Children who experience homelessness, child abuse and neglect, poverty or other similar situations are at greater risk for developmental delays and disabilities. While Virginia’s early intervention system does not serve at-risk children, many children who receive early intervention services experience these situations which may contribute to their developmental needs. It is important for service coordinators and service providers to be familiar with how these situations can impact early development, learning, and parent-child interactions. This page provides resources related to supporting children and families in challenging situations.
Children and Families in Need
Virginia-Specific Info
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Handouts and Documents
America’s Youngest Outcasts (external website)
The National Center on Family Homelessness
This report documents the number of homeless children in every state, their well-being, their risk for child homelessness, and state level planning and policy activities.
Caring for the Health and Wellness of Children Experiencing Homelessness (external website) National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness
This handout provides information about the definition of homelessness, causes of homelessness, identifying and assessing need, effects of homelessness on health and wellness, and tips for practitioners working with children who are homeless.
Supporting Families In Early Intervention (PDF)
VA's Integrated Training Collaborative
Partnership for People with Disabilities at VCU
There are 3 Virginia organizations who serve families (for FREE) at every stage, including the EI years. This handout provides helpful links to reach those organizations.
Journal Articles
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eLearning, Presentations, and Webinars
eLearning
Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness - Learning Series (external website)
Head Start Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center
This learning series includes eight modules designed to help early childhood care providers and others identify families experiencing homelessness, conduct community outreach, and more. Each module takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. A certificate of completion is available after all modules are finished.
Webinars
Supporting Families in the Midst of a Crisis
VA’s Integrated Training Collaborative | Partnership for People with Disabilities
Presented by Lisa Terry, MS, MEd
This webinar introduces the 5Rs of Healthy Brain Development. It includes the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on stress, empathy, behaviors, and embedded strategies to support the caregiver, child, and early interventionist. Resources for this webinar include: Webinar Handout, Supporting the 5Rs of Health Development, Supporting the 5Rs Example.
Tipping the Scales in Their Favor: Your Role in Recognizing and Responding to Abuse and Neglect of Children with Disabilities
Partnership for People with Disabilities/VCU
This 3-part webinar series provide information about: 1) best practices with children with disabilities; 2) why children with disabilities are abused more frequently and how abuse of children with disabilities can differ from children who are typically developing; and 3) practical issues of recognizing and reporting abuse.
Trauma and Early Childhood Development
VA’s Integrated Training Collaborative | Partnership for People with Disabilities
Presented by Andrea Muffly, MS, OTR/L
This webinar explores how trauma impacts early childhood development by discussing how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress change brain structure and impact global development. In Part I, you will learn how chronic stress impacts brain development and creates pathways built for survival and discuss how these newly formed pathways affect children's ability to learn and regulate. In Part II, you will learn functional strategies that can be implemented with the families. You will learn how to address trauma within your roles as an early interventionist as well as practical strategies to use with the families. Click the link above to visit the 2020 Talks on Tuesdays Archive and scroll down until you find the webinars.
Tools
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Videos
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Websites/Programs
Child Welfare Information Gateway (external website)
This site connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. We feature the latest on topics from prevention to permanency, including child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption.
National Center for Children in Poverty – Infants and Toddlers (external website)
The NCCP is a public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of low-income families and children. The website provides data tools young child risk and family income, state profile information, and a variety of searchable topics.
The Infants and Toddlers page provides information and links to publications such as:
- Basic Facts about Low-Income Children (under 3 years)
- Young Children at Risk
- What Can CCDF Learn from the Research on Children’s Health and Safety in Child Care?
National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) (external website)
The NCHE provides research, resources, and information enabling communities to address the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness. The Center also supports educators and service providers through producing training and awareness materials and providing training at regional and national conferences and events. Visit the site for issue briefs, archived webinars, print and online resources by topic, and PowerPoint presentations.