, It's Good for All Children, and It's Good for Your Program
• Inclusion – Glossary of Terms
• Healthy Child Care America Campaign Update
• Other Resources from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• R&R Project Promotes Inclusive Child Care Throughout Alaska
• Updated Resource Directory Available
• Massachusetts Integrates Child Care Into Child Protective Services
• Utah Raises Awareness and Boosts Training on Inclusive Child Care
• Improving Services for Indian Children with Special Needs
• Funding Inclusive Child Care: A Legislative Perspective
• Special Needs Rates: Supporting Inclusion of Children
• Resources for Inclusive Child Care Programs

Inclusive Child Care – Quality Child Care for ALL Children

Since its creation in 1995, the Child Care Bureau has had a strong commitment to inclusive child care and has focused attention and resources on expanding and improving inclusive child care services throughout the country. The Bureau convened a National Leadership Forum on Inclusion and produced a technical assistance monograph, Passages to Inclusion: Creating Systems of Care for ALL Children.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Offices also continue this effort to focus on inclusive child care with meetings, conferences and other technical support. In 1997 the Child Care Bureau funded the Map to Inclusive Child Care Project to help states develop and expand inclusive child care options. The Map Project is now in its second year. Each year, 10 new states will receive technical assistance through the project (see page 3).

Inclusive child care provides numerous benefits for all involved. Child care is a natural learning environment, a place where children experience everyday, typically occurring activities that promote and enhance development. However, successful inclusion of children with disabilities does not just happen. Research has shown that developmental gains for children with disabilities may not occur by simply placing children with disabilities in programs with typically developing children. Successful inclusion requires continued commitment, planning, and collaboration.

This issue of the Child Care Bulletin highlights examples of successful inclusion initiatives across the country. We hope this information helps inform and inspire you to make inclusion a reality in your community.

Building Capacity To Serve More Children with Disabilities
Through Child Care
Mary Beth Bruder

The key to successful inclusion of young children in child care is the provision of training, technical assistance, and support to involved staff. Unfortunately, ongoing training and consultative support for child care providers on the diverse needs of children – particularly children with disabilities – is not always readily available.

While curricula and training models on the inclusion of children with disabilities in child care have been available for a number of years, few states have systematically attempted to infuse this knowledge base into their child care community through specialty training tied to a state system of career development or licensure.

The Map to Inclusive Child Care Project, one of seven technical assistance projects funded by the Child Care Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, aims to help states increase their capacity to serve children with disabilities within accessible, affordable child care programs.

The following states were selected to participate during the first year of the Map project: California, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont. All states identified training as one of their strategic plan objectives.

Developing a vision for inclusive child care

States chosen to participate in the Maps project are required to assemble a state team of at least 15 stakeholders that includes families of children with disabilities, child care providers, child care state administrators, Head Start representatives, early intervention and preschool special education representatives. This team is assisted in developing a vision for inclusive child care as part of a strategic team specific to its state.

The state teams also participate in a national institute to collectively examine the issues related to increasing the capacity of child care to accommodate children with disabilities. These issues include funding, policy, and training.

Strengthening training on inclusion

While many of these states were already providing training on including children with disabilities in child care through the use of state child care funds, all acknowledged the need to enhance training opportunities for providers. Examples of several training models within these 10 states include:

