Early childhood is a critical time for cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Many states have invested in comprehensive early childhood care and education systems that offer a wide range of supports and services to families from the prenatal period through school entry. Home visiting programs are an important component of state early…

The document describes the Virginia Interagency Linkage Model, a system of interagency agreements between vocational education, special education, and vocational rehabilitative services. Formal written agreements are developed between the agencies at both the state and local levels and coordinated by a linkage team with all included agencies…

The booklet presents guidelines for implementing Massachusetts Chapter 688, which provides for a 2-year transitional process to plan for habilitative services for severely disabled young adults who will lose their entitlement to special education upon graduation or reaching the age of 22. The law is intended to serve individuals who traditionally…

Intended for planners, administrators, and advocates of services to young handicapped children, the casebook is designed to create awareness of the key dimensions of interagency coordination; to describe practices that are replicable or adaptable to other settings and which may facilitate linkages; and to provide a framework for planning…

This publication describes Utah's Handicapped Child Data Project, an interagency effort to share information among agencies dealing with developmentally disabled persons and establish a central registry. Five action steps in such a venture are noted, including identifying potential sources of information on state and individual levels, decreasing…

Aimed at both policy makers and service providers, this report assesses services and policies regarding adolescent parents and pregnant adolescents and recommends a number of additions and changes. The first chapter examines the services already offered to pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents, including counseling, family planning,…

The handbook was developed by the 3-year Valley Transitional School Project, serving Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro schools, all located in Augusta County, Virginia. The purpose of the project was to develop and validate a model which would assist school youth with severe disabilities to make the transition from school to employment, in the…

This booklet provides technical assistance for those interested in the collaboration process for early childhood programs and is based on the experiences of Collaborative Partnerships in Florida. Section 1 of the document describes the collaborative grant process in Florida with the goal of improving early childhood services and outlines eight key…

This user's guide, the first of four modules for similar benefits usage, is the result of a project of the University of Michigan Rehabilitation Research Institute in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) model program evaluation unit to examine the issue of similar benefits in the state-federal rehabilitation…

This user's guide, the second of four training modules for similar benefits usage, is the result of a project of the University of Michigan Rehabilitation Research Institute in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) model program evaluation unit to examine the issue of similar benefits in the state-federal…

This user's guide, the third of four training modules for similar benefits usage, is the result of a project of the University of Michigan Rehabilitation Research Institute in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) model program evaluation unit to examine the issue of similar benefits in the state-federal…

This user's guide, the last of four training modules for similar benefits usage, is the result of a project of the University of Michigan Rehabilitation Research Institute in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) model program evaluation unit to examine the issue of similar benefits in the state-federal…

This guide provides information on using the Illinois Child Care Subsidy System in order to assist Illinois early childhood education and care programs in collaborating with other agencies and programs to plan and provide quality, consistent early care and education services for low-income families and their children. The guide also discusses…

This handbook is intended to assist South Carolina parents of children with severe emotional disturbances as they participate in the state's "Continuum of Care" program, which attempts to provide community based treatment in the least restrictive environment for each client. The handbook begins with a letter from a parent of an autistic…

This Texas plan to improve information and referral services in the area of developmental disabilities recommends an approach which focuses on providing improvements incrementally, spacing benefits over time, and periodically reassessing direction, alternatives, and costs/benefits. The plan stresses building a network which provides greater public…