Stimulus funds to go to programs for infants, toddlers with disabilities

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Friday announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has appropriated significant funding for Virginia’s Early Intervention Program under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The U.S. Department of Education awarded more than $10 million for Virginia under the Part C Grants for Infants and Families program. These awards will be in addition to the regular fiscal year 2009 grants for infants and toddlers that were made on July 1, 2009. 

“These Recovery funds will help Virginia provide greater services for infants and toddlers with disabilities,” Kaine said. “By allowing Virginia to retain people in the helping professions of early intervention, while upgrading our service delivery systems, we can expect better outcomes for kids and families.”

Funds going to local programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities include:
– Augusta County Public Schools: $110,023
– Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board: $114,917
– Rockbridge Area Community Services Board: $117,974

Early intervention services are designed to meet the developmental needs of each child and the needs of the family related to enhancing the child’s development and are provided to children from birth to age three who have a developmental delay in one or more areas of development, or a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay. Early intervention begins with careful screening for developmental delays, followed by a coordinated approach to providing services such as speech and physical therapy in the child’s natural environment.

“The research is clear that early intervention significantly prevents lifelong delays in development and that these problems are most effectively addressed by a multidisciplinary approach working in partnership with the child’s family”, said Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Commissioner James Reinhard. “The sooner we identify a child who can benefit from a particular course of therapy, the better. We can’t do it without trained and experienced professionals in place. This financial support is critically important for our localities.”

Eighty percent of the total ARRA funds awarded to local early intervention systems will be used to increase service capacity and ensure job retention for early intervention providers statewide. The remaining ARRA funds, 20 percent, will:
– develop state and local data systems to collect and report reliable data for improving service delivery
– increase training for early intervention providers
– monitor the transition and outcomes of children from early intervention programs to preschool special education programs in public schools
– ensure the federal and state compliance of early intervention regulations

Virginia has received the first half of the ARRA award, just over $5 million, which has been disseminated among the 39 local early intervention systems across the Commonwealth. Each local early intervention system received a share of the funding based on the number of children they serve.

The Commonwealth expects to receive the second $5 million allocation of ARRA funds in September; more than 75 percent of funds will be dispersed to localities for services. The remaining funds will support state infrastructure for training and workforce development.