About FDLRS Child Find

IDENTIFYING EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AT AN EARLY AGE

Child Find is a service within the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS). Child Find assists parents and schools with the early identification of children, birth through age 21, who have or are at risk of having a disability. There are six multidisciplinary teams located across the county, made up of school psychologists, school social workers, and speech/language pathologists. To learn more about Child Find, view the Child Find Road Map.

Every child grows mentally and physically at his or her own pace. However, some children experience disabilities that can hinder their potential progress. Child Find offers services to parents that help in identifying, screening, evaluating, and finding resources for these children.

Child Find is free and parents are under no obligation to enroll their child in any service.

AWARENESS AND OUTREACH

AWARENESS activities to ensure that the general public receives ongoing, consistent information about Child Find services and how to access the services for children, who have disabilities or who are at risk of disability, and their families.

OUTREACH activities to ensure that Child Find services are provided in community settings in order to locate, refer, screen, evaluate, or initiate service planning for children, and their families, who are in need of services.

INFORMATION and REFERRAL services to receive and respond to requests for general information about Child Find and other programs and services, as well as to refer children and their families for screening, evaluation, and other needed services.

SCREENING services to assist in the identification of children who need formal evaluation and to identify additional services needed by children and families. Screening services may include data gathering and records review as well as administration of formal and informal screening procedures for vision, hearing, overall development, social-emotional functioning, and speech and language skills. In the Hillsborough County Public Schools, FDLRS/Child Find participates in partnership with the Early Childhood Council to provide developmental screenings that are scheduled at various locations throughout the county. Click for more information about Sensory Screening and Developmental Intake.

EVALUATION services for the formal, systematic examination of the educational, psychological, social, emotional, and/or medical and physical characteristics of children with developmental disabilities or who are at risk for having a disability for the specific purpose of determining eligibility for special education or related services.

SERVICE PLANNING and INITIATION to ensure that, based upon screening and evaluation information, the child and family are linked to the local school district and/or other community agencies and organizations that can meet their child's identified needs, that plans are made to deliver the needed services, and that those services are scheduled.