Making a Commitment to Innovation: Supporting Families Through Effective Service Integration

1. Making a Commitment to Innovation: Supporting Families Through Effective Service Integration 2005 OSEP National Early Childhood Conference February 7, 2005 Corinne W. Garland (cgarland@cdr.org) Suzanne Bronheim (bronheis@georgetown.edu) Margaret Ernst (ernstmm@aol.com)

2. GOAL • To create a seamless local system, eliminating both gaps and duplication in services for infants and toddlers, birth to three, with disabilities, delays in development, or who are at-risk and for their families.

3. Partners are members of a Preschool Task Force appointed by city and county government that represented the following: • Public school administrative staff • Community and social service agencies • Health and mental health agencies • Head Start and Community Action Agency • Child Development Resources (Part C and EHS provider) • Family members

4. Preschool Task Force generated recommendations at a policy level. • Implementation recommendations continue to be made by a work group made up of: • Program managers • Providers • Family members

5. Accomplishments to Date

6. Accomplishments • Consolidation of all services under one administrative system • Leveraging local funds to draw down additional EHS funds in 1:4 ratio • Attracting a variety of public and private resources based on system efficiency

7. Accomplishments • Single point of entry to all infant and toddler services: 566-TOTS line and Spanish language line • Single application for all infant and toddler services.

8. Accomplishment • Consistent policies and timelines for: - Referral - Screening - Assessment - Development of written service plans • Development of consistent policies and procedures for public awareness, development of Family Service Plans, and transition

9. Accomplishments • Blended services for: • Play groups • Parent groups • Transportation • Cost accounting system for blended services

10. Accomplishment • Development of a single data base that will be able to generate reports required by multiple funders: • Local Part C lead agency (Colonial CSB) • State agencies (DMHMRSAS & CHIP of VA) • Local government • Two United Ways • Head Start Bureau

11. WORK IN PROGRESS • Continuing to communicate the vision to all stakeholders • Organizational changes to support supervision of blended services • Elimination of salary inequities • Training in reflective supervision for all cluster coordinators and area specialists • Adding child/family outcome measures to database

12. Parent Perspective (Margaret Ernst)

13. PUBLIC POLICY CHALLENGES • State: IFSP form as a barrier to the development of a single written plan for all families • State: Part C Ability to Pay policy requires billing of families based on 1040 form vs. Head Start requirement that families not be charged for EHS • State and Federal: Differences (between Part C and EHS) in age at which transition is required

14. PUBLIC POLICY CHALLENGES • State: 566-TOTS used as central point of entry • Federal: EHS requirement for 90-minute home visit vs. typical Part C 60-minute home visit • Federal: Reauthorization of IDEA, Head Start Act, TANF and CCDBG and resulting changes

15. OTHER CHALLENGES • Communication barriers among staff of different services • Lack of trust • Misperceptions about skill levels of providers in different service systems • Real differences in skills • Communicating systems change

16. Challenges (cont’d) • Generating funds in hostile environment for unserved children and families • Eliminating gaps and duplication in services which have not yet been integrated for children, 3-5 • Turnover among interagency staff – both leadership and providers - creating inconsistencies in vision and expectations within membership of task force

17. QUESTIONS and ANSWERS