Links

The Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers was developed by WestEd, Center for Child and Family Studies in collaboration with the California Department of Education Child Development Division to promote responsive, caring relationships for infants and toddlers. Participants in the Beginning Together must be fully certified in four training modules offered through PITC.

The Child Development Division has a strong role in the care and education of young children in California. This project supports many of their values including the value, for all personnel, of professional preparation and continuing staff development programs through which staff can acquire and enhance the knowledge and skills necessary for them to provide quality services to children and their families and which reflect the professional standards of their positions.

The Special Needs Project is your one-stop resource when it comes to implementing a library for your school, organization, hospital or nonprofit. With over 3,000 of the best disability titles available, and years of expertise, SNP can assist you in putting together the finest disability library possible. Our staff will work with you to select books specifically designed for your needs and budget. Give us a call (800) 333–6867.

The California Map to Inclusive Child Care Project seeks to expand opportunities for children with disabilities and other special needs in child care and development programs. The project is committed to improving the delivery of quality child care services to children with disabilities or other special needs in inclusive settings.

Their website contains a comprehensive listing of resources, including: how to support children in inclusive early childhood settings; information about legal and licensing issues; support for parents searching for child care for their children with disabilities or other special needs; disability-specific information; children with challenging behavior.

The Family Village is a global community that integrates information, resources, and communication opportunities on the Internet for persons with mental retardation and other disabilities, for their families, and for those that provide them services and support. Their web site includes informational resources on specific diagnoses, communication connections, adaptive products and technology, adaptive recreational activities, education, worship, health issues, disability–related media and literature, and more.

This site provides many links of interest to parents (and caregivers) for children with special needs. Mining Co. GuideSites are run by Guides: real people who dig into the thousands of topics on the Internet.

Together we can do more to improve the lives of 1 million children who are blind/visually impaired, deaf/hard of hearing, deafblind, or have severe disabilities.

Valuable resources can be found under the Research Clearinghouse, Articles and Links menu options.

NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability–related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. A special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22). Spanish publications available.

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is a unique federation of voluntary health organizations dedicated to helping people with rare “orphan” diseases and assisting the organizations that serve them. NORD is committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare disorders through programs of education, advocacy, research, and service.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is an organization designed for individuals who work with or on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age eight, and their families. DEC, a subdivision of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is dedicated to promoting policies and practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of children. Children with special needs include those who have disabilities, developmental delays, are gifted/talented, and are at risk of future developmental problems.

The Infant Development Association of California is a multidisciplinary organization of parents and professionals committed to optimal developmental, social and emotional outcomes for infants, birth to three, with a broad range of special needs and their families. IDA advocates for improved, effective prevention and early intervention services, and provides information, education, and training to parents, professionals, decision makers and others.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the nation’s largest organization of early childhood professionals and others dedicated to improving the quality of early childhood education programs for children birth through age eight. NAEYC’s primary goals are to improve professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education and to build public understanding and support for high quality early childhood programs.

National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC). As the profession of family child care changed, so too changed the focus of the NAFCC. The focus of NAFCC is to provide technical assistance to family child care associations. This assistance is provided through developing leadership and professionalism, addressing issues of diversity, and by promoting quality and professionalism through NAFCC’s Family Child Care Accreditation.

ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to advancing the healthy development of babies and young children. ZERO TO THREE disseminates key developmental information, trains providers, promotes model approaches and standards of practice and works to increase public awareness about the significance of the first three years of life.

ASHA is the professional and scientific association for speech–language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. ASHA’s mission is to promote the interests of and provide the highest quality services for its members and to advocate on behalf of people with communication disorders.

All children can succeed with the right support. This booklet provides information specifically for families seeking inclusion for their child with special needs during the first eight years of the child’s life.

The Federation is a center for parents and parent organizations to work together on behalf of children with special needs and their families.

The Beach Center on Families and Disability is a rehabilitation research and training center on public policy affecting families who have children with disabilities. There have many reproduce–able articles and information available.

