Early Intervention
What Does the System Do?
The Early Intervention system in Pennsylvania includes services and supports to help families with young children who have developmental delays. It builds on the natural learning that occurs among children in the first few years of life. The system is designed to encourage collaboration among parents, service providers, and others significantly involved with your child.
The Early Intervention Program provides developmental and educational services to Greene County children younger than three (3) years old who have developmental delays and/or diagnoses that may cause the child to exhibit delay(s). Services are offered at no cost to all clients, regardless of the family’s income. Children qualify based on the results of a full developmental assessment. All children are eligible for a free screening and assessment.
Following the development of an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP), sessions are provided at the convenience of the family in the child’s home, day care setting, or other natural environment. Services and supports are focused on the individual child to help him or her grow and learn. Early Intervention can also help connect families to a variety of community services and supports.
Who’s Who in the System?
There are many people that you may interact with as part of the early intervention system, including the following:
Service Coordinator (case manager)
A service coordinator is the individual assigned to coordinate the planning and delivery of Early Intervention services.
Providers
Providers are organizations that the county enters into a contract with so that they can provide early intervention services
Staff & Development
The following staff -Early Interventionist, Physical Therapist, Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Teacher of the Hearing Impaired, Teacher of the Visually Impaired - address the following areas of development:
Language:
Distinguishing sounds, seeing, distinguishing and remembering images, touching, being touched, and discriminating textures. Listening, comprehension of speech, reading and writing, communicating thoughts and feelings.
Fine Motor:
Coordinating and controlling hands, grasping, dexterity, hand-eye coordination, drawing, and writing.
Gross Motor:
Whole body movement and coordination, large muscle movement.
Social and Emotional:
Self-esteem, cooperation, building relationships, sharing, appreciating difference, self expression, and self-nurturing.
Cognitive:
Cause and effect relationships, forming and understanding concepts, logic, reasoning, and memory skills. Imagination, ingenuity invention, creative thinking, dramatic play, and self expression.
The following is currently a list of providers of Early Intervention services in Greene County:
Diversified Services
301 Chamber Plaza
Charleroi, PA 15022
724-489-8096
Director: Toni Tarquinio
Integrated Care Corporation Inc.
371 Bethel Church Rd.
Ligonier, PA 15368
1-888-564-5683
Administrator: Lance Queer
Pathways of Southwestern PA, Inc.
130 Bill George Dr.
Waynesburg, PA 15370
724-627-3441
Director: Kristie Rohrer
What are the Rights and Responsibilities That I Need to Know About?
The following are rights that parentshave under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). This is a federal law that protects the confidentiality of a child’s educational records by limiting their disclosure. FERPA guarantees parents certain rights which are described below:
Access to Records-You have the right to inspect and review your child’s records and to receive a copy of the records.
Challenge to Records-You have the right to request that your child’s educational records be changed if they are inaccurate or misleading, and to have a hearing if that request is refused.
Disclosure-FERPA provides that educational records cannot be released without written consent of the parent, except in certain specified instances. Specific to children transferring from preschool Early Intervention, generally, the preschool Early Intervention program must have written permission from the parent or eligible child in order to release any information from a child’s educational record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions:
a. School officials with legitimate educational interest;
b. Other schools to which a student is transferring;
c. Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
d. Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
e. Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
f. Accrediting organizations;
g. To the courts to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
h. Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
i. State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to
Complaints-If you believe that the Early Intervention Program is not complying with FERPA or not guaranteeing you your rights outlined above, you may file a letter of complaint with the federal office in charge of enforcing the Act at the address below:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U S Department of Education
600 Independence Ave , S W
Washington, DC 20202-4605
19
What Special Programs are Available in Greene County?
The following are special programs offered in Greene County.
Local Interagency Coordinating Council (LICC)
The LICC is a group of parents and professionals involved in some manner with the Early Intervention program. All families are encouraged to participate in the LICC meetings, functions, etc. The LICC for Greene County is currently joined with that of Fayette County. This group meets at least 4 times per year to discuss and plan continuing/improving the EI program for their respective counties. The LICC also sponsors special events, trainings, workshops, etc. throughout the year at no cost to the families. Though membership is not required, it is encouraged and those parents attending will be compensated for their participation/attendance.
Professional Chair - Lauren Chambers: 724-852-5276
Full Family Focus (F3)
F3 is a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) formed to allow our county’s human service professionals to address issues related to children and families of the birth to 5 populations and to provide quality comprehensive services to the children and families. Our mission is that Full Family Focus will collaborate to educate families with birth to school aged children of comprehensive services and resources available to meet their needs.
Who are the Local Contacts in Greene County?
Lauren Chambers, Early Intervention Director
Fort Jackson Building, 3rd Floor
19 South Washington Street
Waynesburg, PA 15370
Phone: 724-852-5276 / Fax: 724-852-5368
The following sources of informationwere used for this section:
A Family’s Introduction to Early Intervention in Pennsylvania, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and Pennsylvania Department of Education, Revised 10/08.
Greene County website – .
1Last updated - April 2012