Special Needs Child Care

Since 1996, Cuyahoga County has had in place a Special Needs Child Care (SNCC) program to assist parents and child care centers in providing care for children with special needs, including severe behavioral problems. The goals of the SNCC program are to: 1) increase the number of providers who can provide care for children with special needs; and 2) increase access to special needs child care. The philosophy behind the SNCC system is to provide child care centers with the resources, knowledge, support and child care alternatives so that no child need ever be expelled from pre-school. Through the SNCC program, providers - both child care centers and family child care homes - can receive technical assistance, training, and special equipment. The program has available a rapid response team that will dispatch trained instructors - the same day - to assist in caring for a child. The program also provides options and resources for parents seeking care for their children with special needs.