Child Abuse Prevention Task Force Fact Sheet

Child Welfare Referrals to Part C of IDEA

Background 

The Keeping Children Safe Act of 2003 amended CAPTA, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (PL 108-36), and was signed into law on June 25, 2003.  States are now  required to develop “provisions and procedures for referral of a child under the age of 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect to early intervention services funded under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (section 106(b)(2)(A)(xxi)).” Part C is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (PL 105-17, IDEA) under which states have created their early intervention services system for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

 The incidence of disability among abused and neglected children is staggering.  The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect determined that 36.6 percent of the substantiated cases of maltreatment in a 1993 study sample caused disabilities.[1] Other studies have shown that significant proportions of children in foster care may have serious health and developmental problems.[2]  In addition, children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to be victims of maltreatment than children without disabilities.[3]   In spite of the fact that many of the children in the child welfare system are eligible for Part C, the rates of their referral to the early intervention program have been very low.

The current early intervention system is struggling to serve the families now enrolled.  The new CAPTA requirements will substantially increase the workload for providers of Part C evaluation and intervention services. Currently, Part C serves about 226,982 children (2% of the population under 3) nationwide. The Department of Education has established a benchmark for each state to serve 2 percent of the population of children under the age of 3.  Unfortunately, one-half of the states are not meeting this benchmark. Rough estimates suggest that an additional 167,000 children may be determined eligible for early intervention services as a result of the CAPTA amendments.   

Without additional resources to the Part C and CAPTA state agencies, the promise of the 2003 CAPTA amendments will not be realized. In addition to the increased numbers of children that Part C will assess and serve if referrals from child protection are regularized, the types of Part C services required may change. Specifically, it seems likely that children involved with child protection will have social–emotional and behavioral issues more frequently than other children served by Part C. Therefore, Part C may need to enhance its ability to meet early childhood mental health needs.

Congressional Action Needed

1.      Congress should significantly increase appropriations for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) so that more eligible children can be served under the program. 

 

2.      Congress should appropriate sufficient funds to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to assist state child protection agencies to train child protection workers to effectively offer referrals and to collect data on the referrals.

For more information, contact Kim Musheno, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Chair, CCD Child Abuse Prevention Task Force (301-588-8252).

10/2004