Early Intervention Team, Schoharie County Department of Health

Left to Right: Christine Binkley, Service Coordinator; Linda Hill, RN; Elizabeth Black, Children's Program Assistant; Karen Simmons, Preschool Special Needs Coordinator and Early Intervention Official; Cathleen Buskey, Service Coordinator; Santa Dibble, Administrative Support; Valarie Manchester, Public Health Nurse;

Not Pictured: Kristi Robbiani, Speech/Language Pathologist

The Schoharie County Maternal/Child Health (MCH) and Early Intervention (EI) team works hard to provide excellent support for families. The team is active in a local ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) group, working to create a trauma informed community and mitigate the profound impact that ACES have on health. Nursing staff is cross-trained in MCH and EI. This cross-training allows families with medically complex children to make a well-supported transition to the EI program. MCH visits include lactation support, safe sleep education, early dental health, and car seat installation evaluation. A playgroup facilitated by the EI team provides much-needed enrichment opportunities in a resource-poor region, for children with diverse abilities. Schoharie County Department of Health struggled to provide the speech services that children needed. Our EI team's outside-the-box thinking and tireless advocacy lead to the hiring of a Speech Language Pathologist to fill this need.