Recent Findings and Resources for Early Childhood Intervention Programs

1. Recent Findings and Resources for Early Childhood Intervention Programs Deborah Parrish Vice President for the Education, Human Development and the Workforce Program, AIR Presented at the Conference on Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities Moscow, September 2011

2. Overview of Presentation • Recent Findings from Preschool for All Evaluation, San Mateo, California • Use of Ages and Stages Screening Tool • Case Study of a Collaborative Inclusion Model • Evaluation of a partner agency’s services: the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Project

3. Overview of Presentation, continued • Resources from AIR’s work for national (USA) Technical Assistance Centers: • National Center on Response to Intervention • Center for Early Literacy Learning • Project Launch

4. Preschool for All (PFA) Process Evaluation, San Mateo and San Francisco Counties • State-supported high quality preschool programs meeting minimum quality criteria and inclusive of all children • AIR evaluation examined all aspects of program implementation, 2005-2010 • Focus on findings from 3 sub-studies: • Use of Ages and Stages Screening Tool • Case Study of Collaborative Inclusion Model • Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Project

5. Ages and Stages Screening Tool • ASQ for children 4-60 months old; ASQ:SE for children 6 months to 5 years old • Annual requirement for all PFA children • Completed with parental input • Includes communication, gross and fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social skills • Cut-off scores indicate need for follow-up assessment(s) and diagnosis

6. Ages and Stages Screening Findings • Helped staff establish positive relationships with parents early in the program year • Identified children early for further evaluation, assessment, and special services • Indicated need for standardized decision rules for results close to the cut-off scores – and related teacher training for consistency • Required time and expense to enable teachers to be trained and participate in screenings with parents

7. Collaborative Inclusion Model • PFA teachers desired more training, support, and specialized staff to serve children with diagnosed special needs in their classrooms • Strong and effective partnerships and vehicles for communication among key agencies were critical to success • Parent partnerships were strongly encouraged and parent feedback was extremely positive • Close physical proximity to trained special education providers was a facilitating factor

8. Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Consultation Project • ECMH funded through PFA as a support to staff and families, providing staff/parent training, prevention, and early intervention services to address children’s behavior and social-emotional well-being • PFA teachers reported ECMH as “highly effective;” parents modified their parenting practices and communication with teachers • Children were served who were not eligible for services elsewhere

9. Resources • National Center on Response to Intervention, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) http://www.rti4success.org/ • Center for Early Literacy Learning(OSEP) http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/productsct.php • Project Launch, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) http://projectlaunch.promoteprevent.org/

10. Deborah Parrish Phone: 650-843-8109 E-Mail: debparrish@air.org 2800 Campus Drive, Suite 200 San Mateo, CA, 94403 USA Website: www.air.org