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California Early Start
HISTORY/MISSION
California Early Start is a federally funded program
through Part-C of the Education Code to insure infants and toddlers with,
or at risk for, developmental delay and their families receive coordinated
intervention services in a timely manner to improve a child's developmental
outcomes. Its mission is to establish a statewide, coordinated, interagency
system for infants and toddlers and their families, based on existing
resources and innovative approaches to comprehensive, family-focused early
intervention services.
ELIGIBILITY
In California, eligible infants and toddlers (birth to
36 months) include:
- Infants and
toddlers with delay in at least one area of development,
- Infants and
toddlers with established conditions known to cause disability or
delay, and
- Infants and
toddlers who are at high risk of experiencing developmental
disability.
SERVICES
There is a wide range of early intervention services
available. These services may be provided by a number of agencies in the
San Diego area. These services may include:
- Assistive
technology
- Audiology and
hearing services
- Family training,
counseling, home visits
- Health services
- Medical services for diagnostic/evaluation purposes only
- Nursing services
- Nutrition services
- Occupational
therapy
- Physical therapy
- Psychological
services
- Respite services
- Service
coordination (case management)
- Social work
services
- Special instruction
- Speech-language
services
- Transportation and related costs
- Vision Services
Additional services that the California Early Start
program may help a family access if needed include:
- Supplemental
Security Income (SSI)
- In-home Support
Services (IHSS)
- Medical
- Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
- Women, Infants and
Children (WIC)
- California
Children's Services (CCS)
- Child Health and
Disability Prevention (CHDP)
- Healthy Families
- Early Head
Start/Head Start
- Parenting classes
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
None
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Seven agencies comprise the
key partners for the California Early Start program in the San Diego area.
These agencies include:
You may contact any of these agencies for more
information or contact the Early Start Program at (800) 515-2229 or earlystart@dds.ca.gov.
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Developmental Services,
Rady Children's Hospital San Diego
HISTORY/VISION
Rady Children's Hospital Developmental Services'
mission is to restore, sustain, and enhance the health and developmental
potential of children. Our vision is to create a community
where children with delays, disabilities, and other special needs
reach their full developmental potential and families feel supported
and empowered to be teachers, therapists and advocates.
ELIGIBILITY
All children, birth to 18-years, are eligible for services. Some of these services
are covered by insurance plans, including MediCal
SERVICES
Learn more about the services offered by clicking on the department links
below.
Audiology/Hearing
Autism
Intervention Center (CAIC)
Child Care Center
Children's
Care Connection (C3)
Developmental
Screening and Enhancement Project (DSEP)
Developmental
Evaluation Clinic (DEC)
Feeding Team
High Risk Infant Program (HRI)
Occupational
Therapy
Physical
Therapy
Speech-Language
Pathology
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
Other specific programs and services can be found at http://www.chsd.org/body.cfm?id=998
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Autism Intervention Center
Children's Solana Beach Center (provides parent training)
667 San Rodolfo Dr., Suite 126
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 793-9591
Developmental Evaluation Clinic
Children's Main Campus
8010 Frost Street, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 966-5817
Children's Solana Beach Center
667 San Rodolfo Dr., Suite 126
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 793-9591
Children's North County Center
4120 Waring Rd
Oceanside, CA 92056
(760) 758-1620
Audiology, Occupational Therapy,
Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology
Children's Main Campus
8010 Frost Street, Suite 100 & 200
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 966-5817
Children's Solana Beach Center
667 San Rodolfo Dr., Suite 126
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 793-9591
Children's North County Center
4120 Waring Road
Oceanside, CA 92054
(760) 758-1620
Children's Care Connection (C3)
C3 Oceanside Center
2231 El Camino Real, Suite B
Oceanside, CA 92054
(760) 754-6110
Children's Solana Beach Center
667 San Rodolfo Dr., Suite 126
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(858) 966-8931
C3 San Marcos Center
380 Mulberry Drive, Suite C
San Marcos, CA 92069
(760) 591-0179
Polinsky Children's Center Medical Clinic
9400 Ruffin Court, Building B
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 514-5644
Autism and Brain Development Research Laboratory
(research only)
8110 La Jolla Shores Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 551-7925
Website: http://www.chsd.org/body.cfm?id=998
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Infant Education Programs
HISTORY/MISSION
The Infant Education Programs are public special
education programs that offer services to infants and toddlers with special
needs and their families as part of California Early Start.
Services are offered at no cost to the families.
There are five Infant Educational Programs in the San Diego area. Each
services different regions in the area. Each also offers different types of
services, specifically school-based and/or home-based interventions.
ELIGIBILITY
If you are concerned about your infant or toddler's development, you can
refer your child directly to an Early Start program or you can have your
child's physician or another professional make the referral for you.