• California provides training on inclusion through Project Exceptional, which originated at Sonoma State and is now offered through the community college system.
• The Indiana Consortium on Professional Development for Educators of Young Children has offered a ladder of training opportunities for all providers, and has included special care workshops as part of the entry-level certificate. This consortium operates in collaboration with Indiana's Unified Training System, which coordinates training opportunities across state agencies for families of young children with disabilities and the providers who work with them.
• Iowa uses its child care resource and referral system to publish a training calendar on training specific to inclusive child care.
• Maryland offers a training program through the Anne Arundel Community College on Integrating Children with Special Needs in Community Child Care Settings. Project All Children Together, sponsored by the Epilepsy Association of Maryland, works to increase the availability of child care opportunities for children with disabilities through training, onsite support and technical assistance, adaptive materials, and liaison support to community agencies, services, and school systems.
• New Jersey provides child care providers with training manuals on inclusion.
• New Mexico provides training to faculty who teach the early care and education workforce through "When Children Soar with the Wind." This includes training on children with special needs.
• The Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education, located at Portland State University, receives core funding from the CCDF grant. Center staff and advisory committee members have been working to incorporate competencies for care of children with special needs within training curricula and standards for Oregon's child care providers.
• Tennessee uses an interagency model across Human Services, Health, and the Developmental Disabilities Council to provide ongoing support for child care providers serving children with disabilities through the Child Care Resource Center.
• The Utah Office of Child Care recently funded a six-month pilot program called Fostering Inclusion Through Teaming (see story).
• Vermont offers child care training on children with disabilities through a consortium of 12 community child care support agencies.

The design of statewide systems of training for child care providers to meet legislative mandates and to implement recommended practice on inclusion of children with disabilities demands a commitment to quality, accessibility, and collaboration. Many challenges are unique to the child care provider: time constraints, staff turnover, increasing numbers of children with diverse needs, and dwindling fiscal resources.

Quality training – both in terms of content and process – requires the integration of adult learning principles, inservice training techniques, and recommended practices for child care and children with disabilities. Training also requires financial resources. Child care programs do not have the resources to sponsor ongoing training, yet the child care community is being required to make substantial accommodations for children with disabilities. State licensing and regulatory systems must be willing to provide support and technical assistance to the child care community to enable it to meet both state and federal requirements.

Striving for accessibility and convenience

Training for child care providers must also be accessible. The child care provider's day is long. Many providers can't afford substitutes so they can attend training, and many are unable to attend training on evenings and weekends. Statewide service systems must recognize these constraints and provide training at times and locations convenient for providers. This means that the trainers must also be accessible and their schedules must be flexible to recognize the many demands of child care.

As child care providers include more children with disabilities into their programs, they deserve access to appropriate support and training. This training must be conducted in collaboration with other state initiatives for child care, such as the CCDBG.

And as states plan how to utilize their training, they must design, deliver and evaluate training that facilitates the ability of child care providers to include children with diverse needs into their programs, a formidable task the Map states are trying to accomplish through a variety of mechanisms.

In the second year of the Map to Inclusive Child Care Project (1999), the following 10 states have been selected to receive technical assistance to address child care delivery for children with disabilities: Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, Puerto Rico, and Washington.

For more information, contact Mary Beth Bruder, Map to Inclusive Child Care Project Director, University of Connecticut Health Center, Division of Child and Family Studies, Dowling North, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030; phone: 860/679-4632; fax: 860/679-1368.

Serving Children with Disabilities: It's the Law, It's Good for All Children, and It's Good for Your Program
Abbey Griffin and Cindy Oser

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1994 gives us a new lens through which to view children with disabilities in early care and education programs. The language of the legislation speaks volumes: "children with disabilities" encourages us to see disability as just a difference. Children are different in many ways – they are always children first. This article addresses the benefits of serving infants and toddlers and services available through Part C of IDEA. The story of a toddler named Charlie is a real-life example.

Charlie, 20 months, has Down Syndrome and mental retardation. On his first day at the child care center, Charlie was outgoing and highly social. He eagerly approached his 11 peers. The children were welcoming and curious. Emma, 32 months, guided Charlie around the room. At first, Charlie's parents were concerned about whether he would be accepted in the toddler group, be treated as a normal child, and still get the special help he needed. Anita, the center director, and Laura, the toddler lead teacher, also had concerns about whether he would need more help than they could provide and whether his early intervention (EI) providers would cooperate with teachers and appreciate the other children's natural curiosity. After a few months, Charlie's parents and the staff met to share what they had observed.

