Education, Social Security and other Benefits for Young Children with Disabilities - Essay Example

Education, Social Security and other Benefits for Young Children with Disabilities s Name Institutional Affiliation Many young children with special needs are being cared for in education and social security settings across the United States. Children with disabilities and younger than three years receive education services through early intervention (EI), which is an entitlement contained in part c of the Individuals with disabilities Ac t (IDEA) of 1997.At age 3, qualifying children continue to be provided with special education services in preschool settings which is another entitlement contained in IDEA 1997(Mawadsley & Cram, 2013). In addition, there are several social security benefits for children with disabilities & their parents. This research paper explores the various education and social security programs and incidental benefits available for young children with disabilities from birth to second grade. It will also consider the eligibility criteria for each program. Special Education Services for Children with Disabilities Education services for preschool kids (3 through 5 years) are provided free of charge through public school systems. These services are enforced through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) whose provisions include: Early intervention Early intervention system helps infants and toddlers who show delays in development, and those who have disabilities. The system focus is to help eligible babies and toddlers learn the elementary and new skills that typically develop during the initial three years of their life such as: physical (rolling and walking), communication (listening and talking), social/emotional (playing, feeling happy) and self-help such as dressing and eating. If a baby or a toddler has a disability or delay in development in any of the aforementioned areas, the child will likely qualify for early intervention program. The child will be provided with tailored services which comprise: Audiology and hearing services, assistive technology, medical services, nutrition services, physical therapy and psychological services. Services can also be offered to cater for the needs of the child’s family. These services are intended to assist family members to understand their kid’s special needs and how to improve the kid’s development (Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, 2014). Early intervention program is available in all states and territories of the U.S. Eligibility of a child for early intervention program is determined by assessing the child with the parent’s approval to find whether the child has delay in development or has any disability. Children who qualify can be provided with early intervention services from the time of birth to age three and occasionally beyond. Sometimes it might be known since birth that a child will need early intervention services to help assist in his/her growth and development. This is the case with kids who during birth are diagnosed with a specific condition or who experience substantial prematurity, extremely low birth weight, illness or those who undergo surgery soon after being born. In this case, the parent may be given a referral to an intervention service in their locality. However, parents need not wait to be referred to an early intervention program, and they should contact their local program directly and request for evaluation of their children (Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, 2014). Children who are under early intervention program can start special education pre-school services after their transition from the early intervention, usually, at age three. A child who is two years old who turns three during the school year can receive special education pre-school services at the discretion of the state. Other children are identified and found qualifying for special service from age 2 to 5 and can, therefore, start receiving the pre-school services. Children may also be identified as needing special service through the Local Child Find Office. According to IDEA, every state must have elaborate systems of child identification, location and evaluation of those with disabilities living in the state and those who require special education and other related services (Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, 2014). Services for School Age Children The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides guidelines on how special services are provided in schools to cater for the individual children with disabilities needs. The law sets the special education standard very high. More than six million children with disabilities get education and other related services in US schools every year. If a child has learning trouble in school, it is essential to investigate the reason. The child might have a disability. According to the law, schools are bound to offer special education and other incidental services to children who are found have disabilities. Once again, the eligibility of a child for this category of special education involves an evaluation process (Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, 2014). The US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs supports schemes that offer information and technical assistance to families of disabled children. The schemes also help families of babies, toddlers, and also the youth who show signs of disabilities or delay in development or who may be incorrectly identified as requiring special education and associated services. The projects look at many areas, including disability-particular information( for instance, deafness, autism and learning disabilities), resolution of disputes, bringing up children with a disabilities or other special health-care needs, rights of parents under IDEA, positive behavior support and transition. Most information and assistance is given free of charge (TIMMONS & ALUR, 2009). More children with disabilities currently have access to the general education curriculum, and they are able to learn a wide variety of academic skills. According IDEA 2008 report, 5,660,491 children with disabilities were educated in the general classrooms for at least part of the day subject to their individual needs.95% of all kids with disabilities received education in their local neighborhood schools. Additionally; Department’s National Assessment of Education Progress reported increased proficiency in reading among children with disabilities in different Grades (Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, 2014). Before IDEA, many children did not access education and other opportunities for learning. Providing quality education for young children from different racial and ethnic backgrounds was very challenging. In addition, most families were not given the chance to take part in planning or placement decisions concerning their children and resources were insufficient to help children with disabilities to stay at home and attend neighborhood schools in their communities. The federal government responded to this problem. In collaboration with advocacy of family Associations, it started to develop and validate practices for disabled children and their families. These practices built a good foundation for implementation of more effective programs for early intervention and special education in various states and localities across the United States (TIMMONS & ALUR, 2009). Public Law was passed in 1975.The law guaranteed free and appropriate public education for every child with disability. This law had a big impact on many children with disabilities in all states and local communities across the United States. The law had four purposes that were intended to compel national mission to improve accessibility of education for children with disabilities. The four purposes include: 1. To guarantee that every disabled child has access to free and appropriate public education which lays emphasis on special education and incidental services. 