Until recently, Indiana was one of only a few states in the nation without a state-funded pre-K program. Recently, however, The Hoosier State has slowly begun to build pre-K offerings by investing in pilot programs in a handful of counties throughout the state. Now, Indiana lawmakers are looking ahead to a 2017 legislative session in which…

In this issue of "Odyssey," Joanne Corwin describes New Mexico's statewide partnership among several agencies for the provision of early intervention services to infants and children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families (Effective Partnering of State Agencies to Achieve Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Benchmarks,…

Governors recognize that promoting school readiness is a key strategy for preventing school failure and subsequent costs to society in the form of remedial education services, health and social services, criminal justice services, and lost tax revenue. Supporting the readiness of young children at risk for school failure is critical to the…

This paper describes the Oklahoma Statewide Training and Regional Support (STARS) program, a system of early intervention inservice training developed to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part H. Major challenges included identification of technical assistance needs, facilitation of training attendance, identification…

This publication emerged from an invitational meeting held by "Project Zero to Three" to address how best to provide effective, culturally sensitive, and comprehensive early intervention programs to all infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in an equitable way. Following an overview of the concept of culture and how that…

Early Start is a center-based program for four-year-old children at risk of academic failure because of their home or community environment. The state-funded program successfully incorporated literacy activities into a supportive environment which informally encouraged practice with early reading and writing. (Author/JDD)

This fifth annual report describes activities of Colorado's Statewide system of services and supports in compliance with Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The report notes an increasing emphasis on the following: values-oriented planning with extensive family involvement, interagency coordination, coordinated…

This project worked to help community programs and interagency groups develop fluid organizational structures and better assist staff and parents in the provision of family-centered, community-based early intervention services for young children with disabilities and their families. Highlights of the service model include transdisciplinary…

In-depth case studies were conducted in six states, concerning interagency service coordination in implementing Part H of Public Law 99-457, which calls for a comprehensive and coordinated system of service delivery to developmentally delayed infants and toddlers and their families. Major findings included: (1) states were unable to answer…

This study was conducted to measure the progress that states have made with regard to the 14 components in Part H of Public Law 99-457, after about 1 year of funding. Forty-seven State Part H Coordinators completed and returned the State Progress Scale between January and April of 1989. For each of the 14 components, progress was assessed in three…

This report suggests components for a comprehensive statewide inservice training program for personnel involved in implementing the Part H program of Public Law 99-457. These components include: (1) establishment of an inservice program as a requirement for each state participating in Part H; (2) promotion of a statewide comprehensive system of…

Following a 5-year planning and development cycle, Illinois has completed its first year of full implementation of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated system of early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families under provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Among accomplishments noted…

This report on Colorado's efforts to develop early intervention services for infants and toddlers with special needs and their families begins with a planning matrix displaying the program's philosophical base, methods, and system components. The report points out that the statewide service system should be designed to ensure access for all…

A statewide staff mentoring program was developed in Illinois as an option for providing a personalized, intensive approach to training early intervention personnel on a large scale. Evaluation results for the initial period of developing the process and for the first eight trainer-trainee dyads suggest this approach is individualized,…

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…