Collaborating to provide individualized care

Their observations illustrate that full inclusion was not only possible but offered unique opportunities for everyone to learn. Charlie's parents felt empowered through their involvement with the center; they brought together Anita, Laura, and Charlie's team of medical and EI specialists to revise his Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP), arguing that all services be provided at the center and as part of Charlie's daily routine.

Anita and the staff realized the IFSP planning process was an excellent model for conducting individualized planning for all their infants and toddlers. IDEA's Part C requires the full participation of parents in setting developmental goals, outlining strategies to reach those goals and tracking the child's progress. IFSP planning can be adapted to create a structured format for family–caregiver communication about child developmental needs and observations of progress. With this kind of family–driven observation and planning, it's more likely that health or developmental concerns will be identified early, and that the child will get screening, diagnostic services, and, when indicated, therapeutic and health services.

Designing strategies to encourage development

Child care and EI providers have a great deal to learn from each other. Speech/language, occupational, and physical therapists model for caregivers new strategies that encourage development. By being in the toddler room and observing regular interactions among children and caregivers, the therapists have an opportunity to see Charlie's many strengths. The children seemed to understand him in ways the adults didn't. They asked questions about why he couldn't do things they could and why he looked different, and their openness made it comfortable to talk to them about disabilities, differences, sharing and helping. It is rewarding to work with a child's strengths rather than focusing on disabilities alone.

Charlie's story is so important because it is during the early years that the brain develops the fundamental pathways needed to integrate and organize information taken in through the senses and experienced through action. It is through the security provided by trusting relationships with a few caring adults that infants and toddlers explore their world and their capacities in all domains of development. And it is in the 'eyes' of these adults, their loving acceptance and guidance, that toddlers form a sense of who they are – their identity.

All children deserve to have their individual differences seen and valued. A disability is just a difference – all children are children first.

Inclusion – Glossary of Terms

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, Public Law 105-17) is federal legislation that assures children with disabilities free and appropriate education, public accommodations, and services operated by private entities.

The law has four parts:

• Part A covers the general purpose of the law and definitions.
• Part B addresses requirements for the education of all children with disabilities.
• Part C covers the specific requirements for services to infants and toddlers (children from birth to 36 months). Part C emphasizes the rights of eligible infants and toddlers to receive early childhood intervention services within "natural environments." Part C also states that when group settings are used for intervention, the infant or toddler with a disability should be placed in groups with same-aged peers without disabilities, such as play groups, day care centers, or whatever typical group settings exist for infants and toddlers with disabilities. The state service system for infant and toddler services is often referred to as the "Part C program," and every state and locality has a "Part C Coordinator."
• Part D authorizes national activities to improve special education services (research, personnel development, technical assistance and state improvement grants).

Early Intervention Services (EI or EIS) are designed to meet the developmental needs of children from birth to 36 months with disabilities in any of the following areas: physical, cognitive, communication, socio-emotional, or adaptive development. EIS includes the following services: identification, screening, and assessment; family education and training; home visits; special instruction; health services; social services; and assistive technology. Specialized service areas include speech-language, audiology, occupational and physical therapy, and health services.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a written plan describing services, providers, locations, and goals for services and supports provided to the child and family. The IFSP is prepared by a team that includes the infant or toddler's family and all service providers (including the child care provider). Services are to be family-focused and provided in the "natural environment, including home and community settings in which the infant or toddler with disabilities participate."

Natural Environments are settings in the community where the infant or toddler with disabilities might participate. Center and family child care programs are considered natural environments. EI services are to be provided in the child care setting "to the maximum extent appropriate." Decisions about appropriateness are to be made by the IFSP team.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is federal legislation that extends civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities. Child care programs are affected by the public accommodations sections as well as the employment provisions. ADA applies to privately owned as well as publicly operated child care. Child care programs operated by religious organizations are exempt from some of the ADA provisions. For more information, call the ADA Information Line at 800/514-0301 (voice); 800/514-0383 (TDD).

