Harford County Infants & Toddlers

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.

Caregivers of little ones, age birth-14 months, or children who are not yet walking are invited to join us for a weekly Infant Playgroup called Little Movers. Facilitated by a physical therapist and educator, we will focus on strategies for tummy time and motor development.

Little Movers will meet on alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning September 24th, 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.

We are excited to offer The Chicago Parent Program (CPP) this fall. CPP is a 12-session, video and group-based parenting skills training program that has been shown to improve parenting skills and confidence and reduce behavior problems in young children 2-5 years old. This is a free program.

The CPP class will meet Tuesday evenings beginning October 1st at Harford Academy in Bel Air, 5:30-7:30 PM. Dinner and childcare will be provided. Participants will need to commit to attending all 12 sessions.

Click here to register for the Chicago Parent Program or use the QR code. If you have questions, please reach out to Kim at Kim.Mayforth@hcps.org.

Save the date for our annual Fall Hayride! Infants & Toddlers is hosting a morning hayride at Lohr's Orchard on Tuesday, October 29th. Invitations and the registration link will be sent closer to the event. We hope you can join us.

Bring your little ones to socialize and burn off some energy at the Forest Hill/Hickory indoor turf area! Harford County Parks & Rec is offering Tot Recess as part of the Therapeutic Recreation division for individuals with disabilities. It is open to little ones age 2-5 with a parent or caregiver.

Tot Recess will run on Thursdays, October 24 - November 7 (3 sessions) at 10:00 am. The cost is $12. To register, visit the Harford County Parks & Rec Therapeutic Recreation catalog. New users will need to create an account to register.

For more information, reach out to Evan Myers at 410-638-4899 or emyers@harfordcountymd.gov.

In honor of the new school year, SECAC wants to set the stage for a successful school year. The first meeting will be on Thursday, October 10th. During the virtual meeting, HCPS Special Education and HCPS Transportation will present What's New and Different for the school year 2024-25. There will be additional information shared on:

• Who to contact when....
• HCPS Special Education Organization Chart
• Results from the HCPS Special Education Survey
• Discussion on what kind of training do bus drivers, bus attendants, and teachers/staff receive for our children with disabilities
• MSDE changes to the IEP

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.

Down Syndrome Association of Maryland is hosting a webinar on Gross Motor Skills & Development, presented by Lisa Tellup. A pediatric physical therapist, Lisa works with Harford Infants & Toddlers families for over 30 years. She will review topics relevant to families of children with Down Syndrome such as low muscle tone, the pros and cons of orthotics, and tips and tricks to promote gross motor skill development, and ways to make strengthening exercises fun!

If you are interested in joining the virtual discussion on Gross Motor Skills & Development on Tuesday, October 8 at 6:50 pm, click here to register.

Early Bird registration is open for this year's Techniques for Success, an educational conference open to educators, administrators and parents of students with Down syndrome and those with other special needs.

This year's conference will be held on Saturday, November 16th at Loyola University Maryland. The early bird registration cost is $50 and includes speaker presentation and materials, meals (breakfast, lunch and snacks), conference exhibitors, and networking opportunities. For more information, visit the conference website by clicking here.

Techniques for Success is a collaborative effort between Down Syndrome Network of Montgomery County, the Down Syndrome Association of Maryland, and F.R.I.E.N.D.S. of Fredrick County.

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. July 2024 English (healthyharford.org)

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 other parents for a virtual Coffee & Conversations. Parents Place of Marland hosts a monthly chat for families of children ages birth to 5. This is an opportunity to share ideas, get resources, share frustrations, and to make new friends.

For more information and to register, click here.

There are just a few of the community partners that provide resources and assistance for families.

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