The National Fathers Network (NFN), a non-profit organization, advocates for men as crucially important in the lives of their families and children. They provide supports and resources to fathers and families of children with developmental disabilities and chronic illness, and the professionals who serve them.

This is the United States Department of Education home page for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. From this page you can read speeches, link to the current regulations and find other information. You can also link to related Department of Education pages. (This page does not seem to be updated as frequently as the IDEA Practices page–see the next link)

This site answers your question about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, keeps you informed about IDEA’s that work and supports your efforts to help ALL children learn, progress and realize their dreams. Four partnership projects have been funded by the U.S. Department of Education to address four audiences regarding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The projects, under the direction of the Office of Special Education Programs will work together over the next four years to deliver training, information and a common message about the recent amendments to IDEA. The Council for Exceptional Children is the lead partner and host organization for these projects.

This page has information about the Americans with Disabilities Act including downloadable Child Care Centers and the ADA Flyer, information about enforcement, technical assistance programs, toll–free ADA information line, new or proposed regulations and the ADA mediation program.

The California Early Start Program is an interagency system of coordinated services administered by the Department of Developmental Services in collaboration with the California Department of Education. The program provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, age 0–3, and their families. Services are family–focused and designed to maximize a child’s growth and development. To be eligible, the child must have a developmental delay or disability or be at risk for delay or disability.

WestEd’s Center for Prevention and Early Intervention in Sacramento, provides statewide high quality training, technical assistance and resource development, dissemination, and support to state agencies and community programs that administer or provide prevention and early intervention services. The state agencies have included the California Departments of Education, Developmental Services, Health Services, Social Services, Mental Health, and Alcohol and Drug Programs.

The Center for Prevention and Early Intervention is recognized as California’s premier source of training, technical assistance and resource development and provision supporting early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and at-risk conditions and their families.

The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is the agency through which the State of California provides services and supports to children and adults with developmental disabilities. These disabilities include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and related conditions. DDS is California’s lead agency for birth to three services under Part C of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). There is a link to Early Start at the very top of the DDS home page.

This is the home page for the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. Here you can link to current information about services and programs provided by the department.

There are 21 locally–based regional centers. Regional centers are nonprofit private corporations that have offices throughout California to provide a local resource to help find and access the many services available to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System (NEC*TAS) provides ongoing TA, support, and information services to a variety of audiences including state departments, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)–sponsored projects.

NPIN provides information to parents and those who work with parents and fosters the exchange of parenting materials. Materials included full text on NPIN have been reviewed for reliability and usefulness. Publications, brochures, and other materials that are merely listed on NPIN may not have been reviewed and are included for informational purposes only.

The National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL) has a five–year mission to identify and study issues of national significance to young children and their families and to disseminate that information to researchers, practicing professionals and families. The Center’s research focuses on enhancing the cognitive, social and emotional development of children from birth through age eight.

Early Childhood Training Options was founded to provide early childhood professionals, and parents, with essential training tools to improve services to young children and their families. Our goal is to provide training resources for all aspects of early childhood development, from family interactions and play, to medical concerns and special needs. This website is intended as a single source to bring early childhood training resources together in one continually–updated, easy–to-access location.

CHADD works to improve the lives of people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder through education, advocacy, and support.

This site provides information on the programs and services of the nation’s second largest health charity, it also offers a wealth of information on a variety of disability topics.

The Unicorn Children’s Foundation (UCF) is a national non–profit organization that supports education, treatment and research on behalf of children with communication and learning disorders.

This interactive web site lets you see more clearly your child’s temperament, find parenting tactics that work for your child.

The many books by Jane Nelson and co–authors are featured here.

The Touchpoints Project believes that establishing and maintaining relationships with parents is the basis of preventive care. The Touchpoints model, developed by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, aims to build alliances between parents and providers around key points in the development of young children. “Touchpoints” are predictable periods in a child’s development that can disrupt family relations, but can also provide an opportunity for practitioners to connect with parents.

The International Network for Children and Families (INCAF) is a public nonprofit agency that aims to help parents: develop strong emotional bonds with their children, use effective discipline strategies, improve parent–child communication, gain useable information on child development, and find greater enjoyment in family life.