Information Avenue Archives

Child Care for the Child with Disabilities

There’s no doubt about it, dual-income families are on the rise. It’s becoming nearly impossible to raise a family these days on a single income. As a result, parents are confronted with the difficult task of finding quality child care for their children. As parents of children with special needs, you may feel as though you have a more difficult or unique challenge in finding care because your child has a disability. You may feel as though your sources are limited and that you have to settle for the only special program available in your area. Before 1992, this may have been true, however, the American with Disabilities Act states that children with disabilities are entitled to participate in any child care setting (including a privately-run center or a home-based center) that is available to those without disabilities. The only exception would be if the child’s presence would pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others. All child care centers, with the exception of those run by religious entities, regardless of their size or the number of staff, must comply with the ADA requirements.

Integrating a child with disabilities into a regular day care setting serves many important functions and benefits all those involved. The children with special needs are: provided role models that allow them to learn new skills through imitation; given the opportunity to learn important personal and social skills that might not otherwise be learned in segregated settings; and are given the opportunity to develop relationships with typically developing peers. The children without special needs are provided the opportunity to learn more realistic and accurate information about individuals with disabilities and they are provided the opportunity to develop positive attitudes towards those who are different from themselves. Finally, integrating a child with disabilities gives parents more choices (rather than being limited to a specific program) and allows them to participate in a center within their community, preventing the feeling of isolation by both the parent and the child.

It is important for the parent to understand what the day care center is required to do in order to determine whether the center is compliant with the ADA requirements. Following is a list of the day care’s responsibilities:

• The center must make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures in order to accommodate the child with disabilities.

• Structural barriers which prevent access to services must be removed if easily achievable without much difficulty or expense. If not, alternative methods must be provided.

• The center must provide auxiliary aids and services (i.e., interpreters, devices, and equipment) to ensure effective communication with children who have hearing, speech, or vision impairments, unless the services would cause "undue burden" (significant difficulty or expense) to the center.

• The center must provide curriculum adaptations and additional staff training if necessary.

• If your child requires diapering (regardless of his or her age), the center must still provide diapering services to your child as long as it provides those services to younger children.

• If your child takes medication, the center is required to give it to your child even if their policy is not to administer medication to children.

It is important to note that any costs associated with modifying a day care cannot be passed on to the families of children with disabilities (costs can, however, be passed on to ALL families, like any other overhead cost).

When searching for the right day care center for your child, the first step is to visit a few places during a time when the children are participating in some of the regular activities - eating, game play, arts and crafts - and deciding on whether the center meets your needs in terms of quality care (brochures on privately-run centers should be available). Once you have found a potential day care center, a meeting should take place between you and the center’s director or the day care provider, in the case of home-based care. You should express your desires and allow the director to offer solutions to any concerns you may have. Remember, they must provide care to your child, regardless of the severity of his or her disability, as long as they do not have to fundamentally alter their program. Since integration is still new to many providers and many have never worked with children who have special needs, it may be beneficial for the provider to speak with your child’s physician in the event he or she has any special concerns.

If your child gets turned down by a day care that you believe is suitable for him or her and you disagree with the reasoning of the center, you can file a complaint with the Department of Justice. They will investigate your case and can impose very large fines to those centers that are in violation of the ADA. The Department provides an ADA information line to answer questions at (800) 514-0301.

For more information on child care, please visit the following sites:

• United States Department of Justice http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/childq&a.htm
• The ARC http://thearc.org/faqs/ccqa1.html
• Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights http://www.pacer.org/pride/tchldcare.htm
• The Child Care Law Center http://www.childcarelaw.org

 

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