Supportive Intervention Services

Understanding and choosing an environment that best accommodates your child’s specific
needs can start your child on the right path before school age. Determining a child’s unique early learning
needs is important to their future development.

The Screening and Intervention Services Department helps parents by conducting and interpreting developmental screenings (ASQ-3 and ASQ: SE-2), which are completed by parents and providers. These brief screenings can detect possible areas of concern, and identify children who may benefit from Supportive Intervention Services (SIS), or other resources or referrals.

Children with concerns noted on their ASQ who would not be eligible for formal intervention from FDLRS or Early Steps can benefit from our short term, informal Supportive Intervention Services. Children receiving SIS are not labeled or diagnosed. Instead, they are provided with additional supports directly in the early learning environment.

What Supportive Intervention Services include:

On-site observation and interventions by a
ELC Developmental or Behavior Specialists.

Parents and providers receive resources, activities and information concerning child development, behavior, inclusive practices and other topics of interest.

Specialists create a plan with the parent and provider
to work one on one with children in the classroom to increase skill levels.

Specialists work directly with teachers and caregivers onsite, to provide coaching and TA for their learning environment.

Additional referrals may be made, after gathering more information, to community providers such as FDLRS,
Early Steps, mental health services, other therapeutic
or behavior support services and more.

**Services are provided based on need (of the child AND the early learning educator) and can last up to 4 months for developmental concerns and up to 2 months intensive + 2 months consultation services with an ILP for Behavioral concerns.
At any time during the service, a child can be referred for other services, or stepped down to an ILP. **
For more information, please contact Kelley Miller, Program Supervisor, at 727-400-4454 or kmiller@elcpinellas.org

An onsite TA Plan to provide the individual teacher with short term technical assistance and coaching on specific areas of concern.

An individual Child Plan to provide 1:1 services to the identified child, to overcome developmental delays and reach milestones or address specific behavior challenges in the classroom.

A Provider Plan to provide the teacher or entire site with more intensive technical assistance and coaching on how to implement new teaching strategies, use materials, and address behavior challenges using the Positive Behavior Support Model, ABA techniques and Conscious Discipline.

An Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) created by the specialist based on the child’s needs, for the classroom teacher to implement for 8 weeks with continued support and guidance from the specialist.

Offer Developmental Activities and/or Refer
the child for other services.

Developmental Screening for School
Readiness Children

Upon enrollment in the School Readiness (SR) Program, children will begin receiving periodic developmental screenings to be completed by their parent or childcare provider. These screenings are used to check the child’s general development and social emotional wellbeing. The results can help determine if a child’s development is on schedule. Evidence shows that the earlier development is assessed, the greater the chance a child has to reach their potential.

Please Note: All children in Pinellas County who are enrolled in the School Readiness Program through the Coalition are screened using an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ).

Have questions? Look at videos, below.

For School Readiness Families

Video: How to Complete Developmental Screening Questionnaires

For Providers

Video: How to Search for Screening Records

Video: How to Complete and Submit Screening

Video: How to Add and View Screening Notes

THE ASQ SCREENS THE CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT IN (5) AREAS TYPICAL FOR EACH AGE:

Communication skills

Gross Motor skills

Fine Motor skills

Problem-Solving skills

Personal-Social skills

AGES AND STAGES QUESTIONNAIRE (ASQ-3)

The ASQ-3 is a screening of a child’s current developmental skills at a particular moment in time and serves as an indicator for potential delays. The screening is provided to the child care provider for any School Readiness funded child enrolled in their care who is “due” to have a screening each month.

Each child is screened within the first 45 days of enrolling into care. Subsequently, a child will be screened annually on or around their birthday. Freguency of screenings may vary depending on requests from parents or child care providers.

Children whose scores indicate concerns in any area are discussed with the child care provider and parent by a trained developmental specialist. Our goal is to gather more information to determine if further evaluation is needed to help reach developmental goals.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL ASQ’S (ASQ:SE-2)

ASQ:SE-2’s are available to screen children when there are concerns about their behavior, emotions, or social skills. The ASQ:SE-2 is recommended when a child is having difficulty managing or expressing their emotions, exhibiting challenging behaviors, or problems relating to their peers or adults in a way that is typical for their age. The ASQ:SE-2 can be accessed by a parent or child care provider through the The Early Learning Coalition at no cost. Trained developmental staff can interpret results and refer families for additional services as needed.

REFERRAL AND NAVIGATION

For a child that could benefit from further evaluation, the Early Learning Coalition’s Quality Services staff
will coordinate referrals for free evaluations and services for families from the federally mandated agencies
that provide them in Pinellas County such as:

Early Steps: a family-centered early intervention system that serves children birth to 36 months, regardless of family’s income. For more information, please call (727) 767-4403.

FDLRS/Child Find (Florida Diagnostic Learning Resources System): A part of Pinellas County schools, available at no cost providing screenings for children ages 3-5 (who are not in a K-12 program), is information regarding programs and services available for children with special needs and their families, and assistance in obtaining appropriate educational evaluations. For more information, call (727) 793-2731.

The referral and accompanying paperwork can be completed by Early Learning Coalition’s Screening and Intervention staff for the families to access services. Specialists in the department can also help families understand the nature of the developmental concern noted on their child’s ASQ, interpret ASQ
screening results, refer other services such as mental health counseling,
behavioral services and explain how to navigate the system.

For more information, please contact Kelley Miller, Program Supervisor,
at 727-400-4454 or kmiller@elcpinellas.org.

Community Screening

AT COMMUNITY SCREENING, CHILDREN ARE SCREENED FOR:

Vision

Hearing

Speech & Language

Cognitive Development

Fine and Gross Motor Development

Social Emotional Development

Parents have the opportunity to consult with therapists and developmental specialists. After the screening, families receive an exit interview where the results are discussed. If a concern is identified that requires further evaluation, the referral is processed at that time.

Parents should call at least one month prior to the screening to allow for the amount of time it takes to do the intake, schedule the appointment, and to receive and fill out the paperwork necessary prior to the screening. A screening takes two to three hours to complete.

Screenings occur monthly and take place in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tarpon Springs.

These screenings are temporarily suspended due to COVID-19.

TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT, PLEASE CALL: (727) 545-7536

Inclusion Warm Line

“Inclusion: A value that supports the right of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities. A natural setting is one in which the child would spend time had he or she not had a disability.” – Inclusion as defined by The Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children

The Inclusion Warm Line, which is run by the Inclusion Specialist, is a free resource, as well as an information and referral service, centered on the inclusion of children with special needs and disabilities in Pinellas County. The Warm Line is available to child care centers and family child care homes requesting information relating to the disability and special health care needs of the children they serve.

How the Warm Line is helping child care providers:

Increasing the number of providers who offer quality inclusive programs for children with disabilities, challenging behaviors and special health care needs.
Enhancing the confidence, ability level, and education of caregivers who care for children with disabilities, challenging behaviors and special health care needs.
Assisting providers and the families they serve in understanding and accessing the community resources and services available for children with special needs.
Increasing community awareness of the need for, the requirements of, and the benefits associated with inclusive child care for all children.

Warm Line Inclusion Specialists can assist with the following issues: