Washington, DC—Senior officials of the Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Early Childhood Development and the DC Public Schools (DCPS) Special Education Division announced today that they have established an official agreement to ensure that all infants, toddlers and school age children in the District who are eligible for early intervention and special education services are located, identified, and evaluated. Called DC Child Find, the initiative is designed to offer a seamless system of service delivery for children needing various developmental and educational programs and services.

“We are proud to have established a partnership agreement with the DC Public Schools to work together to identify children with developmental delays and disabilities. Our role will be to ensure that infants and toddlers with disabilities living in the District are not only identified and evaluated, but also receive appropriate intervention and be transitioned in a timely manner from our Early Intervention Program to the DC Public Schools special education program or other appropriate programs,” said Barbara Kamara, executive director of the DHS Office of Early Childhood Development.

DCPS is responsible for the identification and education of all eligible students with disabilities in the District beginning at age three through 21 years of age. In compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, DCPS is required to identify all children at risk of requiring special education and to ensure the transition of eligible children from the DHS Early Intervention Program to DCPS.

“This program provides an opportunity for us to provide valuable intervention services to children who need them, well in advance of them entering our school system,” said Dr. Ray Bryant, Associate Superintendent, Office of Special Education Reform and Student Services for DCPS. “Than way, children have a greater likelihood of educational success in our schools,” he said.

DHS and DCPS will also launch a DC Child Find public information campaign focusing on the availability of early intervention and special education services. The DC Child Find campaign will encourage parents of young and school age children who believe their children may have developmental delays to seek assistance by contacting DC Child Find through its 24-hour telephone line at (202) 727-8300.