HELP IS ON THE WAY! Indiana

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HELP IS ON THE WAY!Indianas System to Increase
Inclusive Care

• Renee S. Kinder
• Indiana Partnership for Inclusive Child Care
  Program Director
• The Indiana Association for Child Care
  Resource Referral

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• The Indiana Partnership for Inclusive Child Care
  Program (IPICC) is a program of the Indiana
  Association for Child Care Resource Referral
  and the Family and Social Services
  Administration, Bureau of Child Care.

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Todays Agenda

• Introductions
• The Indiana Partnership for Inclusive Child Care
  Program (IPICC) History
• Expected Benefits
• Inclusion Specialists Roles
• Training for Inclusion Specialists
• Inclusion Specialists and Paths to QUALITY
• Center Director Inclusion Training
• Lessons Learned
• On the Horizon

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Introductions

• Please share with the group
• Your name
• State
• Position
• Subject to change depending on
  size of
  group.

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IPICC History

• In 1999 we
• Imbedded SpecialCare curriculum into Ivy Tech
  child development courses.
• Received one year of private funding
• Hired Inclusion Coordinator
• Established six CCRR pilot sites
• What do child care providers need and want?
• Provided training and technical assistance to
  providers and families.

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IPICC History

• During year two Inclusion Coordinator
• Conducted on-site consultation visits using the
  Environmental Rating Scales.
• Continued support to six CCRR pilot sites.
• Worked at state level
• State Transition Team
• Special Needs Task Force
• Child Care Health Consultant Project
• Others

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IPICC History

• During the third year
• Collaborated with Riley Child Development Center,
  Riley Hospital for Children.
• Received three years of federal funding from the
  Administration on Developmental Disabilities to
  develop and deliver components of the Indiana
  Partnership for Inclusive
  Child Care Program.

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IPICC History

• Through IPICC we
• Established Inclusion Specialist roles in two
  CCRR agencies to provide
• Enhanced referrals for families of children with
  disabilities
• Community outreach
• Training and technical assistance

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IPICC History

• CELEBRATE!
• Inclusion Specialist role built into CCRR base
  contract in 2004.
• 11 Inclusion Specialists throughout Indiana.

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11 Local Child Care Resource and Referral Service
Delivery Areas
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Expected Benefits

• Children
• Access to quality child care.
• Providers who are responsive to childrens
  developmental needs.
• Continuity of care

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Expected Benefits

• Communities
• Increased awareness of need, quality child care
  issues and knowledge of disability-related
  issues.
• Collaboration of services among partners at the
  local level.
• Increased capacity of child care.

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Expected Benefits

• Ability to engage public/private partnerships and
  leverage other resources.
• Coordination of all related services to children.

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Expected Benefits

• State Benefits
• Development of a coordinated inclusive system of
  child care that will support children, with and
  without disabilities, in child care programs.
• Fully utilized local level services.
• A reduction in the disparity of underserved and
  unserved populations.

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Expected Benefits

• National Benefits
• Demonstration and dissemination of a model for
  other states to replicate.
• A comprehensive child care system supportive of
  including children with disabilities.

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Inclusion Specialists Roles

• Starting in the 2004-2005 contract year
  Specialists roles included
• Providing enhanced referrals for families of
  children with special needs.
• Carrying out community outreach activities.
• Offering training and technical assistance.

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Enhanced Referrals

• Paper intake form
• Completed by Referral Specialist or Inclusion
  Specialist depending on agency.
• Contains components of NACCRRAs
  Quality Assurance.
• Review form

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Something to Consider

• The Americans with Disabilities Act!
• If enhanced referrals are available they must be
  offered to ALL families.
• Through the Indiana Partnership for Inclusive
  Child Care Program we are able to look for
  providers who have experience caring for children
  with special needs. Is this an option youre
  interested in?

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Something to Consider

• Does your child have special needs?
• Asking the question outright is against the
  Americans with Disabilities Act
• The answer may alter the way the service is
  provided
• If the parent reveals their child has a
  disability, is o.k. to ask questions.

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Enhanced Referrals

• Vacancy checks are completed.
• A minimum of three referrals for every family are
  provided within 48 hours.
• Initial packet sent to family.
• Sent with referrals.
• Includes educational materials about inclusive
  child care and family-specific materials.
• Sent to selected provider once established.

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Enhanced Referrals

• Follow up completed with 15 or 20 of families
  (whichever comes first)
• Call within two weeks
• Has care been located?
• Additional services needed?
• Usefulness of enhanced referral service
• Additional information sent to families at 3, 6,
  9 and 12 months after intake.
• Follow up call completed at 9 months to establish
  continuity of care and additional needs.

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Community Outreach

• Developed outreach folders that include
  educational materials and distributed to
• First Steps (birth to three early intervention
  system)
• Special Education Cooperatives (intervention
  system for children three years thru 21 years of
  age)
• Office of Family and Children
• WIC
• Other community agencies

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Community Outreach

• All agencies have developed a bookmark or flyer
  for intervention systems to provide to all of
  their families.
• E-mails sent to all early childhood special
  education staff in schools in service delivery
  area about IPICC project.
• Continue to make contact with other
  disability-related agencies in service delivery
  areas.

