Child Find

• For a child birth through 2 years old, contact Mississippi Department of Health.

• For all children ages 3 through 21, contact Veronica Funches, Child Find/Psychometrist.

The Jackson Public School District participates with the Mississippi Department of Education in an ongoing, statewide effort to identify, locate, and evaluate children ages birth through 21 who have health impairments, physical, mental, communicative, and/or emotional disabilities. Early identification of children in need of special education services is very important to each child's educational success.

Child Find is a process required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to identify, locate, and evaluate all children from birth through 21 years of age who may have disabilities and may need early intervention or special education services. It is an ongoing process of public awareness activities and evaluations t ensure children with special needs can receive the help they need to succeed as early as possible.

Anyone concerned about a child's speech, learning, behavior, or development can make a Child Find request. A multidisciplinary evaluation team will meet with the family within 14 days to decide if an evaluation is needed. If so, informed parental consent is required before an evaluation is conducted.

Although you do not have to bring anything with you, any records or information you have that can assist you in describing your concerns about your child would be helpful.

A multidisciplinary evaluation will involve a series of observations and tests with the child and interviews with caregivers conducted by two or more specialists, such as a speech language pathologist, a school psychologist, or a special educator. A written summary of this evaluation will be provided to the family and a meeting will be held to determine if the child needs special services.