Iowa Department of Education

Community Empowerment

Community Empowerment was established by 1998 state legislation to create a partnership between communities and state government to improve the well being for children, prenatal through 5, and their families. There are 58 Community Empowerment Areas (CEA) that represent Iowa's 99 counties. The Iowa Department of Education is represented on the state-level Iowa Empowerment Board and the state technical assistance team to provide support for local CEAs and promote early care, health and education services.

Early ACCESS is a partnership between families with young children, birth to age three, and providers from the Departments of Education, Public Health, Human Services, the Child Health Specialty Clinics. The purpose of this program is for families and staff to work together in identifying, coordinating and providing needed services and resources that will help the family assist their infant or toddler to grow and develop.

Early Childhood Special Education

Early childhood special education services for children, three to five years of age and their families are provided by area education agencies and local school districts.

Professionals with training and expertise in special education services implement the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B. support the educational needs of young children and families, birth to five years of age. Early childhood special education professionals provide training and serve as a resource to early childhood providers in community settings such as preschool, child care and Head Start programs to meet the developmental learning needs of young children. Also, families and early childhood providers may request information about appropriate expectations for children's development.

Early Head Start

Early Head Start is a locally operated, federally funded program that provides a comprehensive child development program serving pregnant women and children birth to three with guidance, information and direct services to foster healthy development of children and their families.

Even Start

Even Start is a Federally funded program that supports improving the educational opportunities of the Nation's low-income families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program.

Shared Visions Parent Program

The Shared Visions Parent Support programs provide family support for high-risk children in approximately 15 counties. Programs provide individual and/or group opportunities for families to obtain information focusing on parenting skills, child growth and development, building of self-concept, nutrition, positive guidance techniques, family resource management, parent literacy, and access to an array of supportive services from a network of agencies that are available to families.