Early Childhood Programs

The Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities (MCBDD) provides Early Childhood Programs in order to prevent the further development of disabilities in children from birth through age five.

Our focus is on families and our goal is to support families though consultation with our expert staff of Early Interventionists, Preschool Teachers, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Language Therapists. We strive to provide services in a family-friendly environment where services are accessible, flexible, and responsive to the child’s needs. Because no one agency can meet the diverse and complex needs of families, our program works in collaboration with community agencies and other service providers in order to surround the family and child with support.

Early Intervention

The Early Intervention Program serves children from birth through two years of age who have at least one developmental delay or possess a diagnosed condition that places them at risk for delays. The needs of the family and child are expressed in the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) that is developed with the assistance of the Early Intervention Specialist and other service providers who then assist the family in reaching these outcomes for their child. Services are developed with family input and may take place in the hospital, at home, at private agencies, in day care centers, or in our center located at Leonard Kirtz School. Support is also provided for parents during the child’s transition into preschool in their local school district at age three.

Preschool

The Preschool Program, located at Leonard Kirtz School, serves children ages three through five years of age and emphasizes family involvement and developmentally appropriate early childhood practices. This program is designed for the preschool child who has medical needs in addition to significant delays in communication, cognition, adaptive behavior, social-emotional, fine motor and gross motor development. Children in this program are evaluated by local school district personnel who then develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP) to address the preschooler’s unique needs. This IEP is then implemented by our preschool program staff.