This research utilized a blend of quantitative and qualitative research designs to explore the perceptions held by early interventionists regarding family-centred care, cultural diversity, and cultural sensitivity. The Executive Directors (N = 11) of early intervention programs in Nova Scotia completed the Cultural Diversity in Early Intervention…

This paper argues that early interventionists' awareness of their own cultural beliefs is an essential first step in developing effective collaboration with culturally different families. Areas of potential dissonance between professionals and families include interpretation of the meaning of disability, concepts of family structure and identity,…

Four Native American tribes have successfully integrated services for children into their child care programs. Two tribes operate child care and Head Start-preschool programs in the same facility. Another tribe runs a child care program with extensive outreach and assistance for families with special needs children. The fourth has a child care…

This article discusses the increasing population of children from diverse backgrounds and suggests commonsense methods for team development of cultural competence for the provision of appropriate early intervention services to linguistically and culturally diverse families. Recommendations for using interpreters and developing models for family…

Discusses a family-centered assessment and intervention approach that empowers and enables families in the selection and use of assistive technology by young children with disabilities. It considers key characteristics of parent/professional partnerships; child, family, technology, and service-system domains; and the use of culturally sensitive…

This article discusses ways service providers can enhance their working relationships with families of children with special needs. It offers practical guidelines to service providers when selecting materials they plan to use and share with children and their families, such as curriculum packages, information packets, brochures, CD-ROMS,…

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on family support services for families with young children with disabilities. Within the last two decades, the focus of early intervention has begun shifting from child-centered to family-centered practice with an emphasis on providing comprehensive family support in the delivery of…

This theme issue focuses on family-centered practices and policies for service delivery. The first article, "Family-Centered Service Delivery," reports on a study of 130 published sources in education, social work, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, and related disciplines, which found that the key components of family-centered…

This article identifies three areas in early childhood special education which need further work: working with families to define social outcomes, expanding our definition of social behaviors and moving toward a framework based on social relationships, and developing interventions that are socially valid, ecologically valid, and sustainable across…

This monograph provides a framework for programs, states, and organizations to think about the issues in developing culturally competent programs for families of children with special needs, and offers a variety of examples from programs across the country that are providing exemplary services. The monograph is designed to help program makers…

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…

The purpose of this report is to review the existing literature on the use of interpreters, and to make recommendations that will promote effective communication among family members, professionals, and untrained interpreters during IEP/IFSP meetings and family conferences. Effective communication between professionals and families is crucial in…

This article comments on a previous article that uses interviews from 250 Latino parents of children with mental retardation to demonstrate three ways of analyzing qualitative interview data (content, cultural models, and narrative analyses). It discusses the implementation of interventions that fit the cultural models of parents as a component of…

This report discusses policies and practices for family-directed child evaluation and assessment under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The scope of the report includes practices across the early childhood spectrum, from birth through 5 years. Commonly used terminology is defined. Issues discussed include: the primacy of…

This manual contains the Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Questionnaire (CCSAQ), a measure designed to assist service agencies working with children with disabilities and their families in self-evaluation of their cross-cultural competence. The measure is based on the Child and Adolescent Service System Program Cultural Competence Model. This…