Cross System Collaborations; Meeting the Needs of Young Children with Disabilities Who Have Experienced Abuse

The Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment (CAPTA) legislation has been pivotal in recognizing and addressing the detrimental effects of abuse and neglect on very young children. CAPTA mandates children under the age of 3 who have experienced abuse and neglect be referred to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C programs. According to the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (2001), Part C programs are responsible for providing services for young children with developmental disabilities/delays and services to young children who have a high probability of developing a disability or delay (e.g. abuse and neglect situations). The Child Welfare Information Gateway (2007) stresses that successful Part C implementation requires interagency collaboration across Early Intervention and child welfare agencies.

Despite a mandated collaboration, children with disabilities who have experienced abuse are often not well served by the early intervention and child welfare systems (Sobsey, 1994; Orevlove, Hallohan, & Myles, 2000). Several studies have documented CPS professionals’ lack of knowledge regarding the unique developmental and ecological needs of very young children who have a disability and have also experienced abuse and neglect (McCrae, Cahalane, & Fusco, 2011; Herman-Smith, 2011; Jones-Harden & Klein, 2011). Given these factors, further examination of how the Early Intervention and Child Welfare system function to support families of young children with disabilities who have experienced abuse and neglect will better inform practice, professional development, and policy. The current study uses qualitative methodology to identify barriers and successes to cross system collaboration between Part C Early Intervention and Child welfare systems.

The participants include one large midwestern state’s Part C Early Intervention Coordinator and Ombudsman, as well as the DCFS Chief Nurse and Head of Early Childhood programming. Finally, participants who provide presidential leadership of two major research organizations who respectively focus on early childhood special education and child welfare were also interviewed. Semi-structured interviews focused on the ability of EI and CW systems to meet the needs of young children with disabilities who have experienced abuse. Particular attention was paid to successes and barriers related to cross system research, policy, practice, collaboration and personnel preparation.  Implications for how research and policy can focus on more cohesive cross system collaboration between the early intervention and child welfare systems will be discussed.