Center for Developmental Disabilities Parent Handbook

Family Handbook

2016-2017

Welcome Families to CDD!

The staff and I wish to welcome you to the CDD family and look forward to providing you and your child with an enriching early childhood education and therapeutic program.

Sending your child to “school” for the first time can be an exciting and anxious time. We encourage you to read this Family Handbook and to keep it handy for future references. There is a lot of information to absorb and this handbook is a helpful guide to many questions. Please do not hesitate to contact our Family Services Team, Dana Wojciechowski and Vicki McCabe to support you and your child’s transition to CDD as well as assisting you throughout the school year.

There will be many new learning opportunities for your child to grow and develop. There will be many exciting times as your child learns new skills. We invite you to be an active participant in your child’s learning program. Throughout the school year there are many opportunities for your participation. We schedule field trips, school holiday parties, and education groups and other events. We welcome and encourage your participation.

There is a parent representative on the Board of Directors. Her name is Mandy Colville. You can contact her at the CDD phone number, 570-296-3992. This director is the liaison between parents and the Board of Directors. She is available to you for feedback, questions and information.

I would like to extend an invitation to caregivers/family members of the children we serve to contact me or visit me when you can. My door is open. I am interested in your participation, feedback and ideas. With your support we can enhance your child’s early education experience in our program and maximize their potential at school, in your home and in the community.

Warm regards,

Lisa Randazzo,

Executive Director

CDD History and Mission

For more than 40 years, the Center for Developmental Disabilities of Pike County has provided educational, therapeutic, and family support services for children with developmental delays and disabilities from birth to kindergarten age. Our grass roots response began with one woman, a nurse, who visited families and helped them access information and services. This support was informal and often based on word of mouth from family to family.

Over the years, CDD has evolved into a multi-disciplinary program that currently provides early educational services to over 200 children on an annual basis. We offer an inclusion program serving typical children with an expertise in serving children with developmental delays and disabilities.

The mission of the CDD is to provide exceptional early intervention, early education, behavioral and therapeutic services for children birth through kindergarten age and school age care for children up to 12 years old. This inclusive environment embraces each child’s unique set of needs and individual learning/therapeutic goals and respects the individual culture of each family. CDD works in partnership with community members to create, innovate, collaborate and advocate on behalf of all children in our community.

At the Center for Developmental Disabilities we follow Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards and curriculum guidelines. Our classroom teachers are certified and licensed. We have licensed therapists who provide occupational, physical, speech and language therapies for qualified children. Our family support staff is experienced in working with complex family and cultural issues, which ensures our ability to meet individual needs. Our behavioral support staff is trained and experienced in providing positive behavioral supports and plans for children as needed. We do not expel any child from our program for behavioral challenges. We work closely with you and your family to create a program that is successful for your child.

It is our goal to maximize your child’s potential. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity for growth and development in a setting that meets individual needs and concerns. CDD is a Department of Human Services licensed early education center that provides Early Intervention and Early Education services in Pike County, PA. We maintain a high adult to child ratio to ensure our ability to provide individualized early educational services to your child. The Center for Developmental Disabilities participates in the Keystone STARS program. We currently have a Stars 4 rating in this program. For more information on Keystone Stare please visit the following website--

Program Philosophy

We Believe…

 Each child is considered capable of learning, growing and developing.

Each child and family is unique regarding their priorities, needs, culture, values, and lifestyle.

Each family has the right to make choices regarding the supports and services they receive.

Services should be directed toward supporting individuals and families within their chosen community.

Each child’s and family’s integrity is respected and maintained through the principles of positive approaches and supports.

Each child and family will not be discriminated on the basis of race, culture, ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender and age, or persons with disabilities.

We encourage and practice professional behaviors and uses of language that promote the elimination of inappropriate, prejudicial and demeaning attitudes, assumptions and stereotypes about sex roles and racial or cultural identity.

We practice a multi-disciplinary approach that bases program design on evaluative data, resulting in the achievement of educational, behavioral and therapeutic goals.

We participate in interagency collaboration that promotes comprehensive community services to children and families.

Our Philosophy of Learning and Curriculum Policy

A child learns as a whole person, constructing intellectual, physical, social, and emotional understandings through interactions with the environment. Our program design addresses the cognitive, social, emotional, behavioral, and self help skills children need to be successful in their environment. Our program also addresses the language and communication; fine, gross motor and sensory needs.

