Promoting State-level Cross-sector Professional Development on Inclusion

OSEP National Early Childhood Conference

December 9, 2008

• Increase awareness of SpecialQuest Birth–Five activities and resources • State Leadership Teams • SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library• SpecialQuest.org

• Identify strategies for enhancing information sharing and cross-system work with partners to support inclusion

• Identify strategies for including ALL children - children with and without disabilities and their families

• Identify at least one strategy to implement in your work

Outcomes

• Linda Brekken, Cheryl Ducey and Cathy Liles SpecialQuest Birth-Five

• Pat Cameron and Donna Traynham Massachusetts’ SpecialQuest State Leadership Team

• Phyllis Mondak, Kathy Maybee and Anne Taggart Virginia’s SpecialQuest State Leadership Team

Presenters

Participants

• Experience with SpecialQuest? • Attended SpecialQuest• Part of a State Leadership Team• Used the SpecialQuest Multimedia Training

Library

• Expectations for session?

• What stood out for you in the video?

• What ideas or strategies did you hear that might be helpful in your work?

Together We’re Better

SpecialQuest State Leadership Teams

• 10 State Leadership Teams Selected• Initial team meeting with Coordinator and 2 Coaches • Completed State Perceptions of Inclusive Practices• Attended National Leadership SpecialQuest • Quarterly State Leadership Team meetings to

implement Action Plans • SpecialQuest support for implementation of action

plans • Networking among State Leadership Teams

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State Leadership Team membership (35 members)• Parents • Head Start Association• Head Start State Collaboration Office• Dept. of Public Health (Part C)• Dept. of Early Education and Care (619)• Dept. of Elem. & Secondary Ed (big B)• Dept. for Children and Families• Dept. of Mental Health• Higher Education (six colleges and universities)• Public schools• Head Start and child care programs

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How we got started:• Massachusetts was an Expanding Opportunities

state so we had many of the “players” at the table. • One goal of Expanding Opportunities was to develop

professional development system on inclusion across settings.

• Applying for SpecialQuest met that goal and provided technical assistance in getting there!

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Vision Statement

Recognizing that all children are born with possibilities, families and children birth to five will have access to high quality, child- and family-centered inclusive settings in a seamless system of coordinated supports and services.

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SpecialQuest Demonstration Sites

Colleges & Universities using SpecialQuest materials

SpecialQuestColleges & Universities

Lesley University, Cambridge Massasoit Community College, Brockton Mt. Wachusett Community College, Gardner North Shore Community College, Lynn

UMass, Boston

SpecialQuestDemonstration Sites

Fall River

Barnstable

Holyoke

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Activities/Outcomes• Imbed SpecialQuest materials and universal

message of inclusion in early childhood college courses, both general ed and special ed.

• Support SpecialQuest graduate programs and develop demonstration sites to expand SpecialQuest to age five and involve the transition to public school.

• Provide professional development on inclusion to the early childhood field across settings.

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Demonstration Sites – Fall River

Three Fall River SQ Team Meetings have been held since August (presenting SQ at CPC meeting tomorrow).  Follow-up  Team Meetings scheduled for 1/16/09 and 2/5/09

• Team consists of 24:  Child Care Providers (4), Family Child Care (1), Early Intervention (4), Parents (2), Head Start Staff (3), Early Head Start Staff (3), Public School Staff (2), Higher Education (4), CCR&R (1)

• Strengths of Team:  strong connections among agencies with good collaboration; transitions; networking; committee work; sharing of resources, information and expertise; engaged and committed to inclusion

• Fall River's challenges to inclusion:  need therapists to services children in Head Start and Child Care; Child Care Programs need funding for 1:1; need for specialized equipment (standers, walkers, gait trainers, augmentative communication, etc.); need better communication between Early Intervention, School Department, and Child Care Programs around dually enrolled children

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Fall River (continued)

• Accomplishments:  developed a vision and mission; added SQ to CPC agenda; interagency referral and release forms are in process, developed a 6.5 hour workshop for MHSA, a 6 hour workshop for MEIC, and a 3 hour workshop for Head Start and Early Head Start Staff; developing a series of 2 hour workshops for the PACE Child Care Works Spring Training Calendar;  Bristol Community College is using some SQ materials as part of their coursework; Durfee High School is looking at SQ materials to enhance their Child Care courses.

