For the C3 Class Calendar

Welcome to the Children's Care Connection (C3) website home page! This website is devoted to providing helpful information about our C3 program, which serves children and families in San Diego, California. Specifically, C3 screens children for developmental delay, links families to community services, and provides educational and enhancement classes for parents and their children. To learn more, please click on any or all of the following questions:

• What is C3?
• How does my child qualify and receive services from C3?
• What happens during a developmental and behavioral assessment?
• What happens after an assessment?
• What is a "treatment class"?
• What types of treatment classes does C3 offer?
• What is the schedule of classes C3 offers?
• Who can I contact for more information about C3
• I am a physician/with a physician's office. How do I learn more about how to utilize C3 services?

What is C3?
C3 is a free program offered by Rady Children's Hospital San Diego to identify and treat developmental and behavioral concerns in children ages 0 months to 5 years (or kindergarten entry, whichever comes first). The C3 program, funded by the First 5 Commission of San Diego (Proposition 10--the tobacco tax), is FREE to qualified families in San Diego County.

How does my child qualify and receive services?

C3 was created to discover concerns early so that children can receive appropriate services to enhance their development and improve school readiness.

There are 3 ways children can be referred to C3.

1. First, since you and your child's doctor are in the best position to observe your child's development and behavior, we designed a procedure to screen and refer young children during routine doctor visits.
2. Second, we are working with childcare centers and preschools in San Diego County to screen children in the childcare and preschool setting.
3. Third, parents can call C3 themselves if they have any questions or concerns about their child's development or behavior.

For C3 phone numbers, click here.

During your first phone call to the C3 program, a staff member will complete a brief survey with you to determine how we can best serve you and your child (click to download the registration form and survey in PDF format). We may then ask you to schedule a developmental and behavioral screening for your child at one of our convenient C3 locations. To learn more about this procedure, see What happens during a developmental and behavioral assessment?

Regardless of whether or not your child has a developmental and behavioral screening, you and your child can choose to participate in the educational and treatment classes C3 offers. For more information on these classes, see "What is a treatment class"?

If you a physician or with a physician's office and are interested in learning more about C3, click to download the C3 Physician Manual. An updated C3 physician's manual will be available soon.


How does my child qualify and receive services from C3?
To qualify for C3 services:

• You must reside in one of the regions where C3 offers services (Please call to determine if your zip code is in one of these regions. For C3 phone numbers, click here)

• Your child must be between the ages of 0 months to 5 years and 11 months or kindergarten entry (whichever comes first).

If you meet these qualifications, C3 services are FREE of charge! There are 3 ways to receive services from the C3 program:

• Your child's doctor can refer you to the program.
• Your childcare or preschool provider can refer you to the program.
• You can call and refer your child on your own! For C3 phone numbers, click here.

What happens during a developmental & behavioral assessment?
You and/or your child's physician can decide to have your child receive a developmental and behavioral assessment at one of the three C3 sites (located in Oceanside, San Diego and San Marcos, California). Child development specialists are available on-site to determine whether your child's development and behavior are age-appropriate. Specifically, these specialists assess speech and language development; behavior; motor, thinking, and social skills. This assessment procedure lasts approximately one hour. Some parts of the assessment are completed by the parent and other parts are administered by a C3 Child Development Specialist. For example, the parent will complete a survey about what the child is able to do in her home and the C3 Child Developmental Specialist will observe how a child performs during play-based activities (e.g., stacking blocks, feeding a doll). We also conduct developmental and behavioral assessments at childcare centers and community clinics. The C3 staff can let you know about these options.

