The 2003 reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act included a requirement for States to refer victims of abuse and neglect up to age 3 for developmental assessments under Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Use the following resources to learn more about how the IDEA requirement is being implemented to better serve young children.
Child Find
Child Find is a component of IDEA that requires States to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities who need early intervention or special education services. This website focuses on Part C of IDEA, the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities, and includes examples of demonstration programs.
Engaging Families and Creating Trusting Partnerships to Improve Child and Family Outcomes [Webinar]
Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center & DaSy Center (2017)
Provides a four-part webinar series on strengthening family-professionals collaborations in programs that serve children with developmental delays and disabilities. Each session in the series includes related resources and materials.
Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities in the Child Welfare System: What Advocates Should Know about IDEA Part C
Legal Center for Foster Care and Education (2018)
ABA Child Law Practice, 32(1)
Reviews provisions in the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) that pertain to early intervention services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays, changes to Part C of IDEA that emphasize the urgency of reaching eligible but underserved infants and toddlers in foster care, qualifications for services, types of services, surrogate parents, child evaluation, the Individual Family Service Plan, and transition to preschool services.
A Systematic Review of Part C Early Identification Studies
Barger, Rice, Simmons, & Wolf (2018)
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 38(1)
Presents the findings of a literature review on the process of connecting at-risk children to Part C services. The study concludes with recommendations for developing systems to better track and identify children in need of early intervention services.