This response to an article evaluating Indiana's early intervention service delivery (EC 628 669) notes additional important aspects such as the central finance model used, the value of the Indiana data system in tracking the amount and type of services provided, the incentive provided to complete all the Individual Family Service Plan data…

Once children have entered into the early intervention system, ongoing developmentally appropriate assessment is crucial. A critical component is monitoring child progress in relation to education and intervention goals or outcomes. For infants and toddlers, whose performance often cannot be documented using traditional assessment and…

Individualized family service plans (IFSPs) should reflect the concerns and priorities of the families for which the plan is written. Families with low incomes that live in rural areas may have unique concerns and priorities due to their financial circumstances and where they live. In this study, qualitative methods were used to examine the…

This article outlines principles of support services for families of children with disabilities. It then considers characteristics of parents of young children who are deaf/hard of hearing (e.g., gender, hearing status, socioeconomic status, and cultural/linguistic status) and child characteristics (age at diagnosis, hearing level, and additional…

Program development for children with special health management needs calls for acquisition of intake information from the child's family and service professionals, a continuum of options for health services, an individualized family service plan or individualized education program, an emergency protocol, and consideration of legal issues. (JDD)

This response to an article evaluating Indiana's early intervention service delivery (EC 628 669) identifies implications of the study including: service intensity is relatively light; service location and context and the process of Individualized Family Service Plan formulation should be examined; implementation should be treated as an…

Evidence is presented regarding the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of scores for an investigator-developed individualized family service plan (IFSP) rating scale. One hundred and twenty IFSPs were rated using a 12-item instrument, the IFSP Rating Scale (McWilliam & Jung, 2001). Using principal components factor…

Comments on an article by Dunst and Bruder. Service coordination was supposed to be one of the major jewels in the legislative crown for young children with disabilities and their families. The authors have cast their experienced eyes on the heart of the matter, which is the models of service coordination that sprang to life almost immediately…

The first meetings with a family, including the first Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting, set the tone for the family's emerging relationship with early intervention professionals. The IFSP meeting and document are a vehicle for parents and professionals to partner together to target outcomes that are meaningful to the family and to…

This study evaluated costs associated with implementation of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) for infants and young children with disabilities at four California sites. Specifically the study examined: (1) IFSP and existing service planning process costs in time and dollars; (2) the impact of IFSP processes on agencies and families; and…

This booklet for parents of young children with disabilities describes Colorado's Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) process. It provides information on IFSP guidelines, relates family stories and reflections for families and providers, and describes the values that drive the IFSP process in Colorado. Information is provided on…

This study examined the efficacy of parents roles as active and discerning members of their childrens Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) through the use of a large randomly selected sample with a high respondent rate. Families were selected from the special education roster in an urban district. Of the 95 families selected, 83 parents completed…

Interviewed parents and staff of Stepping Stones, a project to transition severely disabled children from home-based intervention program to preschool, to identify concerns and information needs. Found that parents were unsure about educational objectives for non-disabled children at the preschool and were therefore uncertain about what to expect…

Discussion of the role of play in development of young children with disabilities considers the different forms of play as the child develops, the social nature of play, contexts and play materials, and the value of including play goals and strategies in the individualized family service plan or individual education program developed cooperatively…

Notes that full inclusion of special needs children into regular early childhood settings is supported by research in terms of social and behavioral outcomes. Details observations of an inclusive preschool classroom utilizing integrated therapy for three special needs children. Highlights the themes revealed: integrated therapy and teacher…