A set of comprehensive tools is used during the assessment, depending upon the age of the child. Here is a list of what we use:

• The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) is a screening instrument used to make a general examination of all areas of development, including personal-social, language, adaptive, fine and gross motor skills. Trained administrators assess each child directly. The instrument is used with children aged 4 months to 5 years.
• The Brigance K&1 Screens assess language, learning, and cognitive areas of development. C3 uses the Brigance K&1 Screens for children 5 years, 6 months to 6 years of age.
• The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a behavioral screening tool. It is completed by the parent, and used with children ages 18 months to 5 years of age.
• The Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) assesses the social and emotional development of children. C3 uses the ASQ-SE in lieu of the CBCL for children under 18 months.
• The MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventory (CDI): is an inventory for infants and toddlers, 8 to 37 months of age, which assesses language skills. Caregivers complete each inventory.
• The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (MCHAT): a screening instrument designed to assess early signs of autism in 18 to 24-month-old children. The instrument is completed by the caregiver.

What happens after a developmental & behavioral assessment?
Depending upon the outcome of the developmental and behavioral assessment, C3 staff may suggest one or more of the treatment classes we offer to address areas that are particularly challenging for your child.

If your child qualifies for free intervention services in the San Diego community, C3 staff will refer you to the appropriate agency for further evaluation and/or early intervention services in the community (click to download the specialized evaluation referral form).


What is a "treatment and behavior class"?
C3 offers a variety of education and enhancement classes for all interested parents and children. Classes are specific to the age of the child and are available weekdays as well as some evenings and weekends. Classes are categorized as follows:

• Parent-only Treatment Classes present information on activities and strategies parents can use in the home to stimulate and support their child's development and behavior. For example, in the class, Redirecting Children's Behavior, parents learn how to identify 4 goals of misbehavior and how to effectively redirect them.
  
• Parent & Child Treatment Classes allow parents and children to interact together using the skills they've learned in class. For example, in the music and movement class, parents gain hands on experience with their child as they learn helpful fine and large motor developmental activities.
  
• Teacher/Caregiver Treatment Classes are geared primarily toward working directly with the child and teacher/caregiver during the class to enhance development, increase readiness for kindergarten and treat behavioral problems at issue. For example, in these classes, children will learn how to practice specific newly-learned skills with peers in the class.

Please see the List of Classes on the Rady Children's Hospital San Diego's website, for a complete list of all classes.


What types of treatment classes does C3 offer?
Speech and Language classes help parents learn about and facilitate age-appropriate milestones for language and speech development. For example, our classes help parents with young toddlers learn how to stimulate their child's language development. We also have classes that address the needs of children who have speech delays.

Behavior classes help parents learn how to cope and deal with their child's behavioral patterns. For example, some of our classes offer general strategies for understanding and shaping your child's behavior. Other classes work specifically with parents of children who have behavior problems like aggression or temper tantrums.

Developmental classes are offered to facilitate healthy mind and body development in your child. For example, Watch Me Learn introduces skills necessary for kindergarten readiness. We also offer classes that work with children who are having trouble using their muscles to walk, jump, use a pencil, or cut paper with scissors.

The Rady Children's Hospital San Diego's website offers a complete list of C3 classes at http://www.rchsd.org/body.cfm?id=986, and the class schedules and calendars at http://www.rchsd.org/body.cfm?id=985.


Who can I contact for more information about C3?

C3 Clinical Services

For Information in the following areas or to determine if you qualify, please contact:

Children's Care Connection-Oceanside 4120 Waring Road Oceanside, CA 92056 (858) 966-8014

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Children's Care Connection-San Marcos 380 Mulberry Drive Suite D San Marcos, CA 92069 (760) 591-0179

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Children's Care Connection-Main Center 8010 Frost St First Floor San Diego, CA 92123 (858) 966-8931

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Children's Care Connection-South Bay (Mailing Address Only) UCSD Community Pediatrics 4305 University Ave. Suite 590 San Diego, CA 92105 (619) 681-0655

See Map

You may also contact the C3 program at 1-877-8C3-KIDS.

C3 General Information
If you have general questions about C3, such as how we set up the program, how we accessed funding, how we are using the data we collect, or how we are evaluating our program, please feel free to contact Helen Hayden-Wade.