Child Development Services (CDS)

Family Child Care providers are required by the current (2021) FCC Licensing Rule to provide information to child’s parents/legal guardians information about the services available when there is any concern about a child’s development.

Child Development Services (CDS) is the Educational Unit in the state of Maine mandated to find children (ages birth through 5) that have a developmental delay or disability.

For infants and toddlers (ages birth through 2), CDS provides Early Intervention Services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

They have a team of professionals who specialize in Early Intervention. This team consists of:
• Special Education Teachers
• Speech/Language Pathologists
• Occupational Therapist
• Physical Therapist
• Social Worker
• Teacher of the Deaf
• Registered Dietician

To meet the Licensing Rule requirement it is also best practice to include within your policies language that explains to parents your thoughts and practices around collaborating with parents to share observations and information from the start to help build a firm foundation and partnership. The firm foundation and partnership will help when navigating the difficult conversations if and when they should arise.

Additional resources:

Learn how to monitor each child’s development with CDC’s FREE 1-hour online training, Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns.

CDC’s free Milestones Track App – Learn the Signs. Act Early.

Cara’s Kit is a tool to help practitioners think through simple changes they may make that might benefit all children. This tool only helps you think through steps but it also helps you track what changes you have made and how the child is reacting to the change.

Maine’s Warm Line serves as the first step in providing practical, accurate information to support the successful inclusion of children with special health needs, disabilities, mental health concerns, or challenging behavior. It provides preventative and non-emergency person-to-person support and resources, The MRTQ PDN Warm Line is jointly staffed by professionals with expertise in inclusive practices; disabilities; children’s health, social, and emotional development; behavior; and early childhood mental health.