Harford County Infants & Toddlers

Spring is in the air! Harford County Public Schools will be closed Monday, May 25 for Spring Break. We will reopen on Tuesday, April 2nd. During this time, Infants & Toddlers staff and providers will be on leave. We hope you and your family enjoy the break!

Do you have free time to share a parent's perspective? The Local Interagency Coordinating Council (LICC) is looking for a parent representative to attend quarterly meetings.

The Local Interagency Coordinating Council (LICC) is a collaborative effort between school staff, community partners, local government and parents. Meetings focus on supporting the Birth-Five population receiving early intervention services. It is an opportunity for anyone to ask questions, provide input, and learn more about what is happening in the community.

LICC meets on Thursday mornings from 9-10 am. The next meeting is scheduled for May 9th and will be virtual.

If you are interested in participating in LICC or would like to learn more, please reach out to Missy Romano at Melissa.Romano@hcps.org.

Join us for the Monday Playgroup! This is an opportunity for your child to play with other children and for you to connect with other parents. Playgroups are free!

Oak Grove Baptist Church has kindly offered us use of their classroom. The Church is centrally located in the County at 2106 Churchville Road in Bel Air. It is next to Harford Academy and has a large parking lot.

Interested in participating? Here's how it works:

1. Join the distribution list. Notices about Playgroup will only be sent out to those on the distribution list in order to minimize email traffic. Click here to join.
2. You will receive a weekly email with a registration link for the upcoming session. If you are able to participate that week, use the link to register. We limit the number of families due to the size of the room.
3. Registered families will receive a reminder text the day before Playgroup.

Note: Playgroup is canceled for March 25 and April 1 for Spring Break. We will resume April 8.

Caregivers of little ones, age birth-14 months, are invited to join us for a monthly Infant Playgroup called Little Movers. Facilitated by a physical therapist and educator, we will focus on strategies for tummy time and motor development.

The next meeting is on Tuesday, April 9th, 11-11:45, at Oak Grove Baptist Church. If you would like to participate, please join our Infant Distribution List. Registration links for each meeting will be sent one week prior to those who have expressed an interest.

Click here to join the Infant Distribution LIst.

Does your child have feeding challenges? Join us for the Infants & Toddlers Feeding Support Group. Our mission is to help families empower each other through education and support to meet the needs of their children as they grow and develop.

We meet once a month, alternating Tuesdays and Thursday, at 6:30 pm. The next virtual meeting is Tuesday, April 16th at 5:30. We will be discussing the difference between choking and gagging, CPR for choking/safety ideas, and food to promote chewing.

If you are interested, please reach out to Kim Driver at Kimberly.Driver@hcps.org.

Harford County Public Library will be hosting Family Accessibility Night on Friday, April 5th at the Abindgon Branch. Starting at 5:30, families of children with special needs will be able to use the library after hours! This is an opportunity to socialize with other families and meet representatives from community servies - like Infants & Toddlers! If you attend, be sure to stop by our table to say "hi."

Registration opens on Friday, March 22nd. Interested in attending? Visit the Library's event page to register.

The Office of Early Childhood Programs is pleased to announce the session topics for this year's Thrive by Five Early Childhood Summit. Topics include potty training, bedtime routines, visual supports, and the value of play. This annual event is designed for parents/guardians of children age birth through 5, as well as for childcare providers. There are three sessions: virtual the afternoon of April 8, in-person the evening of April 9, and virtually the evening of April 10. All sessions are FREE!

To learn more, checkout the flyer below. Click here for the registration form.

Harford County Public Schools is hosting a three-part series to help families with young children. They will focus on understanding behaviors and provide strategies to help children be successful. This is a virtual workshop. To learn more and to register, click here.

The Heath Department's Healthy Families supports pregnant women and moms of infants up to 3 months in age. They provide home visiting services by trained Family Resource and Support Specialists. Their goal is to:

• Share updated information about prenatal development, parenting, child development, health care and local community resources.
• Help parents to take action in reducing life stressors and maximizing opportunities to bond with their babies, during and after pregnancy.

To learn more about Health Families, visit their webpage.

Megan's Place is a family-oriented program funded by the Health Department. It supports at-risk pregnant, postpartum women and their families by providing information and guidance, referrals and services, care coordination and support to Harford County families.

To learn more about Megan's Place, visit their webpage.

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, along with assisting with the Child Care Scholarship.

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

Join SECAC on April 11th for a discussion on Parents Expectations: Navigating the Changes to Middle or Hight School. Tips and suggestions for bridging communication will be discussed.

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. To learn more about SECAC and for registration links for upcoming programs, visit their Facebook page.

Healthy Harford has published a listing of reliable, repeating food giveaways. If you are need of assistance, check out this the flyer. It is organized by day of the week and provides addresses for food assistance. January 2024 English (healthyharford.org)

Partners for Success is part of Harford County Public Schools and works with families of school-aged children. Megan Fitzgerald, 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

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.

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.

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