Interagency Coordinating Councils: IDEA helps states develop and implement statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs providing appropriate early intervention services to all eligible children and their families. States must bring together a State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) to design and oversee the state system. Similarly, local governments must have a coordinating council to ensure interagency collaboration at the local level (this is the Local Interagency Coordinating Council, or LICC.)

Abbey Griffin is a Senior Associate and the Map to Inclusive Child Care Project subcontract director and Cindy Oser is the National Early Childhood Education Technical Assistance System subcontract director with ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families in Washington, D.C.

Healthy Child Care America Campaign Update

The Healthy Child Care America campaign (HCCA) is a collaborative effort of health professionals, child care providers, and families working in partnership to improve the health and well-being of children in child care settings. The campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Child Care Bureau and Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and is coordinated in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Step eight in the HCCA Blueprint for Action encourages communities to expand and provide ongoing support to child care providers and families caring for Children with Special Needs (CWSN). These children offer enrichment and diversity to the child care experience and should not be excluded unless it is medically necessary. The following strategies highlight ways to promote inclusive quality child care:

• Identify child care providers who care for CWSN and widely disseminate information on model programs and strategies.
• Collect and disseminate information on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act that relate to the provision of quality child care.
• Encourage parents who have CWSN to serve as mentors for child care providers.
• Distribute information on available funding and resources to families who have CWSN and advocacy groups that offer to support these families.
• Provide those who care for CWSN with educational materials on physical safety requirements for facilities, such as the required placement of ramps and railings in the child care setting.
• Set up ongoing trainings and a support network for child care providers serving CWSN.
• Invite pediatricians familiar with child care environments to serve in an advisory capacity to child care programs.
• Ask representatives from programs serving CWSN to meet with families and pediatricians (or other primary care clinicians) to iron out inconsistencies between pediatric treatment guidelines, state health regulations, and program policies.

Initiatives underway in many states

In many states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, innovative activities to improve the quality of child care programs for CWSN are underway. To learn more about these programs or the Healthy Child Care America campaign, call 888-227-5409 or e–mail childcare@aap.org.

The American Academy of Pediatrics also coordinates a Medical Home Program for Children with Special Needs with support from the MCHB. The goal of this program is to support and provide advocacy for pediatric health care professionals who care for children with special needs in managed care environments. For more information about this program, please call 800/433-9016, ext. 7081, or e-mail jbetz@aap.org.

 

 

R&R Project Promotes Inclusive Child Care Throughout Alaska
Sheri Baxter

With the launch of the Healthy Child Care America (HCCA) campaign in 1996, dozens of agencies in the United States and the U.S. territories received grants to conduct projects promoting health in child care programs. Child Care Connection, Inc., the resource and referral agency for south-central Alaska, was one of the HCCA grant recipients. Its HCCA project, the Alaska IN Project, is a statewide, collaborative effort focused on increasing the quality and availability of healthy and safe, inclusive child care programs for children with special needs.

At its initiation, the Alaska IN Project conducted a statewide needs assessment study of families of children with special needs and early childhood providers. This study found that many families in Alaska have had difficulties obtaining child care and have been denied these services because of their child's disability.

The project's activities have focused primarily on education and building community partnerships. The project has provided more than 250 hours of training workshops throughout the state to child care providers, Head Start programs, school district personnel, early interventionists, social service providers, and parents. Training workshops count towards the Child Development Associate certificate, and CEU credit has been available at some sessions.

Currently, project staff are teaching at the local university a three-credit course on inclusive early childhood settings. The project has produced five educational brochures on various inclusion topics and a 16-page booklet, Adapting Toys & Activities in Your Child Care Program. It has also developed an Adaptive Toy Kit and 42 Information & Resource Kits on various inclusion and special needs topics. The project has purchased numerous educational materials for distribution to early childhood professionals and additional materials that can be borrowed from Alaska's R&R agencies. The project also provides technical assistance to early childhood programs.

