Infant Program

Recent brain research proves that early stimulation of children directly impacts both physical and intellectual growth within their brains. These discoveries confirm what we have felt all along. The earlier we begin to work with these children, who due to their parents’ developmental disabilities or other special needs may not be receiving this stimulation, the sooner we help children develop the skills they need to realize their potential.

Infant Program Goals:

	To ensure normal development of babies
	To support parents with special needs in their efforts to provide a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment for healthy growth of their babies.

Comprehensive Preschool

When you walk into the Families With Special Needs preschool classrooms, you see bright, energetic children, eager to learn and explore. But, the lives of these children are anything but typical. Children whose parents have developmental disabilities or other special needs face unique challenges.

	Nearly 100% of the children we serve live at or below poverty level.
	For many of our preschoolers, the only hot, nutritious meals they receive are at school.
	Most parents in this program do not drive, and would not be able to send their child to our preschool unless free door-to-door transportation is provided.
	While at home, these children have little opportunity to interact with other children and learn important social skills.
	Without early intervention preschool, these children are at high risk for developing environmental retardation requiring costly public special education intervention.

We Provide:

	Year-round, tuition free early intervention preschool to children ages 2-5.
	Three classes with no more than 10 children in each class.
	Free door-to-door transportation for each child.
	A nutritious breakfast, lunch and wholesome snack each day.
	A developmentally appropriate program that is licensed by the State of Oregon Services to Children and Families Division, and fully accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
	Monthly home visits by the Preschool teachers.

Preschool Goals:

	Children will learn basic self-help skills.
	Children will learn the basic concepts they need for school readiness.
	Children will learn to express their feelings with words and develop a sense of caring for others.
	Parents will be successful in their efforts to provide a safe and nurturing home.

The Families With Special Needs Preschool Program is partially supported by the United Way of Lane County, Lane County Health & Human Services Commission, Lane County Commission on Children and Families, State of Oregon Department of Education – USDA Childcare Food Program, Oregon Services to Children and Families, Emergency Food and Shelter National Board program, and by the generous donations from individuals, foundations, businesses and organizations in our community.

Case Management

Case management is a critical component of the Families With Special Needs Program. The primary goal of the outreach case management services is to ensure that the basic needs of the family are met, so parents with developmental disabilities or other special needs can succeed in providing a safe and nurturing home, and provide advocacy and support to other individuals with special needs.

An Outreach Case Manager is actively involved with each family providing:

Proactive intervention
Weekly support and parent support groups
Emotional support
Assistance with accessing services
Referrals to other agencies for assistance
Emergency rent subsidy and liaison with
landlords to maintain stable housing
Distribution of food boxes
Advocacy in legal matters
Job support
Bus tokens

For information, contact:

Jan Aho
jaho@pearlbuckcenter.com