Help Starts Here!

Cornerstone is Burke Center's Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program with a focus on the family. Families have always been at the center of the Texas Early Childhood Intervention Program. Cornerstone continues this focus throughout the Center's 12 county regions for children eligible for the program.

The program helps families who have children birth to three years of age overcome difficulties in the areas of early development. Together, parents and staff work to improve the child's physical, cognitive, social, and adaptive development in an effort to build a stronger foundation for the child's future.

Cornerstone ECI recognizes the child as part of the family system which is a principle of family-centered intervention. We plan the supports and services to "fit" the family instead of making the family "fit" to the program.

The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is based on a process that expects professionals to listen carefully to what the families are concerned about, to fully explore the specifics of their concerns and to design supports, services and strategies to complement the family’s life. Comprehensive services for all children could include occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, nutrition, activities to develop cognitive, social/emotional and self-help skills. As services are provided, staff must remember the ongoing need to evaluate and make changes based on regular information sharing with families. Professionals are required to interact with families in a manner that puts the family in the decision-making role and the professional in the role of providing information and sharing knowledge.

In keeping with the importance of families and their participation, each family is provided service coordination to assist with eligibility/admission, service options, intake, assessment and evaluation and finding other services in the community.

Cornerstone ECI determines eligibility for children under age 3 based on developmental delay; children who are delayed in one or more of the following areas of development: cognitive, motor, communication, social-emotional or adaptive skills; atypical development: children who need early intervention services because their sensory-motor response or behavior patterns are qualitatively different; medically diagnosed condition: children who have a need for services because they have a medically diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay. For children whose only delay is in the area of expressive language, a Speech-Language Pathologist must be a member of the team that determines initial and on-going eligibility for services.

Children will be dismissed from Cornerstone ECI services when: a child reaches developmental proficiency, which is determined by comprehensive development inventory or standardized test; no longer exhibits atypical development; and if the symptoms of the medical diagnosis are resolved and the child and the family do not demonstrate a need for Cornerstone ECI services.