Abstract. This article presents results of an empirical study on the needs of children in early childhood age (0–7 years), including children with disabilities and their families. The data are used for the purposes of designing a new type of integrated social service for young children and their families. The authors outline the rationale for this idea in the context of the conceptual framework of the study and the conclusions from the desk research of the relevant policy and legal frameworks in Bulgaria. The empirical data and the findings from the desk research have served for drawing conclusions and recommendations for improving the responses to children and their families as part of the early childhood development policies and systems.
Keywords: early childhood development, needs of children and families in early childhood, integrated social services