Being housed in one of the state's resource and referral agencies has increased the Alaska IN Project's ability to reach and impact more child care programs throughout the state. Child Care Connection and the other two R&R agencies in Alaska have provided support in connecting the Alaska IN Project with child care programs and related community service agencies and in meeting the particular needs of the diverse communities in the state.

The Alaska IN Project – through its partnerships with the state R&R agencies, child care programs, parents, state agencies, the Governor's Council on Disabilities, schools, early intervention programs, and numerous other community organizations that support educators and individuals with disabilities – has been able to create a statewide awareness of establishing inclusion as the standard and increasing the quality and availability of inclusive early childhood programs in Alaska.

For more information, contact Sheri Baxter, Project Specialist, Alaska IN Project/Child Care Connection, Inc. at 907/563-1923; e-mail: sbaxter@pobox.alaska.net.

Massachusetts Integrates Child Care  Into Child Protective Services
Bruce Hershfield

As states move toward implementing the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), child welfare reform legislation passed by Congress in 1997, the role of child care and its relationship to the child welfare system takes on increasing significance. The most vulnerable children and those parents least likely to be able to successfully advocate for themselves are likely to be found in a state's protective service system.

The quality and comprehensiveness of the child care services that these children receive may have not only an enduring impact on their development, but also may have significant implications for reunification with or termination from their parents. Inclusion of these children in the debate over the use of scarce child care resources is critical.

Massachusetts for several years has run a specialized child care program for children in its protective service system, although it has generally been integrated into general child care programming. Known as Supportive Child Care, the program is funded in FY 1999 at approximately $43.5 million and includes a social service and transportation component. Key to the program is establishing working relationships between the provider and the local child welfare area office around specific children and local needs.

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is about to undertake a national survey of states since so little is known about how states address the child care issues of families in the state's child protective and foster care system.

We are also seeking information about program models that serve this special population. CWLA asks for your support in responding to the survey and request for narrative information about program models. We look forward to sharing that information with you.

For more information, contact Bruce Hershfield, Director of Child Day Care Services for the Child Welfare League of America, 202/942-0291.

Utah Raises Awareness and Boosts Training on Inclusive Child Care

Utah's Office of Child Care in 1997 funded a six-month inclusive child care pilot program – Fostering Inclusion Through Teaming (FITT) – specifically targeted to family child care facilities. In collaboration with a community-based child care resource and referral program and the state early intervention program, FITT prompted action on two fronts. The program helped match parents seeking care for children with special needs with family child care providers with openings. And it linked providers with early childhood special education experts, who delivered short-term training to the family child care provider before and after the child's initial placement.

Meeting ongoing needs for training

While the pilot project was successful, it highlighted the need for ongoing technical assistance and training for providers about inclusion and community resources. In keeping with its efforts to raise awareness and boost training, the office is currently developing an exhibit for use at symposiums, forums, meetings and other venues to heighten awareness of the benefits of inclusive practices among the business community, the provider community, and the general public.

The child care office is also adapting for use in Utah a SpecialCare outreach project designed by Child Development Resources in Norge, Va. This "train-the-trainer" model helps communities expand inclusive child care options for young children with significant disabilities and their families. Project staff typically work with families, caregivers, and representatives from the fields of early intervention and early childhood special education to identify local trainers to participate in SpecialCare training and receive technical assistance.

For more information about FITT, contact the Utah Office of Child Care, 140 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111; 801/526-4340; 801/526-4349 (fax). For more information about SpecialCare, contact Child Development Resources, P.O. Box 280, Norge, VA 23127-0280; 757/566-3300.

Improving Services for Indian Children with Special Needs

The National Early Childhood Consortia for Indian Children with Special Needs (NECCICSN) seeks to ensure that all Indian children with special needs and their families receive services that respect personal culture, language, values, traditions, resources, concerns and priorities in a family-centered way. The consortia provides technical assistance and promotes information-sharing among tribes and other governmental agencies that receive funds through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

NECCICSN also helps promote opportunities for organizations to coordinate services and funding sources for the benefit of young children with developmental differences and their families residing in tribal communities.

