Will CARES serve all children who are d/Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deafblind?
Yes. CDCI CARES Team consultants work with all qualifying students and student teams.
What does consultation include?
CONSULTATION/TRAINING INCLUDES:
- Technical assistance (consultation) to schools and families to facilitate access to classroom curriculum and instruction.
- Technical assistance (consultation) to schools and families around child-specific amplification systems; hearing assistive technology (FM/DM/remote microphone systems); cochlear implants; and student/family audiology services support.
- Direct instruction to students focused on self-advocacy skill development and hearing assistive technology use.
- Training (In-service) to school teams regarding individual students and general information regarding hearing loss and noise in the environment.
What does the CARES Team consultant do?
The primary roles/responsibilities of the CARES Team consultant is to:
- Serve as an educational team member for students who are DHHDB on their teams for Individualized Education Plans (IEP), 504 Plans, and Education Support Team (EST) plans.
- Support school teams, families, and students who are DHHDB with transitions (early intervention, between grades/schools, and post-secondary).
- Collaborate with other Vermont DHHDB service providers and statewide consultants (e.g., Vermont I-Team, Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, New England Consortium) to share best practices, collect data on educational outcomes, and clarify messaging to school teams.
- Develop and deliver in-service training for school teams and/or peers of students who are DHHDB.
- Observe students who are DHHDB, assess classroom acoustics, and recommend classroom accommodations and instructional strategies to facilitate student access to their education.
- Work directly with students, or groups of students, to assess and develop self-advocacy skills.
- Oversee student’s hearing assistive technology (HAT) including assessing the need for HAT; collaborating with audiologists to select, fit, and verify HAT; monitoring the use of HAT; and troubleshooting HAT with school teams.
- Support school teams with understanding the unique assessment needs of students who are DHHDB and identify opportunities for technical assistance, professional development, or referrals to other DHHDB providers.
- Collect data required to assess student performance / needs / services and determine future program needs.
- Serve as a liaison between school teams and clinical audiologists, medical providers, and program/school administrators.
How can clinical audiologists make referrals to the CARES Team?
Audiologists may submit new referrals online, using this form. Please contact us if you have any questions about referrals.
How much do CARES Team services cost?
Grant funding from the Vermont Agency of Education makes it possible for Consultation and TA to be provided at no charge to all public schools in Vermont.
Assessments, Evaluations and Counseling are provided for a fee of $140/hr.