The COVID-19 crisis has made delivering early intervention services much more challenging and could exacerbate racial inequities in health and education. But we can only fix what we can measure--so it is vital that states collect and report better data. A survey of state coordinators of early intervention services in fall 2020 focused on Black and…

Just as schools are working to appropriately address K-12 students' unfinished learning caused by the pandemic, early intervention systems are focusing on addressing the missed opportunities the pandemic created for young children and their families. Young children missing these opportunities for early intervention services are potentially at…

All eligible infants and toddlers who receive early intervention services under Part C of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are entitled to service coordination. To examine the effectiveness of one state's service coordination training and its impact on knowledge and skill development, a pretest--posttest design with follow-up survey was…

Although Early Head Start (EHS) is a federal-to-local program, there are opportunities for collaboration at the state level that have expanded in recent years. State leaders can seize opportunities to break down silos and create collaborative state systems and programs to better meet the needs of vulnerable young children in their states. This…

A State Implementation Grant Program (SIG) project coordinated an interagency approach to services for handicapped children, from birth to 3 years of age, in Maryland. A SIG panel was established from representatives of public and private agencies and consumers. The panel first identified existing services for the population (the matrix of…

The document reports the first year's accomplishments of the New York State Implementation Grant to improve the delivery of services to handicapped children ages birth to 5 years. Activities are discussed for the following areas: developing guidelines supporting legislation, developing a written plan as part of the annual state plan, establishing…

The document presents findings of a task force on services to disturbed children in Illinois which focuses on services relating to early identification and treatment during infancy and early childhood. A review of research showed that services during early childhood can effectively help many individual children toward living more fully functional…

A study was conducted to develop baseline information on special education early intervention programs. A review of the literature revealed the following: the effects of a stimulating or depriving environment appear to be most powerful in the early years of childhood; there is evidence that the effects of early intervention programs for children…

Noting that prevention is the key to healthy development of the youngest children in Illinois, the Birth to Three Project is working to develop a comprehensive, coordinated system of services for expecting families and children under 3 years of age. This progress report details the first year implementation of the All Our Kids (AOK): Birth to…

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…

The final report describes major activities accomplished during the 1981-82 project year to develop a comprehensive plan in New York State for handicapped children, aged 3-5, and to accelerate services to handicapped infants through Regional Early Childhood Direction Centers (RECDC). Briefly discussed are the processes for the following outcomes:…

Information about the early intervention service systems in 20 states was gathered and organized into dimensions of a framework for describing early intervention systems at the state and local levels. Results indicate considerable variation exists on eligibility criteria, agencies involved in early intervention, and models of intake and service…

Representatives of several states met to identify basic elements of a tracking system designed to ensure that disabled and at-risk infants and their families receive continuous and appropriate services to improve health and developmental outcome. Discussants explored six clusters of questions concerning the following: realistic goals and…

This article highlights the complexity of and critical need for service coordination for medically fragile infants and their families through an in-depth case study of a child and his family who "slipped through the cracks" of the system. The retrospective analysis describes problems and suggests alternative strategies for more effective…

This report presents the methodology and findings of a survey of state coordinators implementing Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The survey, conducted to examine the nature and scope of interagency coordination efforts, was completed and returned by 38 coordinators. Nine areas of coordination are addressed: major…