Service coordinators (SCs) in Part C early intervention (EI) programs fulfill critical supportive roles assisting families in accessing and successfully navigating services needed for their infants/toddlers identified with delays or disabilities. However, evidence of effective training for SCs is limited. One state scaled up training in the…

To examine the impact of developmental monitoring on child referrals, a retrospective data review, comparing seven pilot programs with seven matched controls in Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was completed. Pilot programs were trained on developmental monitoring and how to refer families to their…

Many children with developmental disabilities are not identified before age 3 years of age, preventing them from being able to fully benefit from early intervention services. Early childhood educators, particularly those in Early Head Start (EHS) programs, are important partners in the early identification of children with developmental delays.…

Population-based research can identify eligibility patterns across e disabilities and cultures, and the Head Start ECLKC gathers relatively controlled data of students in the United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico, providing an opportunity to directly compare cultures. We compared preschool diagnostic eligibility categories in the U.S. and Puerto…

Early intervention services are an important federally funded program for families with children under three years of age who may be diagnosed with or are at risk of developmental delay or disability. The program's impacts can be profound: Early intervention helps strengthen cognitive, motor, and language skills; reduces the likelihood of…

Early detection and access to interventions for developmental delays in young children have been shown to improve health, social, and academic outcomes later in life. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors associated with caregivers' perception of child developmental concerns in low-income communities. A countywide survey was…

The Shaping Futures Together agenda highlights policies and investments that families and practitioners say will ensure all children thrive. This playbook provides recommended policy and research strategies that Start Early believes will help to realize those priorities. Each section includes legislative and administrative policy recommendations…

It is a matter of concern when large, federally funded programs are evaluated using designs that produce misleading information. In this article, we discuss problems associated with an evaluation design that was adopted by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to document the performance of a major early…

Although extensive research exists on vocabulary instruction during book reading in preschool classroom, comparatively little research has been conducted on vocabulary exposure in classroom play contexts and child vocabulary outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine Head Start teacher and child vocabulary use in dyadic play sessions and…

The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Teaming and Collaboration: Building and Sustaining Partnerships" is…

Infants and toddlers who live in poverty are more likely to experience developmental delays or disabilities and less likely to access early intervention (EI) services. The federal initiative Race to the Top--Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) was designed to increase access to high quality early learning programs for children at risk for…

Parents' interactions with their children can have influential effects on children's language outcomes. Special supports may be needed however, when young children live in poverty and show developmental delays early in life. This study analyzed data for a subset of children enrolled in Early Head Start (EHS) programs and participating in a…

Background: Preschool children who are at risk have been shown to demonstrate developmental delays in their fundamental motor skills. The body of research on motor skill development of children indicates that these children, when provided with motor skill instruction, significantly improved their locomotor and object control (OC) skill…

A substantial and growing share of the population, immigrant children are more likely than children with native-born parents to face a variety of circumstances, such as low family income, low parental education, and language barriers that place them at risk of developmental delay and poor academic performance once they enter school. Lynn Karoly…

Authentic assessment is a growing alternative to conventional testing. This research-to-practice article describes a framework for implementing authentic assessment. The R-E-A-L framework shows how roles, equipment, assessment tools, and location can be incorporated into early childhood practices.