Lesson 3: Early Childhood Special Education in Maine-Putting the Laws into Practice

Attention

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Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to

  • Name the ChildFind agency in the state of Maine and explain what function it serves.
  • Name the eligibility category used for all young children, ages Birth-2, in the state of Maine.
  • Describe the referral and evaluation process for SpEd services for children in Maine.

Teaching

OK, so you have read about the history of early childhood special education (ECSE) and the laws and terms under IDEA…..how does this all translate to our work with young children and their families and what do we need to KNOW when working in the great state of Maine???

What is Child Find-Maine?

According to federal legislation, Maine is required to identify a Child Find agency for identifying young children who may have delays or disabilities that may make them eligible to receive early ECSE services. The Child Find agency in Maine is Child Development Services (CDS). There are nine regional CDS sites in the state (there used to be 16—one in each county, but budget cuts reduced the number to nine!) See the description of CDS and their responsibilities taken directly from the Maine Department of Education (DOE) website below:

The Child Development Services system is an Intermediate Educational Unit that provides both Early Intervention (birth through two years) and Free Appropriate Public Education (for ages three through five years) under the supervision of the Maine Department of Education. The CDS system ensures the provision of special education rules, federal and state regulations statewide, through a network of regional sites. CDS consists of nine regional sites and a state office. The state CDS office maintains a central data management system, system-wide policies and procedures, and provides centralized fiscal services for regional CDS sites. CDS State Referral phone number is: 1-877-770-8883 Regional CDS sites provide case management and direct instruction for families with children from birth through age five. Each site conducts Child Find, which is the process of identifying children with disabilities. Screenings and evaluations are provided in order to identify children who are eligible for services. Regional CDS sites arrange for local services that include early intervention and special education and related services.

What is the Referral Process?

  1. A referral is made to the regional CDS site located in the geographic area as the child/family. Depending on the age of the child, the referral goes to a Service Coordinator for Part C (Age B-2) or a Part B Case Manager (Age 3-5).
  2. The Service Coordinator or Case Manager contacts the parents. Parents must sign all necessary paperwork BEFORE anything happens, including a Consent for Evaluation.
  3. A member of the CDS evaluation team screens the child and the results of the screening indicate whether further, more in-depth evaluations are necessary.
  4. CDS uses the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-2) for most screenings and evaluations of children age Birth to 2, (Part C).

After CDS receives parental consent, evaluations must be completed within a specific time frame (either 45 or 60 days, depending on the age of the child). There are MANY forms involved in the process from referral to writing the Plan/Program, but it’s not necessary to cover these forms in this class.

NOTE: Referrals can come from many different sources other than parents/families, and some of these might be teachers, pediatricians, social services agencies, DHHS, hospital NICUs, neighbors, church members, etc.

What happens when a child is found eligible? The short version of this is: if a child is found eligible to receive special education services, the Service Coordinator (Part C, B-2) or a Case Manager (PART B, 3-5) meets with the parents, the evaluators, and anyone else the family invites to the meeting. If the child is older than 3, the classroom teacher might be included in the meeting. If the child is under the age of three, the team will write an IFSP. The laws are very specific about what must be included in the IFSP. (See page 34 in the Gargiulo and Kilgo text) To view a blank IFSP and IEP, visit the DOE website. The blank IEP form is in the AS Required column—6th down and the IFSP is directly below it, 7th down What should be noted, (and this might differ from what you have read in the text) is the state of Maine finds all children under the age of three eligible under the category of Developmental Delay. This is a discretionary decision made by individual states.

The Language of the IFSP and IEP

Both documents contain many terms, including:

Natural environment—Chapter 101 defines this as:

"Early intervention services" means developmental services that: are provided under public supervision; are provided at no cost except where federal or state law provides for a system of payments by families, including a schedule of sliding fees; are designed to meet the developmental needs of an infant or toddler with a disability, as identified by the individualized family service plan team in one or more of the following areas,: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development or adaptive development; meet the standards of the state in which the services are provided; are provided by qualified personnel; to the maximum extent appropriate, are provided in natural environments, including the home, and community settings in which children without disabilities participate; and are provided in conformity with an individualized family service plan. [20 USC 1432(4)]

Free and Appropriate Education—Chapter 101 defines this as:

Free appropriate public education means special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; meet the standards of the Department and the requirements of this rule; include an appropriate preschool, elementary school or secondary school education in the state; and are provided in conformity with the individualized family service plan or individualized Free appropriate public education means special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; meet the standards of the Department and the requirements of this rule; include an appropriate preschool, elementary school or secondary school education in the state; and are provided in conformity with the individualized family service plan or individualized education program that meets the requirements of 300.320 through 300.324[ 20 USC 1401(9) and 34 CFR 300.17]

These are just two examples of legal definitions contained in Chapter 101—State of Maine Special Education Regulations. They are also two terms you will hear frequently if you attend IFSP/IEP meetings.

Special Education Services

Chapter 101 has the full list of direct and related services a child might receive, and some of these services include: Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Nursing, Psychological Services, Social Services, Speech Therapy, Assistive Technology, and Transportation. For the full list of services, with definitions, see pages 126-140 in Chapter 101 http://www.maine.gov/doe/specialed/laws/chapter101.pdf

What This All Means To You

  • Do I expect you to know everything about IFSPs and IEPs?
  • Do you have to know timelines?
  • Do you have to know what a Written Notice is?

The answer is……..NO. You should, however, be familiar with some of the widely-used terms and have a basic understanding of what they mean. More importantly, you should know where to go for the answers. If you have a question, you can phone your local CDS office or you can go to the Maine DEO website and look in the Maine Unified Special Education Regulations-Birth to Age 20 to find the answers. Now you know what MUSER stands for! *****One last note and great resource is Center for Community Inclusion and Disabilities Studies (CCIDS). They are located in Augusta and Orono and can be an invaluable resource as you, as a teacher, begin to navigate the Special Education maze. They also publish the Growing Ideas Tip Sheets.

Assessment

Lesson 3 Quiz

  1. What ChildFind agency does Maine use? What important function does it serve?
  2. What eligibility category do children under age two fall under?
  3. The parent of a two year old is concerned about their child's development and has asked for your help with the referral process. In one paragraph, summarize the steps you would take to help this parent. Include the steps you would take and the names of agencies, documents, etc.

Lesson 3 Discussion

  1. If you were a teacher in a preschool classroom and you were contemplating making a referral for a specific child, describe what you might do before making this referral? There are many answers to this question. I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.
  2. Have you had any dealings with staff members from CDS? Who were they, what was their position, and where did you meet them?