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Advocating for children, families and communities facing barriers to high quality child care. | |
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Advocating for children, families and communities facing barriers to high quality child care. | |
Families of children with disabilities face formidable obstacles in securing accessible, affordable, and high quality child care. Several federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), are important tools in helping these families, especially when families know their rights, child care providers understand their responsibilities, and the law is enforced. CCLC publishes materials for parents and providers explaining the law, offers training, and serves as a technical resource on disability issues in the context of child care.
Child Care Inclusion Challenge Project
CCLC is involved in an innovative project in San Francisco to provide in-depth support in the context of child care to low-income families who have children with disabilities or special health care needs. In this collaborative project, called the Child Care Inclusion Challenge Project attorneys, child care specialists, and family support agencies use a team approach to ensure that children have access to child care that meets their special needs. We are also continuing our work statewide in California with parents, child care providers, and local child care agencies and have contracts with thirteen counties in 2006 to provide in-depth training and technical assistance on the ADA and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act.
Child Care Law Center’s National Expanding Inclusion Project
Based on our work in California and nationally on the issue of inclusion of children with disabilities in child care, the Child Care Law Center has received a grant from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation to expand our work in two additional states. We worked in New Mexico and Arkansas to promote issues regarding inclusion of children with disabilities in the child care setting.
Child care is part of a nexus of supports critical to fostering strong families and providing opportunities for every child. Quality early care and education is a fundamental equity issue for all children. Additionally, state and federal laws require that children with disabilities are served in child care. But for families with children with special needs, finding programs that meet their full range of needs, and provide appropriate settings and education can pose overwhelming challenges. CCLC believes that it is important for children with special needs to be given the support and services they need and to have opportunities to be fully integrated into quality care sites and programs.
CCLC sought to realize this goal through its new National Expanding Inclusion Project by engaging the child care community and families in Arkansas and New Mexico in learning about the legal framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as they pertain to child care. Specifically, we collaborated with state and early care and education and legal partners in both states to: (1) conduct legal trainings for parents, providers, administrators, and planners; (2) create publications on both federal and state disability rights laws as they apply to child care; and (3) respond to follow-up questions through our Information and Referral Line and provide enhanced services for parents and child care providers.
Project Staff Attorney: Mona Motwani