With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1992, child care centers were required to make their buildings and programs accessible to all persons with disabilities. Thus, any child care center should not deny a child with a disability or delay a placement in their program. However, it is also important to recognize some centers have more appropriate curriculum and more qualified personnel to meet the needs of children with disabilities and they are eager to serve children with delays or disabilities. Finding these sites and arranging for an inclusion placement often takes weeks or months in planning and preparation time. The sites need to be located if possible prior to identification of children who want them.

The persons responsible for identifying community options must work with community program administrators to establish communication between the key players in the transition to the inclusive placement, including the family, the early childhood special education teacher, the paraprofessional staff, and the related service staff. This may be just one meeting to determine the steps necessary to establish a successful placement for the family, staff, and child care center or it may be a series of meetings to discuss these issues.

Observation of the proposed community option is an integral piece of the inclusion puzzle. It is important that sites are including developmentally appropriate practices throughout their curriculum, so the curriculum can be easily adapted for children with special needs. It is also important that the center have an adequate staff to student ratio. Family members should participate in the selection of the site for their child. They will want to be sure that the site is not only committed to inclusion, but will meet their child's needs and the families' preferences. Families may request guidance observing and selecting programs. The following checklist may be useful for families to select a program for their child. Download "Selecting a Preschool or Child Care For Your Child" (PDF) (Go to "Placement Options Visiting Notes" in our Guidelines.)