The Department Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is a new cabinet level agency focused on the well-being of children. The vision is to ensure that "Washington state's children and youth grow up safe and healthy-thriving physically, emotionally and academically, nurtured by family and community." (House Bill 1661) DCYF serves as the…

Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on transition planning for students with exceptional needs. This is in part the result of the mandates contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This increased emphasis has revealed a number of shortcomings with how transition planning is done…

Since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), there has been a growing focus on improving the quality of programs for children with disabilities and measuring the results/outcomes of those programs. Across the country, IDEA Part C Programs for Infants and Toddlers and IDEA Part B, Section 619 Preschool…

Key stakeholders who implement Supported Education may find themselves asking two questions: (1) Has Supported Education been implemented as planned?; and (2) Has Supported Education resulted in the expected outcomes? Asking these two questions and using the answers to help improve Supported Education are critical for ensuring the success of one's…

Situated in the heart of the fertile San Joaquin Valley twenty miles north of Fresno, the city of Madera has a population of 56,710 people. Agriculture is the driving force behind the local economy; the area produces more than 100 crops including raisin grapes, almonds, figs, pistachios, alfalfa, corn, milk, cattle and poultry. The total value of…

Administrators across the U.S. are collecting and analyzing program and student-specific data to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), and state performance plans. Although most states are not required to disaggregate data for students who are visually impaired,…

This review traces the evolution from 1971 to the present of a national technical assistance (TA) program to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with special needs. From its beginning as a TA resource for demonstration projects, to linking outreach projects' expertise with state…

This document is intended to assist State Education Agency (SEA) and Lead Agency (LA) staff and technical assistance providers in designing a meaningful evaluation for the State Performance Plan (SPP)/Annual Performance Report (APR) improvement activities. It provides: (1) information about the relevance of evaluation in the context of improvement…

This directory contains 338 discretionary projects addressing the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that received funds in 2005. It was compiled from 4 volumes separately published by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). The Research to Practice Division of…

Preparing administrators with the capacity to improve instruction for all learners is critical for recruiting and retaining special education teachers. However, recent research points out the need to improve skills of current and future administrators for this role. To address these concerns the special education and administrator preparation…

This directory contains 355 discretionary projects addressing the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that received funds in 2004. It was compiled from 4 volumes separately published by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). The Research to Practice Division of…

Students with low-incidence disabilities frequently receive less than optimal psychoeducational services because the specialized tests and instructional materials required to meet their idiosyncratic needs often are unavailable due to budget constraints, inadequate training of school personnel, and the difficulty school personnel have keeping…

Describes the Community Mental Health Technology Program at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, which provided large numbers of middle-level technicians to work with the handicapped. The article describes program courses and purpose and the types of jobs technicians are qualified to perform. (CT)

This article presents a five-step, structured format to be used in preparing employers for conducting interviews with disabled applicants. Described in this article is a straightforward, convenient tool that can also be used by rehabilitation personnel when providing awareness training and employer education. (Author)

The Discretionary Programs, Parts C through G of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, provide a framework for meeting the unique educational needs of children with disabilities. At this hearing, representatives of disability organizations provided information concerning program effectiveness and program impact on the…