New Castle County Head Start, Inc. is firmly committed to serving children with disabilities. Our program’s goal is to reserve a minimum of 10% of our funded enrollment slots for children with disabilities. We believe that an integrated setting is beneficial for all children.

Young children with educational challenges makes the learning environment that much richer so we cherish the opportunity to serve them. All of our children receive developmental screenings within the first 45 days of the child’s entrance into the program. Its purpose is to identify children who may have developmental delays to be referred for an evaluation. Evaluations are scheduled in collaboration with local education agencies.

The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if the child has any developmental delays and the need to develop an individual education plan (IEP) to provide early intervention educational services. Our Head Start teachers attend the IEP meetings. IEP’s are developed and then used by our teachers in planning individual instruction for each student on a daily basis.

New Castle County Head Start has a strong relationship with five school districts. Itinerant services are provided in several of our centers. Communication with our school district partners is timely and consistent. Parents are included as an integral part of the process and are encouraged to advocate for their child’s education.

In addition, we collaborate with such agencies as Child Development Watch, Easter Seals, the Parent Education Center, Birth to Three Early Intervention System, Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families, Inc, Child Inc., Child Mental Health Services, and the Delaware Department of Education. These organizations work with our program by providing referrals, conducting transition activities and parent training. Head Start classroom staff receives on-going training regarding special education laws, parents’ rights, and best practices.

Please call us at 452-1500 if you have a child with learning disabilities. We can begin the enrollment process immediately. If you suspect your child has special needs, please call us as well, and we can begin the screening process. When calling, please ask for one of our Program Coordinators.