Early Start Program
Early Start is a program mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide early intervention services to infants 0-3 with developmental disabilities or at risk for developmental disabilities. In California, the law has been put into place under the California Early Intervention Services Act.
The lead administrative agency for Early Start in California is the Department of Development Services (DDS), which implements services through the Regional Centers.
The Early Start Service Coordinator and family use assessment information to develop a plan to assist the family in meeting their child's needs, called an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) ( IFSP forms).
The public schools are required by law to collaborate with the Regional Centers to provide services to a limited number of Early Start eligible children. In the Ventura County SELPA, the program is operated by four local school districts, which operate as regional providers for all other districts in their area:
 Ventura Unified School District
 Simi Valley Unified School District
 Oxnard School District
 Conejo Valley Unified School District
These districts provide Service Coordination, special education services, and other services such as respite, therapies, and transportation (as appropriate) to any student with solely:
 vision impairment
 severe orthopedic impairment
 hearing impairment
The public schools also provide ONLY special education services to a limited number of children also served by the Regional Center. School-Based Early Start Services
ES Services.pdf
/ Early Start Brochure
The majority of children eligible for services under Early Start are served by the Regional Center alone.
Additional information and resources:
Click on the underlined title to view any of these documents. If you prefer to order a hard copy please see our order form for prices. 
.pdf Documents
|
IMPORTANT (Please Read First):
Adobe Acrobat Reader is REQUIRED to view all PDF files below.
You may obtain this program for FREE by clicking the
|
All About Me (Family Information Binder)
|
Autism...A Confusing Diagnosis
|
Could Your Baby Benefit from Early Start Services?
|
Desired Results Development Program (DRDP)
|
Early Start Program (School-based Services)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Multiagency, Multidisciplinary Team Assessment (MMTA) -
|
Parent Rights in Early Start
|
|
|
|
|
What's Next After Early Start?
|
|