News

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is inviting families, early childhood educators, Early Intervention and child care providers, and other professionals to review and make comments on the proposed 2024 application for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The review and comment period opens Monday, April 1 and closes on Wednesday, May 15.

About IDEA, Part C and the Application

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal grant program that assists states in providing early intervention and school-aged services to children with special needs. Part C of IDEA – also known as the Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program – provides early intervention services for children from birth through 36 months. Through the application, children with special needs due to developmental delays and disabilities are eligible to receive free early intervention services.

Early intervention services can include family training, counseling, and home visits as well as occupational, physical, or speech therapy. Other services include hearing loss services; health, nutrition, and social work; assistance with service coordination; assistive technology devices and services; and transportation.

Services – which are based upon the individual needs and strengths of each child and the child’s family – may be provided in the child’s home, child care center, nursery school, play group, Head Start program, early childhood special education classroom, or other familiar settings.

Review and Comment Period

Anyone who would like to review the proposed grant application can find the document at Early Intervention Services or Early Intervention (pa.gov) on the right side menu of the web pages. Hard copies can also be requested by emailing ra-ocdintervention@pa.gov or by calling 717-346-9320.

Opportunities to provide public comment include:

• Visiting Part C Grant Public Comment. The link will allow for online comments when the review and comment period commences on April 1.
• Submitting written comments regarding the proposed grant application to:
  Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports
  ATTN: Public Comments for Part C Grant Application
  607 South Drive, 4th Floor Rotunda
  Harrisburg, PA 17120

• Emailing written comments to ra-ocdintervention@pa.gov. 
• Attending the public comment session to be held April 15 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. on Zoom.
• Session details:
  https://paiu.zoom.us/j/92055597686
  (877) 369-0926 (U.S. toll free)
  Meeting ID: 920 5559 7686

Those who need accommodation or assistance to review the proposed grant application or to submit comments should contact ra-ocdintervention@pa.gov or call 717-346-9320.

Comments will be accepted through Wednesday, May 15.

Learn More

The Department of Education will review and consider all comments before submitting the final grant application. To learn more about the review and comment period, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.

Sources

The above information was compiled from the U.S. Department of Education, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, Pennsylvania Department of Education, and Pennsylvania Key websites.