The Special Needs program features of the following components:

Early Start Infant /Toddler Mainstream Program (GGRC): Twenty-one children attend 65 hours per month. Each child is assessed for their developmental needs and appropriate services are provided.  

Individual Speech and Occupational Therapy Program: Ten to twenty children receive individual services on an out-patient basis. Parents attend sessions with their children, observe the session and receive recommendations to utilize at home.

Medically Fragile Infant/Toddler Program (MOLERA): Seven children who have been identified to have chronic health conditions that require nurse monitoring, attend mainstream programs fulltime. Their health is monitored by the FDC nurse and their developmental needs are assessed and services are provided on site as needed.

SDE Therapeutic Program: Children in the fulltime SDE program may receive individual therapy services. Parents together with their classroom teacher refer their child to the special needs program for assessment and services as needed.

Mental Health Program: At times children need help to deal with their emotions, trauma and/or behaviors. An FSA play therapist is available to meet with parents and child to determine how to best help that child.

CCS Physical and Occupational Therapy: Children who are eligible for California Children Services therapy meet with their therapist while at the program.

The Special Needs Component of FDC is staffed by a bilingual Special Needs Coordinator, a Child Development Specialist, two bilingual Speech Therapists, a Mental Health therapist, and a Nurse. Classroom staff also provides the important day-to-day support for each child. Special diets are provided as needed by the FDC Childcare Food Program. Numerous outside therapeutic specialists provide their services at FDC: vision specialist, hearing specialist, early interventionist and more.  

In addition, the FDC Special Needs Program collaborates with San Francisco State University Speech Therapy Program in a five year grant to provide augmentative communication devices to special needs children. Two second year Master level interns and their professor provide direct services support.

Working with children’s earliest educators – their parents – in a familiar and culturally-sensitive environment, DEPP helps low-income, at-risk parents to begin to perceive themselves as their children’s valuable and successful “first teachers,” aware of the long-lasting effects of early social interaction and environment on children’s overall development.

The Developmental Education for Parents Program (DEPP) is a program that assists parents in understanding their young child’s development in all developmental domains.

Workshop Topics:

DEPP provides parents with a series of workshops in both English and Spanish.
These workshops enable parents to learn:

• How their child develops and learns
• How they can support their child’s development
• How they can impact their child’s development

Each session is three hours and focuses on the following subjects:

• Brain Development and Developmental Milestones
• Nutrition/Health/Children with Special Needs
• School Readiness/Music & Literacy
• Manipulative

Reading Clinic

The Reading Clinic provides a place where parents can spend time with their child and improve their own literacy skills. The Reading Clinic assists parents and their children in developing a love for books and reading.  Parents can check our books from our lending library, FREE books also available.