A school-based care management service for children with special needs

Federal mandates have changed the face of the American classroom. Classroom teachers and school health nurses who previously have had little or no interaction with children with medical or physical disabilities are being asked to assume increased responsibilities by including children with special needs in the regular public classroom. Coordination with agencies, health care providers? and families is essential for the education of children with special health care needs. Colleges of nursing, in efforts to teach nursing students about chronic illness and disability, offer one solution to the need for that coordination. This article describes how one college's implementation of a care management program may serve as a model for others trying to coordinate services for children with special needs in systems with limited resources.