Early Start
Birth to 3 Years
What's On This Page
Client & Family Services Quick Links
- The Lanterman Act
- Working Together in Partnership
- Person Centered Planning
- Resolving Disagreements
- Your Legal Rights
- Receiving Quality and Effective Services and Supports
- Early Start – Birth to 3 Years
- Provisional Eligibility – Birth to 5 Years
- Transitioning from Early Childhood Services
About Early Start Services
The first three years of a child’s life are a time of significant growth and critical development. During this important time, some children might need additional help to achieve these developmental milestones. Services and supports that may help your child learn basic and new skills that typically develop during the first three years of life are called early intervention services and are provided through the Early Start Program.
The Regional Center’s Early Start program serves children from birth to 3 who are born with, or at risk for, developmental delay or disability. We know that the earlier an infant or toddler receives appropriate services, the more successful we can be in minimizing or preventing future disabilities. For this reason, our Early Intervention unit works with families to access services and supports that help identify and treat developmental concerns as early as possible in the life of the child. Services focus on the child’s development in five areas:
- Cognitive – ability to think and learn
- Physical – motor, including vision and/or hearing
- Communication – ability to understand, talk
- Social and emotional – ability to relate to others
- Adaptive – ability to eat, dress and accomplish other self-help tasks
These services generally require the family to devote additional time, energy or resources to the child’s care, and this can be challenging for both parents and siblings. At the same time, the primary responsibility for an infant’s or toddler’s development and well-being rests with the family. For these reasons, services provided by the Regional Center are family centered, meaning they address the needs of the child within the context of the family, with the intent of enhancing the family’s capacity to support their child.
What is the history of Early Intervention and Early Start?
In 1986, the federal government enacted the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C (IDEA; 20; U.S.C., Section 1431 et seq.). This legislation was intended to assist states in implementing a comprehensive program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities. The Act set out specific requirements that state early intervention programs were obligated to meet in return for federal dollars that would partially fund these programs. The objectives defined in the act were to:
- Enhance the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities;
- Reduce educational costs by minimizing the need for special education through early intervention;
- Minimize the likelihood of institutionalization and maximize independent living; and,
- Enhance the capacity of families to meet their child’s needs.
In 1993, in response to the federal legislation, the California Legislature passed the California Early Intervention Services Act (CEISA; 14 G.C. Section 95000 et seq.). The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) was designated as the lead agency to collaborate with other state agencies, including the Department of Education, in the development and implementation of a statewide early intervention services system, referred to as California Early Start.
Section 95001 of the California Early Intervention Services Act states: “The family is the constant in the child’s life, while the service system and personnel within those systems fluctuate. Because the primary responsibility of an infant’s or toddler’s well-being rests with the family, services should support and enhance the family’s capability to meet the special developmental needs of their infant or toddler with disabilities.
Eligibility for Early Start
Any child under 3 years of age may be eligible if they:
- Have a developmental delay of at least 25% in one or more of the following:
- Cognitive (thinking and learning)
- Expressive communication (talking and expressing self)
- Receptive communication (understanding language)
- Social and emotional (feeling, expressing, interacting)
- Adaptive (everyday living skills like eating, dressing, caring for self)
- Physical and motor development, including vision and hearing (walking, moving, seeing, and hearing)
- Have an established risk condition of known cause, with a high likelihood of delayed development, or
- Are likely to have a developmental delay due to a number of risks that have been confirmed by a professional
At risk or high-risk conditions may include children who:
- Were born very early (less than 32 weeks gestation) and had very low birth weight
- Had extensive health problems or had long hospitalizations
- Had a prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol
- Experienced significant birth injury
- Experienced neglect or abuse
Established Risk conditions may include children who:
- Have genetic conditions that are associated with delays in development (e.g., Down Syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, among others)
- Have fetal alcohol syndrome
- Have limited hearing, vision or use of limbs
Early Start Services, Funding and the Role of the Regional Center
California Early Intervention Services Act (CEISA) gave regional centers the primary responsibility for implementing the early intervention program. Acting as the central coordinating agency for a large and complex network of community services and supports, regional centers are charged with the following responsibilities …
Family Centered Planning and the IFSP
At its core, developing and implementing a family centered plan is about providing services and supports that are individualized and flexible over time, are built on strengths and needs of the child and the family, reflect priorities and concerns of the family, and respect the family’s preferences and choices. Family centered planning is an approach to determining, planning for and working toward the preferred future of a child. It provides a framework for making decisions and takes into account a variety of factors that affect a child’s life.
