Family Centered Early Supports & Services (birth to 3rd birthday)
Intake Coordinator: Tammy Dudal (603) 893-1299 x326
Region 10 Community Support Services, Inc. contracts with The Children’s Pyramid of Nashua, Easter Seals of Salem and Child & Family Services of Exeter to provide Family Centered Early Supports and Services for children from birth to age three. The Early Supports & Services Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the intake, family support and the services provided by each agency. The family and the team will design an Individual Family Support Plan that meets the needs of each child and their family lifestyle. The experience and the exposure that children receive during these early years form the foundation for their development. The Early Support team may include speech and language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, educators and early childhood development specialists. Services can be provided in a variety of settings such as your own home, child’s day care, neighborhood playground or other community setting.
Early Supports & Services are provided through state and federal funds. Families are not billed for services provided, although we do pursue private insurance and Medicaid reimbursement. A child is never denied services due to a family’s inability to pay.
Region 10 is committed to providing high quality services that meet the needs of those we serve. As a part of our ongoing quality assurance activities, our program conducts a survey after each child is discharged from the program. All results are shared with the Quality Assurance Committee and our providers on a quarterly basis.
Region 10 provides a Transition Open House workshop in the spring and fall each year for all families in Early Supports & Services. This event is hosted by Easter Seals of Salem. This is a transition from Early Supports & Services to Preschool Special Education. This presentation is done by The Parent Information Center. The Parent Information Center staff provides information and support to parents and others so that they may participate effectively as team members in the Special Education process. We believe that the best transitions occur when families and staff work together as a team. The workshop is for our families and special education preschool coordinators. Childcare is provided so that parents can view a power point presentation regarding the process. After the presentation, families meet with their school coordinators to find out more about the programs available in their district. It’s also a great way to meet other families that are going through similar transitions.
We have been working on a project for Supporting Successful Early Childhood Transitions (SSECT). Jennifer Cunha, Parent Information Center representative and Pam Miller –Salet from Preschool Technical Assistance Network (PTAN) have been conducting workshops with our providers, all of our school districts and Region 10 Early Supports & Services staff. They have shared best practices from around the state and technical assistance so that we can have a Memorandum of Agreement. We feel that all schools and providers were represented and worked together to create this agreement.
Region 10 also continues to support families through support groups and playgroups in the community. We have provided some funding for families to participate in community therapeutic groups. In the past year we have continued to assist families with swimming lessons, Kindermusik with Miss Rose for music therapy, and sensory workshops at Easter Seals of Salem and Kidz Play in Londonderry. We will continue to support our families with knowledge and understanding of their child’s development needs.
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