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CHILDCARE
(for children with special needs)
CRISIS
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HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Send us your story
about childcare.
If you’ve found it,
tell us where. If you can’t find it, tell us where
you have looked. Explain your child’s needs and why
childcare providers have told you they can’t serve
your child. Tell us why you need childcare and how
much you can afford to pay for it. Tell us if your
child receives any services from the State.
E-mail us at
ddadvocates@qwest.net, or write to us at: ACCCI,
2034 E. Southern Ave., Ste. G, Tempe, AZ 85282, or
call us at (480) 557-8445. All information will be
held confidential. Every story will help us show
the need. |
One of the most overlooked areas of
discrimination against children with special needs is the
inability to find childcare. ACCCI receives many, many
calls from families looking for childcare. There are very
few providers willing to serve children with disabilities if
there are medical or behavioral issues as well. Procedures
such as tube feeding, suctioning, injections, nebulizer
treatments, behavioral plans and other medication
administration disqualify children from childcare centers.
These are children that are not eligible for respite, or
whose families have been told that respite cannot be used to
allow parents to work.
We believe that lack of communication and
coordination, as well as many misconceptions, legal, medical
and economic, are deterring current providers from offering
services to our children. In addition, our children with
more severe issues may need a new type of setting.
ACCCI is working to identify all of the
stakeholders who need to be at the table to discuss how the
current barriers can be overcome and brainstorm on new ideas
for ensuring that families have access to childcare. A few
other states have developed programs that we will study
We are in the process of contacting childcare
providers, parents, advocacy groups, representatives of
various state and county government agencies, doctors,
nurses, hospitals, associations, legislators, and anyone
else that we believe can help.
All families deserve to have access to
childcare. We can argue that our families may have a
greater need due to economics and family concerns. Many of
the families who call us are looking for care while they
work—unable to find any, several have had to quit their
jobs. We have had calls from moms that want to get off cash
assistance, but have no one to watch their child. Families
call looking for a little part-time care so they can have a
birthday party for a sibling, or just go to the grocery
store.
Stay tuned as we sort out the issues and
bring people together. And be sure
to write with your story!
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