Early Intervention (EI) includes services and supports to infants and toddlers, ages 0-2, who have a developmental delay or disability, and their families. Early Intervention is one component of the Help Me Grow (HMG) system, a collaborative initiative of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (ODMRRD), the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), and the Ohio Department of Health,(ODH). The ODH serves as the Lead Agency for Help Me Grow in Ohio.
The HMG system is directed, in each county, by the Family and Children First Council (F&CFC), a collaborative of agencies that serve children and families, and other community service providers and organizations. The F&CFC plans and coordinates services to children, ages 0-21 years. In addition to serving children with delays and disabilities, the HMG system offers support to children who are ‘at-risk’ for a delay, and provides prenatal and newborn home visits. Some of the major components of HMG are health screenings (‘Child Find’), evaluation, procedural safeguards, home visits, service plan development and review, and other specialized services.
Early Intervention Services are identified for each child and family through the development of an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP). Early Intervention services are provided in the home or Early Childhood Center by County Boards of DODD, in accordance with mandates of the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5126, through an ODMRDD Early Intervention Rule, and through ODH policies/procedures -- all based on the Early Intervention section of federal legislation known as IDEA. Such services include child development and family support provided by certified Early Intervention Specialists, and therapies provided by licensed professional Speech, Physical, and Occupational Therapists.
As a provider to the Help Me Grow system, the focus of Early Intervention Services through County Boards of DODD is to assist the family in meeting the unique needs of their child, and to assist the system in meeting its mandates through collaboration with other local agencies and providers within the county’s local Family and Children First Council.
For more information about Early Intervention or the Help Me Grow system, contact www.ohiohelpmegrow.org or your local County Board of MR/DD.