Generally, children ages birth to three who are showing a significant delay
in at least one area of development or have a condition with a known probability
of causing a disability or delay may be eligible. An evaluation and
assessment by an Early Start Program determines eligibility for services.
SERVICES
Once eligibility has been determined, an Individualized Family Service Plan
(IFSP) is developed by a team that includes the family and may include
early intervention staff from San Diego Regional Center, and other
California Early Start agencies. The plan defines outcomes and services
that address the family's home, neighborhood and community in English or
Spanish, with interpreters available to families who speak other languages.
Infants or toddlers may qualify for:
- school-based
services (24-36 months of age)
- home-based
services (birth to 3 years of age)
- behavioral
interventions
- consultation
services in speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and
audiology.
SPECIFICS
FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
None
FOR MORE INFORMATION
There are five Infant Programs in San Diego County. Specifically, each
program has one or more San Diego regions it serves. Please contact the
Infant Program in your region.
Alcott Infant Program
(858)272-9641
4680 Hidalgo Avenue
San Diego, CA 92117
Region served: San Diego City Schools
HOPE Infant Program
Referral Desk Only
(760) 736-6344
910 W. San Marcos Blvd #109
San Marcos, 92069
Regions served: North Costal, North Inland, South Bay, and Poway
La Mesa/Spring Valley
(619)668-5747
Spring Valley Elementary
Early Start Program, Room 15
3845 Spring Drive
Spring Valley, CA 91977
Regions served: La Mesa and Spring Valley
Santee-Lakeside
(619)390-2620
Mailing Address Only
PO BOX 578
Lakeside, CA 92040
Regions served: Lakeside and Santee
Sevick Center
(619)588-3146
1609 E. Madison Avenue
El Cajon, CA 92019-1046
Regions served: Cajon Valley and Mnt Empire
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San Diego County Office of Special
Education
HISTORY/MISSION
In the United States,
education is a right, an entitlement. The Education for All Handicapped
Children Act (PL 94-142) was passed by large majorities in Congress in
1975. Under PL 94-142, individual evaluations are required for every child
receiving special education. The basic evaluation team consists of the
child's teacher, a representative of special education, one or both
parents, and other individuals at the discretion of parents or agencies, as
well as the child when appropriate.
The major service to be provided under PL 94-142 and state laws is special
education. However, the law also calls for the provision of "related
services" needed by the student to benefit from special education.
Passed in 1986, PL 99-457 extends the mandate for special education
services down to age three, thus reinforcing the importance of preschool
intervention programs for children identified has having developmental
disabilities.
In 1997, the Individuals with Disabilities Act was passed. It was amended in 2004.
ELIGIBILITY
Children less than 3 years of age who are determined to demonstrate 33%
developmental delay in one area or 25% delay in two or more areas are
eligible for services. Evaluations are coordinated at the district level.
Children 3 years of age and older must be found to meet state guidelines
for special education services.
SERVICES
Special day classes are available for children determined to be severely
handicapped. For children with mild deficits or specific delays, itinerant
services, (i.e. speech therapy, occupational therapy, adaptive PE, physical
therapy, rehabilitation, resource specialist) or small group instruction is
provided. Available services can vary by district; we recommend contacting
the principal or special education coordinator where a child lives for more
details.
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
None
FOR MORE INFORMATION
San Diego County Office of Education
Director, Special Education
6401 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111
East
County SELPA
924 East Main Street
El Cajon, CA 92121
Ph: (619) 590-3920
Fx: (619) 588-2495
North
Coastal SELPA
570 Rancheros Drive
San Marcos, CA 92069
Ph: (760) 471-8208
Fx: (760) 471-2008
North
Inland SELPA
P.O. Box 2709
Ramona, CA 92065
Ph: (760) 788-4671
Fx: (760) 788-4681
Poway Unified School District SELPA
13626 Twin Peaks Road
Poway, CA 92064-3098
Ph: (858) 668-4135
Fx: (858) 748-1791
San Diego
Unified School District SELPA
Ph: (619) 725-7650
South
County SELPA
800 National City Blvd. #202
National City, CA 91950
Ph: (619) 470-5224
Fx: (619) 470-5266
Website: http://www.sdcoe.net/speced/selpas.asp
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Head Start and Early Head Start
HISTORY/MISSION
The Head Start-Early Head Start Program is the most successful federal program for children and their families ever created. It began in 1965 and was designed to provide children from low-income families with comprehensive services to meet their educational needs. The Head Start Program currently serves over 10,000,000 children nationwide and over 900,000 children in California. The local San Diego County Head Start Program serves over 12,000 children and is operated by two community based/ non-profit organizations, Neighborhood House Association and Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee (MAAC) Project.
