As the country quickly builds its efforts to enhance quality in early education and care classrooms, states are implementing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to recognize and improve the quality of programs. QRIS also provides technical support and increased financial benefits for participating programs to attain higher levels of…

THE COMPOUNDING PROBLEMS OF A SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT OF LESS THAN 15,000 POPULATION ARE OUTLINED BY THE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN AN INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN ILLINOIS. A VARIETY OF ADAPTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES IS CONSIDERED. THE DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1959-60 OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DISTRICT WHICH NOW SERVES…

The guidelines for programs and services for the disadvantaged and handicapped cover areas of concern essential to Department of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education's program approval/evaluation and project proposals/grants: students served; occupational programs; administrative organization; personnel; objectives; evaluation; resources…

This document includes reports of three research studies concerning the process of providing supported employment services to persons with disabilities. An introductory chapter by Frank Rusch et al. describes the Illinois Supported Employment Project, noting its target population and its technical assistance and program evaluation services. In…

This report re-evaluates evidence on the issue of age ranges served of handicapped children in Illinois schools, analyzes additional research on the issue, and estimates the cost that would be incurred if the current 3-21 year range were to be lowered to birth. A literature review addresses two broad areas: the identification and effectiveness of…

In December 1986, the Governor of the State of Illinois appointed a task force to make recommendations on how each sector of society could contribute to narrowing the gap between the availability of day care services and the child care needs of working parents. The 51-member task force was composed of representatives of private industry,…

The paper describes the evolution of the Learning Games Libraries (LGLs), a collaborative approach between special education and public library staff to offer developmental learning materials to young handicapped children and their parents. LGLs began in the United States in 1935 and have spread to at least 23 countries, offering services to both…

This document contains an executive summary of a study designed to: determine the status of early intervention (birth-to-3) programs for handicapped children in Illinois, to make recommendations for future planning, and develop training modules focused on the findings. It discusses the study's rationale, method, and design; estimates incidence…

The state of Illinois is developing a statewide Individualized Education Program (IEP) training program for school staff to improve the effectiveness of IEP development and implementation. The training will cover three dimensions: (1) knowledge and awareness of required components, required participants, required timelines, rationale and purposes,…

Following a 5-year planning and development cycle, Illinois has completed its first year of full implementation of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated system of early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families under provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Among accomplishments noted…

The Special Education Parents Alliance created an employment project seeking jobs in the business community for special education graduates and other persons with disabilities. The project serves learning disabled, educable mentally handicapped, trainable mentally handicapped, and physically disabled persons in DuPage County and portions of west…

A statewide staff mentoring program was developed in Illinois as an option for providing a personalized, intensive approach to training early intervention personnel on a large scale. Evaluation results for the initial period of developing the process and for the first eight trainer-trainee dyads suggest this approach is individualized,…

This paper examines the role that public policy and practice play in supporting the efforts of natural, adoptive, and foster families who have children and youth with disabilities in keeping their families intact. Obstacles and barriers to implementing the philosophy of permanence planning, especially for children and youth with disabilities, are…

Materials are presented to assist Illinois educational administrators in providing the necessary programs and services to allow for the attainment of vocational skills by the handicapped, limited English proficiency, and disadvantaged populations. The first section briefly describes such relevant legislation as Title II of the Education Amendments…

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a federally funded project designed to develop, implement, and evaluate a systemically oriented process model for improving the coordination of education and human services for young children with identified disabilities and their families at the local level. The project developed and used…