Families’ Rights and Responsibilities in Early Start
Families have rights, responsibilities and access to procedural safeguards to assure that Early Start services are provided in a manner appropriate to the child’s needs and concerns of the family.
See Rights and Responsibilities
Some of the rights and responsibilities families have are …
- The right to information about their child and their child’s program.
- The responsibility for seeking and maintaining this information.
- The right to review their child’s records.
- The responsibility for asking questions when they don’t understand terms or reports.
- The right to be full partners in their child’s program.
- The responsibility for becoming and remaining active members of the team.
- The right to stand up for their child to make sure he or she gets the services needed.
- The responsibility to base their actions on accurate information.
- The right to make suggestions and recommendations about their child’s program or services.
- The responsibility for doing so.
- The right to a vision for their child’s future.
- The responsibility for helping their child achieve it.
The Department of Developmental Services publishes “Parents’ Rights: An Early Start Guide for Families” that provides detailed information on parents’ rights under Early Start, including confidentiality and access to records; evaluation and assessment; IFSP; and mediation conferences, due process hearings, and state complaints. This publication is available on the Department Web site at www.dds.ca.gov
Resolving Disagreements About Early Start Services and Supports
In California’s Early Start program, families have rights and protections. These include specific processes to resolve disagreements related to Early Start services or your belief that a federal or state law has been violated. As a parent, guardian or surrogate parent you have the right to:
- Request a mediation conference or a due process hearing any time you disagree with the Regional Center or Local Education Agency (LEA) about an assessment, the results of an assessment, services and supports your child will receive, or school placement;
- Be informed of your right to file a complaint; and
- File a complaint if you believe there has been a violation of any law governing Early Start services.
Resources
DDS Early Start Information Packet
The Department of Developmental Services has released its new Information Packet for Consumers and Families on Early Start Services. This packet focuses on children ages 0-3.
Download DDS Info Packet:
The packet is also available in Simplified Chinese, Tagalog and Vietnamese. English and Spanish audio options, as well as an ASL version, will be available soon.
DDS Early Start website
Early Intervention E-Info Packet
FAQ
Get Answers
What is a developmental delay?
Developmental delays are common. As many as one in six children has a delay. Children develop different skills at different times. If a child is not doing things that most children can do at a certain age, they may have a developmental delay. Developmental delays can occur in one or more of the following areas:
- Thinking and learning (cognitive)
- Talking and expressing self (expressive communication)
- Understanding language (receptive communication)
- Feeling, expressing, interacting with others (social and emotional)
- Everyday living skills like eating, dressing, caring for self (adaptive)
- Walking, moving, seeing and hearing (physical and motor development, including vision and hearing)
Early Start can help your child catch up in their skills.
What is a developmental disability?
A developmental delay can also be a sign of a developmental disability. In California, developmental disabilities are considered lifelong and must exist before age 18. The following conditions are considered to be a developmental disability:
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy
- Epilepsy
- Intellectual disability
- Other conditions that require treatment similar to a person with intellectual disability
Can a child lose his or her eligibility for services?
If a child is found to be eligible for Early Start services, Lanterman will continue to provide services according to assessed need until the age of 3. At age 3, a few decisions are made:
- Whether the child will continue to be eligible for regional center services, or if not, whether the child is provisionally eligible for Lanterman Act services.
- Whether the child will become eligible for special education services through the school district.
In either case, Early Start services are terminated and the child graduates from the program. By age 3, with the help of Early Start services, nearly 70 percent of the children served by Lanterman Regional Center will have “caught up” developmentally to the point that they are no longer eligible for continuing regional center services.