Harford County Infants & Toddlers

Spring has finally arrived! The Infants & Toddlers office will be closed for professional development and spring break starting on Monday, April 3rd. We will reopen on Tuesday, April 11th. During that time, all appointments, classes and playgroup will take a pause. If you have questions about rescheduling an appointment, please reach out to your Infants & Toddlers provider (teacher or therapist). Have a wonderful spring break!

The annual Infants & Toddlers Summer Kickoff has been scheduled for Friday, June 2, 3-5 PM at Schucks Park. Save the date!

We are still in the planning stages but want to make sure you have the date circled on your calendar. More details and registration information will go out in May. We hope you will be able to join us for this fun event as we celebrate the end of the school year and start of summer break.

Is your family looking for opportunities to play with other children? Join us for Playgroup! We meet on Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 at Roye Williams Elementary School in Havre de Grace.

If you are interested in Playgroup, please join the distribution list by clicking here. A weekly registration link will be sent to those on the distribution list.

Does your family benefit from Medicaid? You need to be aware of some recent changes to ensure you continue to receive benefits.

States are required to periodically redetermine enrollees’ eligibility, and disenroll those who no longer meet the eligibility guidelines. During the COVID public health emergency, Medicaid disenrollments were paused. States are now able to resume Medicad renewals and disenrollments.

Be on the lookout for a renewal letter in the mail from Maryland's Medicaid Program. To ensure you receive this critical piece of mail: make sure your address, email and phone number are up to date with the Medicaid Office.

For more information, click here to visit the Harford County Health Department website.

SECAC has an exciting program this month! We will be discussing school transitions, to include the transition from Infants & Toddlers to Preschool Programs, and how to prepare for those changes. The meeting will be in-person on Thursday, April 13 at the McFaul Center in Bel Air. The room opens at 6:30 for social time, then the meeting runs from 7-8:30 pm. HCPS staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about your family's upcoming transition.

SECAC is a partnership between families, Harford County Public Schools and community organizations in support of the needs of children with disabilities. Meetings are FREE and open to the public.

For the full schedule of SECAC meetings and topics, check out the graphic below. More information and registration links for their virtual meetings are available on their Facebook page.

The Parent Academy is proud to sponsor the upcoming Thrive by Five Early Childhood Summit during the week of April 24 -27, 2023. This conference is for parents/guardians of children ages birth through five and childcare providers. Participants will have the opportunity to attend, either virtually or in-person, up to 19 sessions. Each session is 25 minutes long and will be offered in both the afternoon and evening. This is a free conference. You can attend as many sessions as you want.

For the list of session topics and the summit schedule, please see the event flier below. It is also available on the Parent Academy Facebook page or the Parent Academy page on www.hcps.org. Spots are open to the first 250 registered.

To register, click here. Registration for this event closes at midnight on April 21, 2023.

Did you know there's a television program that celebrates the accomplishments and highlights the challenges of local people with disabilities? It's called Abilities in Focus and is produced in partnership with Harford County Commission on Disabilities. It is available to view on Harford TV cable channel or online.

The Spring 2023 Abilities in Focus broadcast featured Paige Mihal’s Jaguar Java Junction on Fridays at Norrisville Elementary. Paige is an alum of Infants & Toddlers. Every Friday morning, staff members put in orders for coffee/tea/cocoa and Paige fills and delivers them to each classroom! The broadcast of Paige’s Jaguar Java Junction can be found at Abilities in Focus (one minute six second mark).

Learning Together is looking for typically developing 3- and 4-year-old children to participate in a free, 2- or 3-half-day preschool program for the 2023-2024 school year. Can you help us spread the word to family and friends?

The purpose of the Learning Together Program is to have typically developing children learning alongside preschool children with disabilities. The program promotes social, communication, literacy, and numeracy skill development for all children.

The program is located at the following schools: Meadowvale Elementary, Havre de Grace Elementary, Edgewood Elementary, Homestead/Wakefield Elementary, Youths Benefit Elementary, and North Bend Elementary.

Children must be at least 3-years old as of 9/1/23 and be toilet trained. Click here for more information and to access the application. Please contact Robyn.Graham@hcps.org with any questions.

Partners for Success is part of Harford County Public Schools and works with families of school-aged children. Rachel Trovato, Coordinator for Partners for Success, provides information about community services, assists families in resolving concerns, and helps to increase parental involvement in the special education decision making process. Check it out!

Click here to view the Partners for Success Newsletter

Growing on the Spectrum Harford County is a local support group for families of children with autism in Harford County. The group meets the fourth Sunday of every month from 6:30 to 8pm at 1305 Pulaski Hwy, Edgewood, MD 21040

Want to know more about the special education process? Maryland State Department of Education has a number of handouts to help with that! To access links for MSDE publications, click here.

Not sure where to start? Look for the Family Guide series under Maryland Birth to K Information. Depending on where you are in your journey, you might find the following particularly helpful: A Family Guide to Early Intervention Services in Maryland and A Family Guide To Next Steps When Your Child In Early Intervention Turns Three.

For a quick guide about IEPs, Buidling IEPs with Maryland Families: What a Great Idea! gives a nice overview with tips for parents.

LOCATE is a free service to help you find child care. You can search their site, or speak with a referral specialist by calling 877-261-0060 during business hours. They can help you identify child care options in your area based on your family's specific needs.

LOCATE is part of Maryland Family Network. Click here to visit their website.

Parents who are concerned about their child has developmental delays can self-refer to Infants & Toddlers. Referrals are made by either calling our office at 410-638-3823 or submitting an online form. For more information and link to the form, click here.

2-1-1 Maryland is a resource that brings together four agencies to provide simple access to health and human services information. What can they help with? Affordable housing, food, employment training, utility payment assistance, services for their children or aging parents, and many other issues. The 2-1-1 database has information on nearly 5,000 agencies and programs across the state of Maryland.

Help is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Just call 2-1-1.

Harford County Infants & Toddlers provides early intervention services and supports to eligible children with developmental delays and their families. Services are provided at no cost to families. Infants & Toddlers is a part of Harford County Public Schools.

Email: Carie.Sadowski@hcps.org
Website: www.hcps.org
Location: 100 Thomas Run Road, Bel Air, MD, USA
Phone: 410-638-3823
Facebook: facebook.com/HCPSchools