A series of self-study questions is presented to examine policy and practice issues important in developing culturally competent programs for children with special needs and their families. Cultural competence refers to a program's ability to honor and respect the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes, and behaviors both of families who are…

This final report describes the activities and accomplishments of the Consultation and Administration Specialists in Early Intervention Project (CASEI). This federally funded project was developed to provide cross-disciplinary preservice training for early intervention (EI) specialists in Illinois. Students were recruited from a broad range of…

Even Start is a comprehensive program of family support intended to help parents provide children who are at-risk with the tools necessary to start formal schooling. This report provides an overview of the conference agendas of three U.S. Department of Education Even Start Technical Assistance conferences, as well as information gathered from the…

This report presents findings of an analysis that identified gaps between the Ohio education system and national education goals. Data were collected during 1992 and 1993 by the Ohio Department of Education, which elicited feedback from policymakers at a 1992 seminar, conducted interviews with local teams representing school districts and…

This study explored current University of Nebraska graduate course offerings which address content relative to infants, families, and/or the professional teamwork associated with services to handicapped or at-risk infants, toddlers, and their families. Faculty from 12 departments were surveyed as to their interest in interdisciplinary,…

The state of Washington implemented the Readiness to Learn program as part of the state's Family Policy Initiative. The primary goal of the program is to serve as a formal link between education and human services by authorizing grants to local school-linked, community-based consortia to develop and implement strategies that ensure children arrive…

In order to provide specialists and families with regular feedback on client change, to enhance the clinical decision-making skills of family specialists, and to provide target groups with information related to program effectiveness, a 12-week plan to improve outcome measures and evaluation protocol in a preservation and reunification program was…

Over the 3 years of funding, 1983-1986, the Volunteers in Partnership with Parents Project (VIPP), a Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP) Model Demonstration Program funded by the U.S. Department of Education, designed and implemented a program model for parents in rural North Carolina who had significantly handicapped preschool…

This final report describes a one-year qualitative research study that explores service coordination to children with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) and their families. First, the project's conceptual framework, an ecological approach, is briefly explained. Next, the concept of service coordination is discussed, noting the role of the…

This federally funded project was designed to achieve three goals: (1) to test the effectiveness of an individualized behaviorally based developmental approach to providing early intervention services to very low birthweight preterm infants (and their families) in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU); (2) to evaluate this approach with low-risk,…

The Families Matter series of papers from the Harvard Family Research Project advances the concept of family-centered child care, advocating an approach to early childhood education that addresses the development of the child and family together. Grounded in family support principles, which build on family strengths and work from a community's…

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a project designed to prepare early interventionists and preschool teachers to serve children with vision and hearing impairments. The purpose of the project was to build upon existing early childhood special education and sensory impairment programs across two universities, the University…

The Comprehensive Services Program of Palm Beach County, Florida, was an ambitious and innovative effort to improve the school readiness of low-income children in Palm Beach County by identifying needs early and providing early intervention services to support physical, cognitive, and emotional health and development. Services were delivered to…

Prior to the 1986 passage of PL 99-457, an extension of the special services coverage under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, early intervention programs were primarily interventionist directed and child focused. The new legislation provided incentives for providing programs that were family-centered and family-driven. The goal of…

This book reports on a study of the urban poor in New York City focusing on the effectiveness of a model of service for this population. The project studied 160 families who were clients of the Lower East Side Family Union, an agency that aims to prevent foster care placement and to help clients mobilize their own coping capacities and to make…