Education & Outreach

Acorns to Oak Trees seeks to increase awareness in tribal communities about intellectual and developmental disabilities and improve relationships between tribes, Regional Centers, and school districts.

Tribal Communities

Acorns to Oak Trees specifically works with tribal communities to spread the word about the Early Start program to ensure that tribal social service, education, and child care programs know about the Regional Centers and the importance of early detection intervention when it comes to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. We achieve this by hosting outreach events in tribal communities and events where we provide information to tribal families through storytelling videos created by Native families who have children with special needs.

Our outreach events offer resource information for the tribe’s local area and opportunities to connect with their local Regional Center to obtain a free screening.

Federal, State, and local agencies and Academic Institutions

Acorns to Oak Trees works with a wide variety of federal and state agencies as well as local health organizations, school districts, and universities to increase awareness of the importance of improving the Child Find system through early detection and intervention at the first sign of developmental delays as well as relationship building between tribal communities and the school systems and service and healthcare providers who serve them.

Native children have the highest rates of intellectual and developmental disabilities in the nation, but are also the least likely to utilize services which points to service access and equity barriers.