Childcare for Children with Complex Medical Needs: Linking the Medical Home

Overview

This project was completed through a grant received in 2003 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate the successful inclusion and accommodation of infants and toddlers with complex medical needs and disabilities into child care centers, including the development and dissemination of a model to strengthen Center-based childcare infrastructures to support these children. The goals of this project were to promote social competence, medical home coordination, and family support.

Accomplishments

  • Training modules were created on different medical needs (tracheotomy, seizures, etc.) to use in training childcare staff.
  • An article was published in a widely known early childhood journal, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education.
  • A companion study was conducted to look at state policies that impact the inclusion of children with complex medical needs in childcares across the country.

Publications and Resources

Questions

If you have questions regarding this project, please contact:

Gabriela Freyre-Calish, M.S.W.
University of Connecticut
Center for Developmental Disabilities
270 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030
Phone: 860-679-1563
Fax: 860-679-1571
Email: freyre@nso2.uchc.edu