Providing On-Site Consultation to Promote Quality in Integrated Child Care Programs

Abstract

Recent legislation has supported the right of young children with special needs to receive the specialized services they need within the most natural setting possible. For an increasing number of families, this setting is the child care center. As the need for community programs to integrate young children with disabilities increases, so does the staff's need for new ideas and skills to prepare them for inclusion. The Infant-Toddler Care Project was developed to provide child care programs with on-site consultation that reinforced and emphasized aspects of quality care for all children and provided knowledge and skills to support the inclusion of infants and toddlers with disabilities.