ED, HHS To Tout Parent Training and Info Centers

The departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) plan to conduct more outreach to promote ED’s Parent Training and Information Centers, among other resources, to help children and parents with disabilities obtain services from state and local child care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report recommendation.

Federal early education program surveys show that about 2.2 million children aged 5 and under, and 3 million parents of children in this age group, have a reported disability. Congress asked GAO to review barriers children and parents with disabilities face in accessing child care services. It reviewed federal child care data; assessed federal laws, regulations and HHS and ED documents; conducted site visits at 12 federally funded child care providers in four states; and conducted numerous other interviews with parents and other stakeholders.

GAO found that many factors limit child care options for parents of children with disabilities, including a limited supply of child care programs; few programs within the proximity to the family or where transportation is available; programs that are not affordable, including those that accept child care subsidies; and few programs that are equipped to serve families with disabilities.

“In some cases, even if there were available child care programs, parents said programs expressed reluctance to admit their children with disabilities once the program learned about the severity of their child’s disability or their needed accommodations,” GAO explained. “Other programs told parents they were unable to care for their children. In some instances, child care programs were reluctant to retain children already attending once they had been diagnosed with a disability, according to parents.”

Even once enrolled, children with disabilities, or even the parents themselves, faced barriers participating in child care programs. These included physically inaccessible facilities, disabled children’s exclusion from activities for disabled children, inappropriate suspension and expulsion from programs for disabled children, early intervention and special education services that were provided off-site, delays experienced by disabled children in receiving early intervention and special education services, and safety concerns.

Provider Challenges

The federally funded child care providers GAO interviewed noted that they have taken steps to better support children and parents with disabilities, including modifying facilities such as hallways and parking; implementing universal developmental screening; implementing and training staff on strategies to support children with disabilities (e.g., working with occupational therapists to help children develop fine motor skills); and offering language services to bilingual and immigrant families. However, these providers also faced their own challenges such as resource constraints (e.g., shortage of child care staff and specialists, space and funding), as well as difficulties communicating with families, particularly when attempting to have sensitive conversations about disabilities.

HHS and ED have developed or provided funding for multiple informational resources for families and child care providers related to some of these challenges. For example, HHS’ Childcare.gov webpage on services for children with disabilities includes information to help educate parents on their child’s rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (see ¶532 in the Federal Grant Management Module) and eligibility requirements for early intervention services.

ED’s Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center offers tools in English and Spanish for providers to use in planning intervention sessions with parents of children with disabilities, including guidance on how to build trust with parents and be sensitive to their cultural beliefs and values. The agency also provides information about child care to parents of children with disabilities through Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers, which offer services such as educating parents about their children’s rights and protections under IDEA and, in some cases, making center staff available to accompany parents to individualized education program meetings.

GAO noted that some challenges families and child care providers face are structural and cannot be addressed with informational resources alone, such as those parents who live in neighborhoods without open full-time child care slots and child care providers that face staffing shortages and funding constraints. However, HHS and ED stated that they aim to inform providers about applying for Preschool Development Grants that might help providers in addressing some of these structural barriers. States also seek other federal funding (e.g., Title I funds) to strengthen their early care and education systems or invest their own state education or other funds to address these challenges, according to the report.

In addition, HHS’ Office of Head Start in June released a new set of online resources for child care providers as part of Head Start’s Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center platform, GAO explained. This webpage and its related resources aim to help child care providers in both Head Start and non-Head Start programs foster trusting and respectful partnerships with parents and caregivers with disabilities.

Recommendation and Response

HHS and ED agreed with GAO’s recommendations that the agencies coordinate to leverage existing and planned information-sharing mechanisms to more fully promote Parent Training and Information Centers and other resources designed to help parents of children with disabilities interact with HHS’ state and local child care partners. HHS officials said they would specifically disseminate this information to Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) administrators and Head Start agencies.

“Increasing the number of families with disabilities who are aware of Parent Training and Information Centers and the services they offer through expanded outreach can help ensure more families with disabilities are aware of their rights and have the tools they need to advocate for their children and navigate their search for appropriate, high-quality child care for children with disabilities,” GAO added.

For More Information

The GAO report, “Child Care Accessibility: Agencies Can Further Coordinate to Better Serve Families with Disabilities” (GAO-24-106843), is available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-24-106843.pdf.