• Action Plan:  recruit Pediatricians and/or other Health Care Professionals onto the Team, continue work on interagency referral and release forms, develop stronger communication systems between EI, School Dept., and Child Care, continue work on SQ Series for PACE

• SQ Materials used:  "Getting Started", "Getting Services", "In Concert", "Embracing Possibilities", and "Bright Futures"      

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Demonstration Site

HolyokeTeam:• Consists of 12 + people from EI, CPC, HS, Public Schools, Child Care, and EEC still in

process of recruiting individuals who wan to be part of our local team• Our local team have met 4 times and 2 times with our coach• Strengths:

• “Lots of beginning conversations about inclusion, but not consistent across all agencies.”

• Public Schools have committed to involvement in SQ process• Good interest between HS and EI systems

• Challenges:• Keep interest of public school personnel• Involve child care, including family child care; also CPC• Get parent on board

Successes/accomplishments/stories about inclusion:• Anthony – goes to our Head Start full day classroom. He has Traumatic Brain Disorder:

he is developmentally delayed with speech and language impairments along with orthopedic impairments.

• Malachi – also in full day at our Head Start. He has Dandy Walker Syndrome and Traumatic Brain Disorder: he is developmentally delayed with speech and language impairments along with orthopedic impairments.

• Angel – full day with a diagnosis of Down syndrome.

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Demonstration Site - Holyoke

Challenges: • Training teachers to know what is expected of these children

and what they can and cannot do.• Teacher’s confidence to work with children with special needs.

Our teachers are not licensed special education teachers. • One on one’s are limited and also not always trained for who

they are working with. • We have many children who are on the autism spectrum but

because they are so young they will not be diagnose. These children tend to be very challenging for our teachers.

VirginiaVirginia VirginiaVirginia

Virginia’s Vision:

Virginia’s early childhood workforce is sustained by a high quality

comprehensive professional development system founded upon principles and practices of inclusion

of all children.

Principles • Engage families as partners at all levels.

• Expand participation on the committee to include broader communities of practice including the health community.

• Ensure that the System is culturally diverse, sensitive, supported, and respected.

• Support strong public and private partnerships on state and local levels to include identification, expansion, and leveraging of resources.

• Create dynamic system that anticipates change and seeks new opportunities.

Leadership Team

• Head Start State Collaboration Office• VDOE ECSE Project members• Higher Ed – IHE Council, Sp Ed Depts, UCED,

Community College System• Part C • Office of Early Childhood Development (lead) –

Governor’s Office• State and Local Head Start/Early Head Start, state TA

consultant• Parents, Parent Advocacy• DSS Child Care Training• Va. Child Care Resource and Referral Network

Integrate into other state initiatives already started

Governor’s Working Group – Preschool Initiative

Home Visiting Consortium

Head Start Collaborative Advisory Committee Mental Health Subgroup

NPDCI grant application leadership team• Coordinated system of professional

development from pre-natal to 5 years of age.• Integrated training - not separate.• Consider a broad approach.

Establish and sustain an infrastructure to coordinate planning, financing, and delivery of a professional development system.

Goal 1: Create and Synthesize Infrastructure

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Goal 2: Develop a Comprehensive Accountability System

• Develop a statewide measuring system of outcomes for continuous quality improvement.

Goal 3: Promote and embed VA’s SpecialQuest vision

• Create a marketing and public awareness plan that supports inclusive practices, and ensures all communities are aware of the services and resources available to families of children with disabilities.

Goal 4: Professional Development and use of research based practices

• Implement a Service Delivery System for Professional Development incorporating research based practices

Goal 5: Embed family partnerships

• We agreed that this should extend across all goal areas.

Local Headstart

Plans and Activities

Small Group Discussions

Instructions • Choose a topic for discussion• Introduce yourselves• Identify a notetaker • Brainstorm your challenges and strategies• Identify one ”gem” or great idea to share back with

the large group• Identify who will share back

You have 15 minutes.

Discussion Topics

• Building cross-system support for inclusion

• Building relationships with partners

• Learning about each other’s systems and resources

• Planning together for inclusion

• Promoting and evaluating collaborative service delivery for inclusion

Reflections

• Write down one idea or strategy that you will use in your work

Continuous Improvement

• What worked? • Suggestions