1302.62 Additional services for parents.

(a) Parents of all children with disabilities. (1) A program must collaborate with parents of children with disabilities, including but not limited to children eligible for services under IDEA, to ensure the needs of their children are being met, including support to help parents become advocates for services that meet their children’s needs and information and skills to help parents understand their child’s disability and how to best support the child’s development;

(2) A program must assist parents to access services and resources for their family, including securing adaptive equipment and devices and supports available through a child’s health insurance or other entities, creating linkages to family support programs, and helping parents establish eligibility for additional support programs, as needed and practicable.

(b) Parents of children eligible for services under IDEA. For parents of children eligible for services under IDEA, a program must also help parents:

(1) Understand the referral, evaluation, and service timelines required under IDEA;

(2) Actively participate in the eligibility process and IFSP or IEP development process with the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA, including by informing parents of their right to invite the program to participate in all meetings;

(3) Understand the purposes and results of evaluations and services provided under an IFSP or IEP; and,

(4) Ensure their children’s needs are accurately identified in, and addressed through, the IFSP or IEP.

1302.61 Additional services for children.

(a) Additional services for children with disabilities. Programs must ensure the individualized needs of children with disabilities, including but not limited to those eligible for services under IDEA, are being met and all children have access to and can fully participate in the full range of activities and services. Programs must provide any necessary modifications to the environment, multiple and varied formats for instruction, and individualized accommodations and supports as necessary to support the full participation of children with disabilities. Programs must ensure all individuals with disabilities are protected from discrimination under and provided with all services and program modifications required by section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and their implementing regulations.

(b) Services during IDEA eligibility determination. While the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA determines a child’s eligibility, a program must provide individualized services and supports, to the maximum extent possible, to meet the child’s needs. Such additional supports may be available through a child’s health insurance or it may be appropriate or required to provide the needed services and supports under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act if the child satisfies the definition of disability in section 705(9)(b) of the Rehabilitation Act. When such supports are not available through alternate means, pending the evaluation results and eligibility determination, a program must individualize program services based on available information such as parent input and child observation and assessment data and may use program funds for these purposes.

(c) Additional services for children with an IFSP or IEP. To ensure the individual needs of children eligible for services under IDEA are met, a program must:

(1) Work closely with the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA, the family, and other service partners, as appropriate, to ensure:

(i) Services for a child with disabilities will be planned and delivered as required by their IFSP or IEP, as appropriate;

(ii) Children are working towards the goals in their IFSP or IEP;

(iii) Elements of the IFSP or IEP that the program cannot implement are implemented by other appropriate agencies, related service providers, and specialists;

(iv) IFSPs and IEPs are being reviewed and revised, as required by IDEA  ; and,

(v) Services are provided in a child’s regular Early Head Start or Head Start classroom or family child care home to the greatest extent possible.

(2) Plan and implement the transition services described in subpart G of this part, including at a minimum:

(i) For children with an IFSP who are transitioning out of Early Head Start, collaborate with the parents, and the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA, to ensure appropriate steps are undertaken in a timely and appropriate manner to determine the child’s eligibility for services under Part B of IDEA; and,

(ii) For children with an IEP who are transitioning out of Head Start to kindergarten, collaborate with the parents, and the local agency responsible for implementing IDEA, to ensure steps are undertaken in a timely and appropriate manner to support the child and family as they transition to a new setting.

1302.45 Child mental health and social and emotional well-being.

(a) Wellness promotion. To support a program-wide culture that promotes children’s mental health, social and emotional well-being, and overall health, a program must:

(1) Provide supports for effective classroom management and positive learning environments; supportive teacher practices; and, strategies for supporting children with challenging behaviors and other social, emotional, and mental health concerns;

(2) Secure mental health consultation services on a schedule of sufficient and consistent frequency to ensure a mental health consultant is available to partner with staff and families in a timely and effective manner;

(3) Obtain parental consent for mental health consultation services at enrollment; and,

(4) Build community partnerships to facilitate access to additional mental health resources and services, as needed.

(b) Mental health consultants. A program must ensure mental health consultants assist:

(1) The program to implement strategies to identify and support children with mental health and social and emotional concerns;

(2) Teachers, including family child care providers, to improve classroom management and teacher practices through strategies that include using classroom observations and consultations to address teacher and individual child needs and creating physical and cultural environments that promote positive mental health and social and emotional functioning ;

(3) Other staff, including home visitors, to meet children’s mental health and social and emotional needs through strategies that include observation and consultation;

(4) Staff to address prevalent child mental health concerns, including internalizing problems such as appearing withdrawn and externalizing problems such as challenging behaviors; and,

(5) In helping both parents and staff to understand mental health and access mental health interventions, if needed.

(6) In the implementation of the policies to limit suspension and prohibit expulsion as described in §1302.17.