Learning is active and playful! Children are provided with opportunities to use their imagination as well as for jumping, balancing, crawling, grasping, reaching, and eye-hand coordination to create new skills. It is our goal to have new experiences and different tools for learning that are stimulating and fun.

A total communication approach is used at CDD. Language and communication approaches include verbal language, sign language, picture communication cards and adaptive communication devices.

Our curriculum is the Creative Curriculum. The Creative Curriculum is aligned with the PA Learning Standards. Our curriculum is age appropriate for the children we serve and meets with the Department of Education and OCDEL guidelines. The assessment we use to measure your child’s progress is Work Sampling. We will complete this assessment at least 3 times a year.

All families and children participate in assessments to determine the educational programming for each child. We measure the progress of each child at least 3 times a year to set and monitor individual learning goals. Results from assessments are used to support curriculum planning and learning goals.

All families are invited to be actively involved with their child’s learning program throughout the school year. Families are formally invited to attend at least two parent-teacher conferences each program year. If you are unable to attend a conference, we are happy to meet with you at your convenience.

Our program philosophy embraces a multi-disciplinary team (which always involves the family/caregivers) to support all children’s learning. Additionally, community volunteers and professionals from other agencies involved with a particular child may work with the team and with the child in the classroom. These team members work together to provide each child with an educational experience that is individualized to meet his/her specific needs. Eligible children typically receive therapeutic services during the classroom program.

Family Events

Please look on the CDD website and Facebook to keep you updated regarding specific classroom activities and seasonal themes each month. We invite your participation in all of our events and your participation in your child’s program. As part of our commitment to providing your child with quality educational services we also ask you to participate in two family surveys a year to give us feedback on how we are doing!! We appreciate and value your feedback.

Celebrations: CDD hosts three main events each year. We ask for support from families to help us prepare for these events.

Our “Giving Thanks” celebration: is a special time for our families, children, and staff to give thanks and celebrate our children. We welcome all family and community members to join us.

Our Holiday Celebration invites all families to share cultural and ethnic traditions throughout the year. During the holiday season, the Pike County Bar Association has established a tradition of providing the children and their families with a holiday party in December complete with a visit from Santa Claus! Santa has his sack filled with wonderful presents for all of the children who attend. Light refreshments are served. Families are invited to bring their own special homemade goodies and traditional favorites to share with us.

Our Summer Family/Community Picnic takes place in during summer months. This is a long tradition of fun for all families involved with CDD.

Other traditions:

Pumpkin Picking – We invite families to join us for picking pumpkins on this great adventure. All children can bring home a pumpkin and enjoy the time outdoors!

Bring Your Parent to School Month- During this annual month long event, parents/caregivers are invited to come to school with their child. This is a great time to learn more about your child’s day at CDD.

Read To Your Child’s Class Month-We invite parents/caregivers to read their favorite story to your child’s class. We especially encourage you to share special and unique stories about your family’s culture and traditions to help our children learn and grow.

Country Ark Farm- Children and families are invited to visit this local farm to enjoy the outdoors and see the animals. Some of the animals can be hand fed so this is a great opportunity to bring your camera!

Week of the Young Child-CDD participates in this annual community-wide event celebrating children! All families are welcome to join us during this week to celebrate our children.

Family Support Services

The CDD Family Services Team is available to assist families with an array of individual needs. We offer support to all families and provide a wide variety of information and links to community resources. We also offer educational training for parents and support groups. The Family Services Team can be contacted Monday-Friday by calling 570-296-3992 at ext. 226 or ext. 234. Our Family services Team welcomes you to contact them at any time. If you feel that you have some parent group topics or ideas to share, please contact them!

Transition Services

Our Family Support Team provides comprehensive and intensive transition services for all families.

For families transitioning from our Milestones (infant-toddler) program in to our Stepping Stones (early learning/early intervention) Program, our Family Services Team will assist you in every way to make a smooth and successful transition. Some of the services offered include:

Home Visits to meet with and begin the transition paperwork for the Pre-kindergarten program.
The identification, support and linking to appropriate community resources.
A scheduled visit for your child to attend the Pre-Kindergarten program.
A scheduled educational assessment to identify individualized learning goals.
A written Individualized Educational Plan and IEP meeting.
A transfer of all child records and child information as requested by family.

We encourage parents/caregivers to actively participate in every aspect of this transition.

