Child Find Process

Child Find is a legal requirement that requires all school districts to have a process for identifying and evaluating children who have disabilities and may be entitled to special education services.

Child Find days are scheduled one day per month between the hours of 8am-11:30am and are open to all preschool age students between the ages of 3 to 5 years. Students must live within the district attendance boundaries and may not be currently enrolled in a special education preschool program.

 

The process is as follows:

Parent/Guardian picks up the preschool health and developmental packet from the office of special education, located at 10331 Stanford Avenue, Garden Grove, 92840. At that time, the parent/guardian will be asked to provide identification and 2 proofs of residency in the form of utility bills to establish residency with the district attendance boundaries. The Preschool Assessment Center will contact the parent/guardian to schedule an appointment into the Child Find.

The health and developmental packet must be completed prior to arriving to the appointment.

 

What can I expect at the time of the Child Find appointment?

Parent/Guardian and child will meet with a team of specialists that may include; a school psychologist, speech and language therapist, special education teacher and nurse. Spanish and Vietnamese interpreters are present at the time of the Child Find appointment, and available to all families who may need translation in their home language. A screening of the child and parent interview will be conducted and results shared with the parent/guardian at the time of the appointment.

Possible outcomes include:

• Student skills and development may be found to be within normal limits. Parent/guardian is given community resources including information about State Preschool, Head Start, private preschools in the area.
• Student may present with speech and language delays that warrant a referral to a district speech/language pathologist for complete evaluation.
• Student may present with developmental delays that warrant a referral for full multi-disciplinary psycho-educational team evaluation.

If you have any questions, please contact Elke Day or Jennifer Franchimone at (714) 663-6180.