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38 | P a g e FFY 2025–2027 CCDF State Plan
federally funded Parent Training and Information Centers. vii. [x] Partnerships with State and local IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C providers and agencies. viii. [x] Availability and/or access to specialized services (e.g., mental health, behavioral specialists, therapists) to address the needs of all children. ix. [x] Other. Describe: The Lead Agency added a button to the DECAL and CAPS websites to the Resource and Referral Portal (FindHelp GA), which contains many resources for families with a person(s) with a disability, including but not limited to mental health and behavioral supports, disability supports, child development, early intervention, children with special needs, and caregiver supports. The Lead Agency operates the SEEDS Helpline for families and providers. The helpline provides resources and referrals to families of children with disabilities and assistance in identifying high quality child care. 2.4.2 Families experiencing homelessness: Outreach and technical assistance efforts a. Check, where applicable, the procedures used to conduct outreach for children experiencing homelessness and their families. i. [x] Lead Agency accepts applications at local community-based locations. ii. [x] Partnerships with community-based organizations. iii. [x] Partnering with homeless service providers, McKinney-Vento liaisons, and others who work with families experiencing homelessness to provide referrals to child care. iv. [x] Other. Describe: The Lead Agency and the Head Start State Collaboration Office are providing a series of trainings and ongoing technical assistance to community partners who support families and children experiencing homelessness to improve their knowledge of the early care and education programs, priorities, and the referral systems. The Lead Agency has also partnered with Our House, a nonprofit agency providing shelter and innovative services to the Atlanta homeless population, to develop and implement training for staff to enhance outreach efforts. The Lead Agency added a feature to the Contact Us form on the CAPS website to enable community programs supporting families who are homeless to communicate and expedite their subsidy applications. The Lead Agency understands that communication may be a challenge for families with limited access to technology, so this feature allows staff to work with the system on their behalf. The Lead Agency added a button to the DECAL and CAPS websites to the Resource and Referral Portal (FindHelp GA), which contains many resources for families experiencing homelessness including but not limited to Emergency Shelter, Temporary Housing, Help Find Housing, Help Pay for Housing. Families Experiencing Homelessness remains a Priority Group for the CAPS subsidy program, targeting specific challenges faced by families as defined by McKinney- Vento. In addition, the Lead Agency developed a series of visual aids specific to community partners in the Continuum of Care who serve families experiencing homelessness to explain the process for child care and subsidy assistance. b. The Lead Agency must provide training and technical assistance (TA) to providers and