Resources for Professionals working with children:

• 2023 Minnesota Statutes is provided for reference to understand the current Statutes.
• Ages and Stages questionnaires (ASQ-3, ASQ-SE2, ASQ-SE ) is a screening tool used for age-specific milestones in 5 developmental areas.
• CDC Watch Me Online Training is a continuing education course for early childhood educators to learn to identify typical milestones and monitor children for developmental concerns and talk with families about their child’s development and delays.
• Center for Inclusive Childcare offers free professional development training and resources for childcare educators using a relationship-based approach.
• Language Line Solutions is a service that provides interpretation, and translation services on demand to ensure that communications are accurate.
• Laura Mize resources is a set of podcasts that is put on by a speech and language pathologist that offers free, and inexpensive CEU credits for early speech learning.
• MN Act Early and FAP Professional Development Series is a webinar series some people find useful to share with others. We plan to post all of the webinars on this website for future viewing.
• Paul Bunyan Co-op is an educational collaboration between school districts with the aim of increasing educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

Resources for Families and Professionals working with children:

• Autism Navigator web-based resource for families and professionals including a developmental chart of 16 gestures by 16 months .
• Baby Navigator is a grant-funded research project whose aim is to provide free resources and support to families from the time the mother is pregnant until the child is 18 months old.
• · Blue Plus Ride is a Blue Cross Blue Shield ride service available for medical needs to some of the people who carry this insurance (or other insurance companies offer similar transportation services).
• Brookes Publishing has activities handouts for parents to complete with families.
• CDC developmental milestones, handouts, social communication, and growth charts are a resource for families with information about how to track children’s development through the early years, and it provides families with information to promote healthy development as well as understanding when to seek help.
• CDC Milestone tracker app is a popular app that helps parents track their child’s development and lets them know about helpful ways to promote learning and development in their child and track their development.
• Child and Teen Checkups Information for Families provides free well-child checks, immunizations, and lab tests to children from birth to 20 years of age if they qualify for Medical Assistance.
• Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) is an education program run through public school districts for parents of children from birth up to third grade that promotes a positive learning environment through empowering families.
• Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) is an early intervention program run through public school districts serving children with disabilities and their families from birth through kindergarten.
• Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) Benefit is a Health Care Program in Minnesota that provides early intensive interventions, education, and training for families of people with ASD up to the age of 18.
• Families First program helps families with respite care, resources in the surrounding communities, and help in answering parenting questions.
• Family advocates work one-on-one with families to overcome barriers - education, bus passes, encouragement, etc.
• Follow Along Program (Minnesota FAP) is a FREE resource for MN families to support their child’s development throughout early childhood. The FAP sends questionnaires to families at periodic developmental milestones with resources to promote healthy development.
• First Words project is a resource that provides information about social development and communication development of infants and toddlers.
• Head Start is an early intervention program available from pregnancy through kindergarten that is available for families with low income, receiving public assistance, who are homeless or in foster care.
• Help Me Connect connects families to resources in their communities outside of the education system.
• Help Me Grow program in Minnesota is a program in partnership with the Department of Education, MN Department of Health, and MN Department of Human Services that has reading materials and video clips that are useful for parents to understand typical development.
• Medical Assistance (MA) under Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) is an option for children with disabilities to gain MA when their family's income is too high. MA is a good option to gain services and supports that are considered long-term and would otherwise not be covered by consumer insurance.
• MACMH- Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health offers resources about many mental health topics , training for professional development , and services for families who have mental health challenges.
• MN Act Early and FAP Professional Development Series is a webinar series some people find useful to share with others, including families. We plan to post all of the webinars on this website for future viewing.
• MN autism portal provides pathways to finding services and supports with links to information about many topics regarding autism.
  • MN autism portal Milestone moments is a guide that has links and ideas for families.
• MN Department of Health, What is screening?
  • Screening offers a brief snapshot of child development to identify infants and young children who may be at risk for potential health, developmental, or social-emotional problems. It identifies children who may need a health assessment, diagnostic assessment, or educational evaluation.
  • Developmental Monitoring observes how your child grows and changes over time and whether your child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving.
• MN Developmental Screening Program offers 6 public screening programs in the state of Minnesota: Child & Teen Check Ups, Early Childhood Screening, Follow Along Program, Head Start and Early Head Start, Family Home Visiting, Child Welfare (Child Protection)
• MN Help is a searchable website that provides information and resources for many situations including people with disabilities and family caregivers.
• MnChoices assessment has supportive resources and links to help families make decisions about services and supports.
  • DHS 7283- Brochure on MnCHOICES Assessment: Steps to get help is a booklet that walks people through the steps necessary to qualify for community-based services and supports
• Family Home Visiting program (FHV) provides guidance to families prenatally through the early years to support the healthy development of children and support parents to be positive teachers to their children.
• Play Project is a program that trains families how to play with their children as the person providing a transition intervention for their children until they can receive services.
• Zero to Three Website provides information about resources to understand early development (0-3) and work with families with exposure to toxic stress and trauma.