For families transitioning from our Stepping Stones (early learning/ early education) or Cornerstone (autism) Program to their Home School District (usually the Delaware Valley School District), the Family Services Team will assist you in every way to make a smooth and successful transition. The Family Services Team will also guide you through this process throughout the school year. Some of the services offered include:

Opportunities to meet with the Family Services Team and begin the transition process for the Kindergarten program.
The identification, support and linking to appropriate school district and community resources.
A scheduled visit for your child to visit their new school.
Support to register your child in their new school.
A scheduled educational assessment to identify individualized learning goals for children with an Individualized Educational Plan.
An Individualized Educational Meeting will be scheduled at your child’s new school for those children with IEP’s.
A transfer of all child records and child information as requested by family.

The Family Services Team works closely with all families and with all involved stakeholders to insure a smooth transition from one service to another. Additionally, we work closely with MH/DS to support families transitioning from the Milestones Program and we work closely with local school districts to support the needs of families with children transitioning to kindergarten. There are a variety of activities and programs throughout the year. Please stay connected to our website ( and Facebook for ongoing information about CDD events and services.

Transportation

Transportation for Eligible Children- Children who are eligible for the Early Intervention Services are provided bus transportation by Delaware Valley School District. Parents are responsible for communicating to DVSD transportation services if their child will not be using the bus on a particular day. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s transportation please call the transportation office. The phone number for the Delaware Valley School District is:

570-296-1889

Important Policies and Guidelines for Parents/Caregivers:

The Center for Developmental Disabilities administrative office is open from 8:00am to 4:00 pm. The children’s program is open from 7am to 6:00pm.

Enrollment -caregivers will complete all child health and welfare forms in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and OCDEL enrollment regulations. This paperwork is mandatory and will be needed in order for the child to attend the center. Your child will be assigned to a classroom. Occasionally, we may move your child from one classroom to another based on enrollment needs in the program. We will always contact you if we make changes based on behavioral or social concerns for your child.

Parent Access/Participation-Parents are permitted access to the center without prior notice whenever a child is in our care. Ample opportunity is provided for parents to participate in center programs. Please be sure to check your child’s backpack and newsletter for special announcements of programs and events. We encourage parent volunteers to support and assist with all special events.

Confidentiality/Privacy-The CDD Staff will not share information about any child verbally or through program records without the written consent of the parents according to the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA). Parents and guardians who wish to have the center share information with other agencies will be asked to complete a consent form to obtain permission to release information. Please note: We often have professionals from other organizations that visit CDD. This includes DVSD teachers and therapists that are here to evaluate children transitioning to kindergarten; therapists here to evaluate or support children with behavioral needs; and educational/nursing students who come to CDD to observe our program. NO INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR CHILD WILL BE SHARED WITH ANYONE WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT!

Social Media – We ask every family to review and sign our social media release form. We have a website ( and we are on Facebook! We often use pictures from our events and classrooms to share with our on-line communities. We work hard to respect the privacy and preferences of our families. We ask all of our families to respect the privacy of our children. Please do not take any pictures of children (other than yours) and share them on your Facebook or other social media without the permission of the caregivers of the child. It is the policy for CDD employees not to “friend” via Facebook any family member currently receiving services. This policy is to protect your child’s and family’s privacy.

Attendance: We encourage regular attendance for you child in our program. Please be sure to contact us if your child is ill or will not be able to attend his/her regularly scheduled day. You may call and leave a message at any time. If your child misses more than one day of school, Family Services will contact you to offer support or assistance if needed.

Arrival -All students who arrive by bus or are dropped off by a caregiver meet CDD staff at the elevator entrance of the building (red door). Our building is always locked for the safety of the children and staff however, during inclement weather, we welcome parents to wait with their children for program to start in our reception area. We appreciate that group arrival may be difficult for some children initially. If you feel that your child needs you to spend some additional time getting him or her settled upstairs please speak with your child’s Teacher or with our Family Services Team. We will be glad to work with you to make the transition easier.

Being On Time - It is very important to come on time so your child does not miss program time. When children come late to the program it disrupts the classroom and we do not have the availability of staff to leave the classroom. Please be respectful of your child’s educational program and arrive/depart on time.

Sick Child- if your child becomes sick while in school you will be immediately notified by our staff and asked to pick up your child as soon as possible. We request alternative emergency contacts (such as grandparents, neighbors, aunts or uncles) that you would allow to pick up your child in this situation.

These names should be indicated on either the center agreement or the emergency form. Children may not be in program during infectious periods of viruses or illnesses (such as fever, vomiting, measles, pink eye, chicken pox or diarrhea.) A doctor’s note may be required before a child can return to the program. You must wait 24 hours after the end of a fever to return your child to school.