Child Find: New Directions and Resources

Child Find - Statutory Language - Part B

Child Find is a component of IDEA that requires States to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, ages birth to 21, who are in need of early intervention or special education services. This requirement has been in place since the beginning of legislation for serving children with disabilities in P.L. 94-142 in 1975. Coordination between the Part B agency and the lead agency for Part C of the IDEA Early Intervention Program is important in order to accomplish a comprehensive system that ensures the activities to identify, locate, and evaluate infants and toddlers, preschool children, school-age children, and those ages 17–21 who may have dropped out of school

Regulations from 1997 Part B of IDEA (34 CFR§ 300.125) requires a State to have policies and procedures to ensure that all children birth to age 21 in need of special education and related services, including children attending private schools and migrant or homeless children, are "identified, located, and evaluated."

An addition was made in IDEA 2004 to specify children who are homeless or wards of the State. Specific language of IDEA is found in Section 612 (a)(3)(A):

All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated and a practical method developed and implemented to determine which children with disabilities are currently receiving needed special education and related services.

Child Find - Statutory Language - Part C

IDEA requires that Child Find includes the identification, location, and evaluation of infants and toddlers. Most States and Local Education Agencies develop collaborative agreements with Part C Early Intervention programs to ensure Child Find procedures for children from birth to age 3.

IDEA 97 regulations in Part C require each State to have a "comprehensive child find system" with the purpose of finding children birth to age three as early as possible. The system must be consistent with Part B but also meets the additional requirements of (34CFR§§ 303.321). For Part C, the lead agency, with the assistance of the State interagency coordinating council, ensures that the system is coordinated with all other major efforts to locate and identify young children by other State health, education, social service, and tribal agencies. This comprehensive system addresses the definition of eligibility for the State; the public awareness program; central directory; screening and referral; and timelines for agencies to act on referrals, evaluation, and assessment. It targets primary referral sources including hospitals, physicians, parents, daycare providers, local education agencies, public health facilities, other social service providers, and other medical providers.

The Part C IDEA 2004 provides additional guidance to States for the development of a statewide system, including responsibilities for Child Find found in Section 635 (a). New language is identified in bold type.

(5)    A comprehensive child find system, consistent with part B, including a system for making referrals to service providers that includes timelines and provides for participation by primary referral sources and that ensures rigorous standards for appropriately identifying infants and toddlers with disabilities for services under this part that will reduce the need for future services.

(6)    A public awareness program focusing on early identification of infants and toddlers with disabilities, including the preparation and dissemination by the lead agency designated or established under paragraph (1) to all primary referral sources, especially hospitals and physicians, of information to be given to parents, especially to inform parents with premature infants, or infants with other physical risk factors associated with learning or developmental complications, on the availability of early intervention services under this part and of services under section 619, and procedures for assisting such sources in disseminating such information to parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities.

It is important to be aware that the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) includes several indicators in the monitoring process and the development of each State’s State Performance Plan (SPP)  in the areas of Child Find and public awareness that must be addressed as part of the overall process of providing early intervention and special education services. States that have engaged in the Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring System (CIFMS) will already have a good deal of information on the status of their Child Find program and practices, priority areas of need, action steps to address their needs, and evaluation activities to determine the effectiveness of the improvement effort.