Service integration is a public policy strategy that brings together many services for highly disadvantaged persons, refashions the delivery of those services to meet individual needs, and increases the possibility of long-term success. Literacy training is an appropriate centerpiece for service integration because it contributes to the long-term…

This technical assistance guide was developed to assist Service Delivery Areas (SDAs) and Private Industry Councils (PICs) to develop local coordination activities and to enhance their ongoing coordination efforts. The guide is organized in five sections. The first section introduces the guide and defines "coordination." It is followed…

This volume presents a comprehensive plan for transition of children with special needs and their families between infant or early intervention services and preschool services, and between preschool services and kindergarten. It aims to help in bridging these services to minimize the stress and increase the promise of early childhood transitions.…

This publication is a guide for institutions of higher education as they work with their federally supported State Postsecondary Review Entity (SPRE) to establish 15 standards for review. SPREs are established by state governments at the direction of the federal 1992 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. They conduct and coordinate review…

Noting that educating children requires commitment and resources from the whole community as well as the schools, this document explores school-based collaborations with social services and family programs to improve students' performance. The document first provides a rationale for school-linked programs, then describes the School-Linked Services…

Early intervention can enhance the development of disabled infants and toddlers and reduce long-term education costs to society, but rural communities may be unable to provide coordinated early-intervention services that include quality child care. Barriers to rural service delivery include economic, geographic, and human-capital factors. Although…

A collaborative program between two university departments aims to better prepare preservice and inservice school counselors and vocational rehabilitation counselors to cooperate in facilitating the transition of individuals with disabilities from school to community living. The program offers preservice (master's level) rehabilitation and…

This report examines family and community experiences in transition from school to post-school life for students receiving special education services. It presents the vision of transition planning in Texas, the state of practice as reflected in a study of 27 students, and conclusions and recommendations. The transition planning vision calls for…

This document was produced for the dual purpose of documenting the methods used between 1990 and 1992 to train interagency teams on interagency collaboration in planning for the school-to-work or school-to-postsecondary education transition of disabled students in Florida and presenting step-by-step guidelines for developing and maintaining…

This report provides an update of statewide activities in Oregon elementary-secondary education, with a focus on cooperative programs. The first part of the article describes how the College of Education at the University of Oregon acts in partnership to meet the growing needs of children, their families, schools, and communities. Public education…

This paper examines issues in establishing an initial social/communicative repertoire with individuals who have severe to profound disabilities, with emphasis on intervention involving the most severely affected. The paper stresses the importance of beginning intervention efforts even before learners show intentional behavior and discrimination of…

This conference presentation describes New York State programs serving elderly mentally retarded (MR) and developmentally disabled (DD) persons. These service providers offer programming that is sensitive to the impact of the aging process, or provide the opportunity to access community aging programs, or a combination. Linkages are being…

This report examines organizational aspects of agencies working to support people with developmental disabilities in supported living arrangements that provide individualized help to enable individuals to live in homes of their choice. The report is based on meetings and interviews with agency directors and staff throughout the country. Part I…

This report focuses on progress in the implementation of Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) through a comparison of states' status on three yearly administrations of the State Progress Scale. The scale was designed to monitor implementation of the required 14 components in the stages of policy development, policy…

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…