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Crawford County, Pennsylvania

Early Intervention

EARLY INTERVENTION


EI Services Overview

Early Intervention services and supports are provided to families, infants and toddlers with disabilities or at-risk children to maximize the child's developmental potential.  Early Intervention (EI) services are designed to help families with children who have disabilities or developmental delays. Sometimes children have difficulties reaching milestones in their development and need some help getting there.  EI builds upon the natural learning occurring in those first few years.  It is a process that promotes collaboration among parents, service providers and others significantly involved with your child including family members, friends or providers the child has regular contact within the community.  EI services can enhance a child's development by answering parent's questions about their child's development, enhancing the parent's capacity to meet the developmental needs of the child through daily routines at home and in the community, enhancing the child's development and educational growth, and supporting children with developmental delays so that they can become more independent, thus preventing the need for more costly intervention in the future.  Each family has the option to have their child screened to see if there are any concerns with their development or have a full evaluation complete to determine if their child is eligible for Early Intervention services. 

Early Intervention services are voluntary and are provided at no cost to the family. 

Crawford County Human Services Early Intervention department is the starting point for Early Intervention services.  A Service Coordinator is assigned to each family to help them coordinate and monitor services. They are the family's central point of contact. 

Services are provided in the child's natural environment, which includes the families home (this is where services most often occur), daycare settings and other environments in the child's normal routine. 

The process for acquiring and starting services is:

  • A referral is made.
  • The Service Coordinator will contact the family and schedule and complete an intake and screening if requested.
  •  The Service Coordinator will then schedule a Multi Disciplinary Evaluation through an independent evaluator.
  •  After the evaluation is complete and scored it will be determined if the child is eligible for services.
  • If the child is eligible for services the Service Coordinator will schedule an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) with the family, and evaluator.
  • After the IFSP is complete therapy should start within the next 14 days.
  • Reviews are conducted on the child every three months and re-evaluations are conducted yearly to determine if the child is eligible for services.  

Parents are strongly encouraged to participate in the process, as they are the experts on their child.  Parents or caregivers also need to participate in the therapy sessions so that they can continue to follow through with therapy when the therapist is not in the home and review meetings to discuss their child's progress. 

Referrals should be made as soon as there is any sign of a delay or concern with your child's development. 

Referrals for Early Intervention can be made directly to Crawford County Human Services by calling 814-724-8380 or toll free at 877-334-8793.

If you would like more information on the Early Intervention program please contact:

Barb Clark
Early Intervention Coordinator
814-333-7300 Ext: 3607 or toll free at 877-334-8793
bclark@co.crawford.pa.us

   

Early Intervention PSA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rqJae4T-WA

Office of Child Development and Early Learning: http://www.dhs.pa.gov/learnaboutdhs/dhsorganization/officeofchilddevelopmentandearlylearning/

Early Intervention Technical Assistance: http://www.eita-pa.org/

Early Intervention forms and resources: http://www.pattan.net/category/Resources/PaTTAN%20Publications/Browse/?t=9

ABOUT CRAWFORD COUNTY

The County of Crawford lies in northwestern Pennsylvania. Originally it was inhabited by the Iroquiois Indians and other tribes and nations. In later years, the land was acquired by a group of Dutch investors under title of the Holland Land Company and resold to settlers. The Commonwealth allocated land to its Revolutionary War soldiers as a bonus settlement. The county was formed in 1800 from a portion of Allegheny County and named after Colonel William Crawford, an early military hero and close friend of George Washington.

CONTACT US

903 Diamond Park Meadville, PA 16335

Phone: (814) 333-7300
Toll free: 800-982-9019

Fax: (814) 337-0457

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

State of Pennsylvania