2. To assure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are safeguarded. 3. To help states and localities in providing education to all children with disabilities. 4. To evaluate and assure the effectiveness of efforts to provide education to all children with disabilities (TIMMONS & ALUR, 2009). Today the United States is the global leader in early intervention and pre-school programs for babies, toddlers and preschool children with disabilities. There has been substantial success in tapping the potential of children with disabilities and bridging the gap between these children and the normal children through concerted efforts of Federal and states governments, legal provisions and various stakeholders in providing quality special education and incidental services to children with disabilities(Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities, 2014). Social Security Benefits for Young Children with Disabilities Social Security Administration provides different social security programs for children below the age of eighteen who have disabilities. The different programs are outlined below: Supplemental Security Income Payments (SSI) for Children with Disabilities Under this program, a child below the age of 18 qualifies for the benefits upon meeting the definition of disability as set by Social Security and the child’s income fall within the eligibility restrictions. Different states give different amounts of SSI payment because some states supplement the SSI payment. When deciding on the eligibility of a child for SSI, the child’s income is considered. The income and resources of family members of the child are also considered. If the child’s income and resources or those of the family members are greater than the amount permitted by Social Security, the child will not qualify for SSI payments. For a child to qualify for the payment, the following criteria must be met: 1). The kid must not be working and receiving a monthly income of more than 1070 dollars 2). The child must be suffering from either a medical or a mental condition or both that result in severe limitations of the functionality of the child and, 3). The child’s condition of disability must be anticipated to persist for a minimum of 12 months or must be expected to cause death (Hughes, n.d.). The state agency takes three to five months to resolve whether a child is disabled. However, some medical conditions prompt immediate payments for six months as the state agency evaluates the child’s case for eligibility. The conditions include HIV infection, total deafness, total blindness, cerebral palsy, birth weight below 2 pounds, 10 ounces, severe intellectual disorder for a child of age 7, downy syndrome and muscular dystrophy (Benefits for Children with Disabilities, 2014). Medicaid and Medicare Medicaid is a healthcare program available for people of low incomes and limited resources. Most states offer Medicaid to children who qualify for SSI payments. In other states, the child must sign for Medicaid and some children may get Medicaid even if they are no eligible for SSI. Medicare is a health program of insurance offered by the Federal government. It is not designed for children. However, there are two exceptional cases where a child with a disability can qualify for Medicare: 1).The child suffers from a chronic renal disease and requires a kidney transplant or kidney dialysis or 2). The child suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease (Benefits for Children with Disabilities, 2014). Children’s Health Insurance Program This program helps states to offer health insurance to children from working families who do not qualify for medicaid because their earnings are too high and who do not qualify for private health insurance because their earnings are too low. Children’s Health Insurance Program offers coverage for prescription drugs, hearing, vision, and mental health services. The program is offered in all the fifty states and the Columbia District. (Benefits for Children with Disabilities, 2014) Other Health Care Services There are other health care services that are provided to children with disabilities. These services are provided under the Social Security Act, in the provision of Children with special health care needs. The state agencies, usually, manage these programs. States use different titles to refer to these programs such as Children Medical Services, Handicapped Children’s program and Children’s Special Health Services. Most programs offer services through clinics, hospital-based outpatient and inpatient treatment, private offices or community agencies. Children with disabilities who do not receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can benefit from these programs (Benefits for Children with Disabilities, 2014). In summary, education for children with disabilities is provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).The act provides for free and quality education and incidental services to all children with disabilities in United States. IDEA supports effective evaluation of teaching practices and related guiding materials for young children with disabilities and their families and the national network of professionals devoted to improvement of early intervention and pre-school education at all levels. The Social Security Service provides a variety of programs for children with disabilities in all states. Cooperation between parents and stakeholders in the education and health sectors is fundamental in ensuring that children with disabilities are identified and assisted to get the appropriate education and healthcare in order for them to grow like the normal children (Watson & McCathren, 2009). References Benefits for Children with Disabilities. (2014). Social Security, 12(16), 1-20. Hughes, R. Testimony Submitted to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources Regarding the October 27, 2011 Hearing: Supplemental Security Income Benefits for Children with Low-Income and Severe Mental and/or Physical Disabilities. Mawadsley, H., & Cram, P. (2013). Mothers of Young Children with Disabilities: Perceived Benefits and Worries about Preschool. Early Childhood Development Care, 183(9). Special Education Services for Preschoolers with Disabilities. (2014). Centre For Parent Information and Resources, 9(4), 1-24. Retrieved from http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/preschoolers/ TIMMONS, V., & ALUR, M. (2009). Inclusive Education for Children with Disability: Culturally Appropriate Policy and Practice (CAPP I, II, III). Inclusive Education across Cultures: Crossing Boundaries, Sharing Ideas, 407. Watson, A., & McCathren, R. (2009). Including Children with Special Needs. Beyond The Journal, 4(2), 1-7. Read More