Programs and services directory in progress

One project in development is a monograph and directory of the more than 60 tribes currently receiving funding under IDEA. The directory will include demographic information about each tribe, the numbers of children identified and served, and a description of each tribe's programs and services for families of children with special needs.

The directory will also include brief descriptions of working relationships among tribes and state agencies and other organizations, along with descriptions of the formal and informal networks available to help parents of children with special needs obtain training, information, support and other services. Information collection for the directory, which is based on a self-report questionnaire from tribes receiving funds through IDEA, is an ongoing process.

To submit information about tribal projects and services, or to be placed on a mailing list to receive the finalized directory, contact Paula Seanez, President, National Early Childhood Consortia for Indian Children with Special Needs (NECCICSN), Navajo OSERS Office, P.O. Box 1420, Window Rock, AZ 86515 or call 520/871-6993, 520/871-7865 (fax), or e-mail: paulas@dns.nncs.ihs.gov

Funding Inclusive Child Care: A Legislative Perspective
Terry Whitney

For any working parent, deciding who will care for the children is a critical and often time-consuming proposition. Parents and guardians must deal with concerns about quality, affordability and availability. Parents of children with disabilities face even greater challenges. Policymakers have begun to explore ways to expand the number of child care slots while focusing on how to include children with disabilities into community settings with other children.

The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act have served as a key impetus for bringing disability issues to the attention of state legislators. In addition, state legislators have recognized other reasons to be concerned about the provision of quality child care. Good early care and education programs can have a significant effect on state economies, families' self-sufficiency and welfare reform. In the long term, such programs provide children with a solid foundation for later success in school, at work and in the community.

Commitments to child care financing

Beginning in the early 1990s, several state legislatures led efforts to better coordinate child care programs with different funding sources. And during the past decade, legislators in many states have demonstrated a strong commitment to child care funding for low-income families, expanding early childhood programs as well as appropriating dollars for training child care providers.

One of the best approaches to leveraging additional child care slots has been demonstrated in Illinois. The Illinois Facilities Fund (IFF), a community development financial institution, promotes inclusive child care by working directly with child care centers to provide placements in the centers it finances for children with special needs. By borrowing funds through tax-exempt bonds, the IFF has constructed eight child care centers and is renovating two others. This unique partnership between private nonprofit corporations, government agencies, foundations and the public capital markets is the first of its kind in the country.

Other innovative funding approaches

In Nevada, CCDBG funds are used to provide child care to children with special needs. These funds also support training for child care providers in rural and urban settings who serve typically developing children so they can be prepared to serve children with special needs for inclusion in their programs. In 1997, legislators appropriated $8 million in the fiscal biennium to provide family support services to all families with children under age 1. Block grants go to community organizations within 13 infant support districts for voluntary services to families with infants from birth to age 1.

In North Carolina, as part of its match for Medicaid expansion grants, the legislature appropriated a $6 million increase for Medicaid reimbursement for case management that includes specialized occupational, physical and speech therapy. In addition, IDEA Part C and Part B funds are used for assistive technology services. The 1998 legislature also included in the Children's' Health Insurance Program the same package of services for children with special needs as is found in Medicaid. Benefits include dental coverage, hearing, vision and speech screening, and medical equipment for children in child care.

Policymakers who are actively considering how to affect child care policy in positive ways to help more families face several challenges. They must consider the development of supportive services for families and providers, training of child care teachers, cost, quality and availability. Accordingly, they must look to form partnerships with parents, child care providers, federal officials and other interested parties for guidance on how best to formulate legislation.

Terry Whitney is a Senior Policy Analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. This article is based on "Funding Inclusive Child Care," State Legislative Report, NCSL, January 1999 (Vol. 24, No. 1). For summaries of state legislation related to inclusive child care, visit www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/spneeds.htm on the Web.

