This resource package provides guidelines for use in New Zealand to: (1) help early childhood personnel develop their response to children's special education needs; (2) create confidence among early childhood staff that they are able to cope with children who require special attention; (3) help staff plan for additional resources that may be…

This booklet focuses on screening tests that can be developed and used at educational assessment and resource centers, for assessment and early intervention with handicapped children and young people, especially in developing countries. The first part, titled "Guidelines on the Establishment of Educational Assessment and Resource Centres" by…

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…

This final report describes a project in Vermont which developed, implemented, evaluated, and disseminated a program development model for establishing new, and for improving existing, comprehensive early childhood special education services to young (birth to 5 years) children with disabilities and their families in rural settings. The model…

A simplified method to gather and analyze cost data is presented for administrators of Handicapped Children's Early Education Programs, and specifically for members of the Technical Assistance Development System, North Carolina. After identifying benefits and liabilities associated with analyzing program costs, attention is focused on the internal…

This guide is based on the principles and methods used at Rise, Incorporated, a sheltered workshop providing successful industry-integrated programs for handicapped persons. It is intended to serve as a model both for existing service providers who are interested in retooling their program in the direction of industrial work services and other…

In October 1983 Pathfinder, an organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded a federal grant to develop a community network model serving children with chronic health conditions and their families. This document describes the model, demonstrated at four sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The model is based on four key assumptions: (1)…

The document contains materials relating to the annual meeting of the project directors working with the Secondary Transition Intervention Effectiveness Institute, held December 1-2, 1988. The document includes an agenda, summaries of 10 featured project presentations, summaries of 32 poster sessions, a list of meeting participants, and a…

This module addresses the issue of ensuring equal access to recruitment, enrollment, and placement of handicapped and disadvantaged students in vocational programs. Specific guidelines are offered as well as suggested resources. The guide includes a list of definitions and uses a question-and-answer format to provide information on equal access,…

This final report presents a description of a 3-year project to develop and implement a model training program (for special education personnel, park and resource management personnel, and parents of disabled children) designed to promote outdoor environmental education for disabled children. The project conducted 22 training workshops (2-5 days)…

The report presents evaluation data on the Cross-Program Training Project to train foster parents, teachers, and social workers who are jointly responsible for the care of special needs children, especially preschoolers. The project featured five major components: (1) site development, (2) training needs assessment on which to develop programing,…

The Delaware FIRST Program is designed to meet the needs of handicapped infants and toddlers through trained family day care providers. The program is based on a developmental family systems approach. It strives to provide families with ongoing support by offering mainstreamed family day care or respite care, by developing and/or facilitating an…

Family support services are systematic efforts to support natural, adoptive, or foster families who have a family member with a disability. Programs vary in the types of services offered, goals, and number of families served. The most promising approaches to family support provide services that are flexible and individualized, build on informal…

This paper provides a brief review of the issues regarding families in early intervention programs for handicapped children and proposes the assessment of family needs as a first step in designing family-focused interventions. While traditional approaches to early intervention tend to be exclusively child-focused, professionals are encouraged to…