Holly Acosta, director of Early Childhood Intervention for Montgomery County presented to the club.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is responsible by law for providing early education services for eligible children age three to school age in the Commonwealth. The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit 23, through an agreement with the Department of Education, is contracted to deliver those services in Montgomery County.
Children in the County between 3-5 years of age who are identified as being delayed intellectually or physically, can be referred to the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit by a doctor. Once their case has been reviewed and if they qualify they may receive any of the following services:
- Specialized instruction
- Occupational therapy
- Physical therapy
- Hearing support
- Speech and language support
- Vision support
Funding for this program is from Montgomery County and the State. Some families need more funding for computers for the children to access their therapy. The program serves between 3,000 and 5,000 students a year. The Intermediate Unit then helps to transition the children into one of the 23 school districts in Montgomery County.
The program can be supported in several ways:
- PBS Channel 12 works with Intermediate Unit on scheduling for programming for the children.
- Blue Bell Rotary has made a donation to the program to help provide technology for the students.
- Interpreters are sometimes needed in languages such as Russian, Greek, Chinese