Special Needs Rates: Supporting Inclusion of Children
Abby Cohen

Does the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit paying a higher state rate (child care subsidy) for special needs children?

No. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive federal civil rights law that was passed to protect individuals with mental or physical disabilities from discrimination. Providers must serve children with disabilities if they can do so by making reasonable accommodations. (This is true whether or not a higher reimbursement rate is available.) But providers may not charge private paying customers/parents for the cost of making these reasonable accommodations. This prohibition on charging private parties more to serve children with disabilities than other children does not preclude states from paying a higher rate in recognition of the increased costs.

Does any other federal law prohibit paying a higher state child care subsidy rate for children with disabilities?

No. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 repealed various child care subsidy provisions that required that rates paid be the lesser of either an actual market survey or what providers actually charged parents.

Which children are potentially eligible for increased rates?

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) allows for each state to define which children are to be considered those with special needs. This definition could track the definition of disability under the ADA, the definition of those entitled to services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), or any definition the state selects.

For more information, contact Abby Cohen, NCCIC State Technical Assistance Specialist for Region 9, at 510/601-7319. The full text of Special Needs Rates: Supporting Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Child Care Programs is available on the Web at http://nccic.org.

Resources for Inclusive Child Care Programs

Organizations:

The National Early Childhood Education Technical Assistance System (NEC*TAS) is a national technical assistance effort funded through the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the U.S. Department of Education that supports programs for young children with disabilities and their families under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. NEC*TAS also provides services to selected model early childhood projects funded by the OSEP, to the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council, to state-level technical assistance agencies and others.

For more information, contact NEC*TAS at 500 NationsBank Plaza, 137 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514; 919/962-2001 (voice) or 919/966-4041 (TDD); e-mail nectas@unc.edu or on the Web at www.nectac.org.

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. NICHCY offers information and makes referrals in areas related to specific disabilities, early intervention, special education and related services, individualized education programs, family issues, disability organizations, professional associations, education rights, transition to adult life, and more.

For more information, contact NICHCY at P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC 20013; 800/695-0285; 202/884-8441 (fax) or on the Web at www.nichcy.org.

The Beach Center on Families and Disability is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education and is affiliated with the Special Education Department of the University of Kansas.

For more information, contact the center at 3111 Haworth, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045; 785/864-7600 (V/TTY); 785/864-7605 (fax) or on the Web at http://www.lsi.ukans.edu/BEACH/. [Editor's note (3-21-02): this url has changed: http://www.beachcenter.org/]

Publications:

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC),
a professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for exceptional individuals, operates the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education (ERIC-EC). Recent additions to CEC's Web site include a catalog of inclusion resources at www.cec.sped.org/bk/catalog/inclus.htm [http://www.cec.sped.org/bk/catalog2/] and the May/June 1998 Special Digital Issue of TEACHING exceptional children, which focuses on the World Wide Web and Special Education, at http://www.cec.sped.org/bk/tec-jour.htm. [http://www.cec.sped.org/bk/tec-jour.html]

For more information, contact CEC at 1920 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1589; 703/620-3660 (voice); 703/264-9446 (TTY); 703/264-9494 (fax) or on the Web at www.cec.sped.org.

Integrated Models for the Evaluation and Treatment of Young Children with Severe Difficulties in Relating and Communicating: A Special Issue of Zero to Three (April/May, 1997) was developed from presentations held at a full-day forum at ZERO TO THREE's December 1996 National Training Institute. This issue aims to help practitioners and parents treat and understand young children commonly diagnosed with Multisystem Developmental Disorder (MSDD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), and Autistic Disorder.

To order, contact Zero to Three Publications at 800/899-4301.

 Including Young Children With Disabilities in Community Settings: A Resource Packet presents a variety of resources on inclusionary practices, provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act related to child care services for children with disabilities, and the basis in federal law for inclusive practices.

The resource packet (220 pp.) is available from the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NEC*TAC), 500 NationsBank Plaza, 137 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514; 919/962-2001.

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