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Any child from birth to school age with developmental concerns may be referred to Early Childhood CARES.
Areas of concern may include possible delays in communication, cognitive, motor, self-care or adaptive skills and social skills.
Referrals are made by calling (541) 346-2578 or (800) 925-8694. Referrals may be made by parents, physicians, public health nurses, preschool teachers with consent from parents, and other public agencies.
Parents may check on their child's development and learn more about what to expect their child to do at each stage of development by completing an online Ages and Stages Questionnaire at http://asqoregon.com
After a child is referred to Early Childhood CARES, parents are asked to complete a hearing and vision questionnaire and a developmental checklist appropriate for the child's age. This information is reviewed by a developmental specialist
If the questionnaire indicates that the child may be experiencing delays, an evaluation is recommended. If a child is under three years of age, all areas of development will be evaluated. If a child is over three years old, evaluations will be conducted only in the areas of suspected delays. These evaluations will be done at home, in the Early Childhood CARES clinic or sometimes in the preschool setting. The evaluations are conducted by developmental specialists, speech therapists, educational psychologists, and sometimes physical or occupational therapists.
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The Oregon Department of Education has clear guidelines for educational services.
To qualify for early intervention (EI), a child must be under three years of age and must be experiencing delays of 1.5 standard deviations (or about 15%) in two or more developmental areas, or have significant delays of 2.0 standard deviations (about 30% delay) in one area, or have a diagnosis that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay as documented by a physician.
To qualify for early childhood special education (ECSE), a child must be over three years of age and have developmental delays of 1.5 standard deviations (about 15%) in two or more areas, or have a delay of 1.5 standard deviations in communication or articulation, or have an educational eligibility of autism spectrum disorder, orthopedic impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, deaf-blindness, emotional disturbance, traumatic brain injury or other health impairment.
In addition to these criteria, the educational team that includes parents must agree that the child needs educational services.
If the child is elegible for services, team members will identify the child's current levels of development and what skills the child needs to learn. Team members identify how the child's educational and family goals will be met. This is called an IFSP. A new IFSP is written each year.
Based on the goals identified in the IFSP, service options will be considered and those that best meet the needs of the child and family will be selected. Placement is reviewed each year.
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