Providing Help to Providers

Child-care providers can help children with special needs, like those with epilepsy. But who provides help to the child-care provider?

Agencies like Crystal Stairs. The Los Angeles-based child-care and development agency has about 350 staff members to assist family child-care centers and homes.

Carolyn Moultrie, manager of the child-care resource and referral service at Crystal Stairs, said that licensed agencies are required to accept a child with epilepsy.

"The Americans with Disabilities Act requires all providers to be aware that they cannot tell a parent that they cannot care for a child who has special needs," Moultrie said.

Some providers find a way to get around the law, she said.

"The way it's enforced, they don't have to accept the child, they just have to justify it in some other way. We would like to see, in a perfect world, inclusion at all facilities."

So finding the right place for your child requires some work and vigilance, said Danica Carroll, a program specialist at Crystal Stairs who deals with special-needs families.

"Providers are aware of the ADA," Carroll said. But she advises using a personal touch, not a law book, to find the right place for your child.

"Determine whether you feel comfortable with the people and their formal education and experience," she said. And make sure that the provider is working with other professionals to help your child, she advised.

"A provider dealing with a child with special needs should be flexible. It just helps the child's development when everyone works as a team."

Crystal Stairs issues a pamphlet: "Choosing Child Care For A Child With Special Needs." It's free to parents in certain areas of California. Others can order it from BANANAS, 5232 Claremont Ave. Oakland, CA, 94618. Enclose twenty-five cents and a first-class stamp.