ELIGIBILITY
Low-income children, foster care children and children with special needs who are six weeks to five years old and their families are eligible to receive services from the Head Start Program.
SERVICES
Head Start Program provides low-income, foster care and special-needs children a chance to grow up happy, healthy and confident by providing them with the educational, social, medical, psychological and nutritional services they need. In addition, the Early Head Start program provides the same services for children six weeks to three years old as well as providing additional services for their pregnant and post-partum mothers. Head Start also offers a variety of classes and workshops for parents, including parenting and nutrition, as well as teaching developmentally appropriate activities that parents can do with their children at home. Some parents may receive employment training or may be tutored in English; others may increase their reading skills. Assistance is also available for parents interested in obtaining additional educational opportunities including college attendance.
Health
Head Start emphasizes the importance of early identification of health
problems. Since many preschool children of low-income families have never
seen a doctor or dentist, Head Start provides every child with a
comprehensive health care program, including medical, dental, mental health,
and nutritional services.
Medical and Dental
Head Start children receive a complete examination, including dental exam and vision screening and hearing
tests, identification of handicapping conditions, immunizations, and a
dental exam. Follow-up treatment is provided for identified health
problems.
Nutrition
Head Start children are served a minimum of one hot meal and snack
each day. A trained nutritionist supervises the nutritional activities of
each Head Start Center and helps the staff identify the nutritional needs
of the children. The nutritionist plans an educational program to teach
parents how to select health foods and prepare well-balanced meals, and how
to obtain food stamps and other community assistance when needed by the family.
Mental Health
Head Start recognizes the importance of providing mental health and
psychological services to children of low-income families, to encourage
their emotional and social development. A mental health professional must
be available to every Head Start program to provide mental health training
to staff and parents and to make them aware of the need for early attention
to the special problems of children.
Parent Involvement
Head Start promotes, the parents’ first responsibility is to be the primary educators of their children. Parents are also encouraged to have an active voice in setting the goals and direction for the Program.
Family Partnerships
Some of the activities that the social services staff use to assist
families to meet their needs are: community outreach, referrals, families
needs assessments, providing information about available community
resources and how to obtain and use them, recruitment and enrollment of
children, and emergency assistance and/or crisis intervention.
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
All foster care children who are six weeks to five years old are automatically eligible for the Head Start Program, regardless of the foster family’s income.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Barbara Y. Fielding
Executive Vice President, Children, Youth & Family Services
Neighborhood House Association
5660 Copley Drive
San Diego, CA 92111
Ph: (858) 715-2642
Website: www.sandiegoheadstart.org
Rebecca Kirkpatrick
Social Services Manager Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee (MAAC)
800 Los Vallecitos, Suite J
San Marcos, CA 92069
Ph: (760) 471-4210
Area Served:
- San Marcos
- Oceanside
- Vista
- Rincon
- Fallbrook
- Valley Center
- Camp Pendleton
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San Diego Regional Center
HISTORY/MISSION
The San Diego Regional Center is one of 21 Regional Centers for persons
with developmental disabilities in the State of California. In 1969, new
legislation (The Lanterman Mental Retardation Act) became effective. This
new act established the statewide Regional Center network.
Legislative changes from 1969 through the present expanded the population
served by Regional Centers to include persons with mental retardation,
cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or other handicapping conditions similar
to mental retardation. It serves people living within the geographic
boundaries of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
San Diego Regional Center also administers intervention programs for
children with or at risk for developmental delay who are ages birth to 36
months (see California Early Start for more
information).
ELIGIBILITY
Any resident of San Diego or Imperial Counties believed to have a
development disability may receive intake services through the San Diego
Regional Center. Formal application must be made by an applicant, parent,
conservator, or guardian.
In order to be considered eligible, an applicant must meet the Regional
Center's definition of developmental disability. The Regional Center
defines a "development disability" as a disability that is
attributable to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or
other conditions similar to mental retardation that require treatment
similar to that required by mentally retarded individuals.
The disability must:
- Originate before
age 18;
- Be likely to
continue indefinitely;
- Constitute a
substantial handicap for the individual as defined below.
- "Substantial
Handicap" describes a condition, which results in a major
impairment of cognitive and/or social functioning. Moreover, a
substantial handicap represents a condition of sufficient impairment
to require interdisciplinary planning and coordination of special or
generic services to assist the individual in achieving maximum
potential.
- Since an
individual's cognitive and/or social functioning are multifaceted,
the existence of a major impairment is determined through an
assessment which addresses aspects of functioning including, but not
limited to:
- Communication
skills
- Learning
- Self-care
- Mobility
- Self-direction
- Capacity for
independent living
- Economic
self-sufficiency
The disability cannot include handicapping conditions
that are:
- Solely psychiatric
disorders where there is impaired intellect or social functioning
which originated as a result of the psychiatric disorder or treatment
given for such a disorder.
