Referral Requirements under CAPTA and IDEA

Conference Calls on Vulnerable Young Children hosted by OSEP's Part C Identification Community of Practice and the NECTAC Vulnerable Populations Initiative. Several of these specifically discuss states' experiences with referrals of children from child welfare to the early intervention system.

IDEA 2004 Early Identification and Child Find- Part 1, presented at the December 2005 OSEP National Early Childhood Conference, reviews the requirements of IDEA 2004 and relevant federal legislation (i.e. Child Abuse, Protection & Treatment Act, McKinney-Vento Act) that relate to child find and public awareness efforts, for Part C and Section 619 of Part B.

Enrolling Young Children Who Have Been Maltreated into Part C presented at the same conference describes findings about rates of developmental problems among children under the age of three who have been maltreated and strategies for promoting collaboration between child welfare and Part C agencies.

NECTAC's Minibibliography on The Impact of Abuse, Neglect and Foster Care Placement on Infants, Toddlers and Young Children (PDF: 131kb)

NECTAC's Policy Issues and Intervention Strategies for Young Children Prenatally Exposed to Drugs or Alcohol: Selected Resources - Minibibliography (2005)

Implications of the Referral of Children Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Conference Call Series, September - October 2004

Project Forum funded by OSEP at the National Association of State Directors of Education published:

• Quick Turn Around (QTA) brief on Foster Care and Children with Disabilities (PDF: 177kb) , February, 2005, available as a download on their publications page.
• In-Brief Policy Analysis, Implications of the CAPTA Requirement for Referrals from Child Welfare to Part C (PDF: 128kb) January, 2007. This document provides a research overview, a description of selected state challenges and successes, and provides recommendations based on state experiences.

Other OSEP projects focusing on child find screening for infants and toddlers who are environmentally at risk:

• Interagency Collaboration for Colorado Part C Child Find
• ACES: Access for Children to Early Services

The Children's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families issues an annual report on national information about child maltreatment known to States' Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies. The Child Maltreatment 2006 Report includes Table 3-9 on the Age Group of Victims, reported by state, and Table 3-10 on the Victims by Age Group and Maltreatment Type.

The Children's Bureau has an Information Memorandum on Modifications to the CAPTA State Grant Program by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-36). See also the Child Welfare Policy Manual, section 2.1I on CAPTA, Assurances and Requirements, Referrals to IDEA, Part C, for questions and answers related to this policy.

The Children's Bureau has established a Child Welfare Information Gateway. This gateway consolidates and expands upon the services formerly provided by the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse to provide easy access to programs, research, statistics, laws and policies, and training resources on a wide range of topics, including child abuse prevention, family preservation and support. See the Gateway's Web page on Child Welfare & IDEA Part C. See also the fact sheet entitled: Long Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect (2006) and the Bulletin for Professionals entitled Addressing the Needs of Young Children in Child Welfare: Part C - Early Intervention Services (2007). The Children's Bureau funds a number of National Resource Centers relevant to this topic.

The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, is a multi-year national study of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect or are in the child welfare system. NSCAW reports make available for the first time nationally representative longitudinal data from first-hand reports on children, parents, other caregivers, caseworkers and teachers involved with the child welfare system.

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services and jointly funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Children's Bureau's Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN).

The National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health, with funding from the federal Administration for Children and Families, addresses child welfare issues, linking with other organizations, to strengthen mental health services for children and families, and to promote stronger partnerships with families in the child welfare system. Publications, products and conference calls are available on this site, including A Family's Guide to the Child Welfare System (a resource to answer questions families face when they become involved with the child welfare system).

The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) provides public policy, research, and advocacy; information and training on Indian child welfare; and community development services to a broad national audience including tribal governments and programs, state child welfare agencies, and other organizations, agencies, and professionals interested in the field of Indian child welfare. NICWA is the only national Indian organization, either public or private, that is focused on child abuse and neglect issues that impact Indian children and families. NICWA also works to support compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and other key legislation to support American Indian children and families.

ZERO TO THREE: the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, in collaboration with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED) has released a literature review entitled Developmental Problems of Maltreated Children and Early Intervention Options for Maltreated Children (2007), which examines common developmental problems that occur as a result of maltreatment in infants and toddlers under the age of 3 and the positive impact of early intervention for these vulnerable young children. The ZERO TO THREE Public Policy Center provides fact sheets, promising practices and publications in the area of child abuse.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Section on Adoption and Foster Care, and the Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care, have developed policy statements related to young children in foster care. See also the AAP's Web page on Child Abuse and Neglect and the AAP's policy statements on maltreatment of children with disabilities and evaluation of suspected child physical abuse.