Disabilities & Program   Deliverables  

Meeting the Needs of Special Populations

Classroom staff works in partnership with parents, Education Team, and the Disabilities and Mental Heath manager to provide fully comprehensive, inclusive care and the least restrictive learning environment for all children. Gads Hill Center ensures that the individual needs of children eligible for services under the IDEA are met with intentional planning. Children that display attributes of acquiring additional support services, diagnosed or undiagnosed, are identified upon entry to the program. The teaching staff and the education team obtain information about the needs of each child by meeting with the parent or information from the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) if it is available. Gads Hill Center has a high rate of parents that enter the program for disabilities assistance for their children. Teachers, along with the education team, ensure that the classroom is accessible and has all equipment that is needed to accommodate all children. Additional items and equipment needed for children with disabilities will be purchased by the program and added to the classroom based on the needs of the children. 

Team Planning for Children With Disabilities 

The Education Team meets with the teacher when children enter the program with an IFSP or IEP. Accommodations in the classroom and individualized instruction decisions are made based on the information presented in the IFSP, IEP, classroom observation, or parent information. Teachers are supported by the education team with lesson plan modifications and individualized needs for each child.

 Teachers obtain permission from parents to conduct a developmental screening and Social Emotional assessment of all children who enter the program within the first thirty days of enrollment. Children who need additional services will be identified during this process. Parents can always ask the program to submit a child for services even if the results from the screenings are marked with a passing score. The program submits the information to Early Intervention for children ages 0-3 and Chicago Public Schools for children ages 3-5 through the appropriate grantee system (Chicago Commons). Children determined eligible for services will receive additional support services through the appropriate local agency and are serviced at Gads Hill Center. Children who are found ineligible for additional services are supported by the teacher and the education team with individualized activities and goals based on observation, screenings, and assessments. Teachers will utilize the five learning domains of; Language, Literacy, Cognition, Physical and social-emotional, to support the needs of each child in the program. Children needing additional support will have goals outlined within the five learning domains and with extra support to develop in areas requiring developmental improvement.

 Disabilities & the First 45 days 

GHC coordinates with local agencies responsible for implementing IDEA to identify children enrolled or who intend to enroll in a program that may be eligible for services under IDEA. The program will implement this procedure through the developmental screening process. The referral and evaluation process, service coordination, promotion of service provision in the least restrictive appropriate community-based setting, and reduction of dual enrollment, which causes reduction time in a less restrictive setting, and transition services from Part C to Part B of IDEA, are collaborated through interagency agreements with the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA.

• The program will screen children enrolled in the program within 45 days of their first day and annually, to identify children who may be eligible for services under IDEA.

• Identify children referred by a concern of the parent or by the results of the developmental screenings to Child and Family Connections or Chicago Public Schools for further evaluation.

• Provide information relevant to the development of a child’s IFSP or IEP, such as screenings, assessments, observations, and other information deemed necessary or required by Child and Family Connections or Chicago Public Schools.

• Program staff will participate in meetings to support families and children and provide information in collaboration with Child and Family Connections or Chicago Public Schools to develop or review an IFSP or IEP for a child being considered for EHS or Head Start enrollment, a currently enrolled child, or a child transitioning from a program. 

• The program will ensure that children enrolled in EHS/HS who have been evaluated and have been found to have a diagnosed disability will have an IFSP/IEP documented on-site for the time the child is in the program.