- Solely learning
disabilities.
- Solely physical in
nature (such as hearing loss, mild cerebral palsy, vision impairment,
etc.).
SERVICES
The San Diego Regional Center provides a variety of services to persons
with development disabilities, their families, and the community.
Individual Program Plan (IPP) / Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP)
After an individual is found to be eligible for Regional Center services
and needs are identified, a written plan is formulated. This plan is called
the Individual Program Plan (IPP). It includes goals and objectives
designed to meet consumer needs.
An Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a family focused outcome
oriented plan, which builds upon the family's natural supports and
supplements with existing services as needed.
Case Management Services
The primary goal of the San Diego Regional Center is to provide support
services that allow the consumer to live at home whenever possible. To
achieve this goal, service coordinators assist the consumer in securing
needed services through referral or purchase, by coordinating service
programs, and by advocating for provision of services through other
community agencies. Similar services are also provided in those instances
in which the consumer resides in a residential facility or state hospital.
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
None
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To apply, call San Diego Regional Center's Intake Unit at 858-576-2938.
Residents of Imperial County apply for services at the Regional Center office in Imperial at 760-355-8383.
Main Office
4355 Ruffin Road, Suite 204
San Diego, CA 92123-1648
Ph: (858) 576-2996
Website: www.sdrc.org
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San Diego State University Communications Clinic
HISTORY/MISSION
The SDSU Communications Clinic is a full-range facility providing services
to individuals of all age groups with speech-language and audiological
concerns. The Clinic functions as a training program for graduate students
who provide all services and are directly supervised by University faculty
certified by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA)
and licensed by the state of California. Clinic sessions are held each
semester: fall, spring, and summer. The fall and spring semesters are approximately
12-13 weeks, with summer sessions being six weeks.
ELIGIBILITY
All individuals with speech-language and audiological concerns.
SERVICES
Fees vary for services provided and a sliding scale fee program is
available upon request and is determined by financial need. Speech-language
assessments are required prior to receiving intervention services, if no
other evaluation has been done. Speech-language intervention (therapy)
services are scheduled weekly for the entire semester. Initial hearing testing
is available.
Also offered is the Assistive Device Assessment Program, which provides a
team assessment service for communicative needs of persons with severe
communication problems.
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
None
FOR MORE INFORMATION
SDSU Communications Clinic
Department of Communicative Disorders
San Diego State University
6330 Alvarado Court, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92120-4917
Ph: (619) 594-7747
Fx: (619) 594-7790
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Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders
HISTORY/MISSION
The San Diego Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders is a
unique program which provides speech and language evaluation, screening and
therapy services to children 18 months to 21 years of age.
ELIGIBILITY
The purpose of the Scottish Rite Clinic is to serve as many children in the
San Diego area whose primary presenting problem is a speech and language
disorder. In keeping with the statewide Scottish Rite guidelines, we
are unable to see children with a diagnosis of Mental Retardation,
Deafness, Cerebral Palsy or Autism.
We do not reduplicate services. Therefore, if a child is being seen for
therapy individually twice a week 40-60 minutes or in a group of three or
fewer for at least 60 minutes they would not qualify for services.
All children with questionable cognitive skills, diagnosis of Developmental
Delay and/or diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Delay (PDD) will be
required to present evidence of at least low-average non-verbal
intelligence. The evaluation must include at least one quantitative measure
of nonverbal intelligence.
Whenever there is a question about the appropriateness of therapy here, the
child's readiness for therapy, or prognosis for success, children will be
enrolled in a three-month trial period. If significant progress is made
during this period, therapy will be continued as deemed appropriate by the
treating therapist.
SERVICES
The Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders provides complete
speech and language evaluations, screenings and intensive one on one speech
and language therapy. Services are typically rendered for a maximum of
eighteen months.
The clinic is full-staffed with 3 speech-language therapists. The services
provided are free of charge, while donations help to run the clinic. Due to
this unique service provided there is a waiting list of several weeks.
SPECIFICS FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
None
FOR MORE INFORMATION
San Diego Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders
1895 Camino Del Rio South
San Diego, CA 92108
Ph: (619) 291-2506
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To
guide parents and professionals alike, we have listed names of agencies and
groups by the services they offer, specifically: developmental
and educational services, physical, mental and dental
health care agencies, support and advocacy groups, and family support and child protection programs. Each of the
below agencies has provided their history/mission statement, services offered,
eligibility criteria, any specifics for children in foster care, and ways for
families to find out more information.