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On-Site Technical Assistance

• Inclusion Specialists offer on-site TA at the
  request of
• Family
• Child care provider
• Other service provider
• First Steps
• Special Education Cooperative
• Outside therapist
• Other CCRR staff such as Infant Toddler
  Specialist or Mentor.

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On-Site Technical Assistance

• On-site observations are completed ONLY with
  consent of parent.

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On-Site Technical Assistance

• Inclusion Specialists work with providers to
• Modify the environment as appropriate.
• Make necessary referrals to outside services.
• Talk with families about childs needs.
• Support families.

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On-Site Technical Assistance

• Inclusion Specialists do NOT diagnose children!

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Training

• All Inclusion Specialists are trained on the
  following
• Training methods
• Caring for Children with Special Needs
• Awareness-level canned curriculum
• Child Care plus Curriculum on Inclusion
  Strategies
• Developed by the University of Montana

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Training

• Promoting Childrens Social and Emotional
  Competence
• Based on the Center on Social and Emotional
  Foundations for Early Learning-Vanderbuilt
  University
• Disability-specific information
• The Environmental Rating Scales
• Others based on community needs

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Training

• Specialists are required to provide the following
  in one contract year
• One Caring for Children with Special Needs
  training (2 hours)
• Two Child Care plus content trainings
• One modifications/adaptations training
• One Promoting Infant and Toddler Social and
  Emotional Competence series (12 hours)
• Two Promoting Childrens Social and Emotional
  Competence series (12 hours each)
• Others as determined by needs assessment

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Inclusion Specialists and Paths to QUALITY

• Indianas quality rating system.
• Voluntary program for licensed and registered
  providers.
• Phased-in statewide rollout starting in January,
  2008.
• Rolled out as of July
• 6 agencies
• 57 counties

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Inclusion Specialists and Paths to QUALITY

• Four levels
• Level 1 Health and safety needs of children
• Level 2 Environment supports childrens
  learning
• Level 3 Planned curriculum guides child
  development and school readiness
• Level 4 National accreditation is achieved
• Same expectations for centers, homes and
  ministries.

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Inclusion Specialists and Paths to QUALITY

• A Level 3 Center Indicator
• 11. Plans and environmental accommodations for
  children with special needs are evident.
  Indicators must include
• 1. A written plan is in place for effectively
  caring for children with special needs.
• 2. Space is arranged to provide children of
  different ages and abilities daily access to
  materials and opportunities to engage in play and
  projects without limitation or interference from
  one another.
• 3. Adaptation of materials occurs to provide
  children of different ages and abilities daily
  access to materials and opportunities to engage
  in play and projects without limitations or
  interference from one another.

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Inclusion Specialists and Paths to QUALITY

• 4. The teachers include children in
  age-appropriate self-help activities, such as
  dressing, picking up toys, washing hands, folding
  clothes, serving food, and setting or cleaning up
  meals.
• 5. The teachers answer childrens questions about
  differences in a respectful and factual way.
• From Center Paths to QUALITY Standards

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Inclusion Specialists and Paths to QUALITY

• Inclusion Specialists will
• Deliver trainings to help providers meet
  increased educational requirements.
• Provide on-site technical assistance to help
  providers meet special needs indicator.
• Work with other CCRR mentoring staff to increase
  the overall quality of a program.

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Center Director Training

• A Special Place Inclusive Child Care
  in Indiana
• Requirement for training written into center
  regulations in 2004.
• Two day training required of all Directors of
  Record within six months of hire.
• Delivered two times per month October, 2004-June,
  2006.
• Delivered one time per month from July, 2006 and
  on.
• Offered in various locations throughout state.

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Center Director Training

• Day One
• Disability legislation overview
• Special needs-related licensing regulations
• Training methods
• Defining inclusion
• Person first language

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Center Director Training

• Day One cont
• The Americans with Disabilities Act
• Facilitating inclusion
• Indicators of successful inclusion
• Resources

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Center Director Training

• EXAMPLE OF ACTIVITY
• Disability Legislation Activity
• Put the pieces of disability legislation listed
  on the cards into chronological order.

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Disability Legislation Dates

• Head Start Act
• 1965
• Head Start Act Amendments
• 1972
• The Rehabilitation Act
• 1973
• Education of the Handicapped Act
• 1975

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Disability Legislation Dates

• Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments
• 1986
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• 1990
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• 1990
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  Amendments
• 1997

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Center Director Training

• EXAMPLE OF ACTIVITY
• INCLUSION activity
• Using the letters in INCLUSION, list words that
  describe including children with disabilities
  into community settings.

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Center Director Training

• Day Two
• Promoting Social and Emotional Competence While
  Reducing Challenging Behaviors
• Curriculum developed by the professionals
  affiliated with the Center on the Social and
  Emotional Foundations for Early Learning located
  at Vanderbuilt University

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Center Director Training

• Day Two cont
• Early Childhood Literacy and Learning Inclusive
  Approaches for Children with Special Needs
• The importance of language and literacy for
  children with special needs.
• Teaching tips for facilitating language and
  literacy for children with disabilities.
• Strategies to make language and literacy a part
  of every day activities for ALL children.

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Lessons Learned

• We dont always know what parents want.
• Visiting with families
• Tracking families over long periods of time is a
  challenge!
• Sometimes people dont know what they dont know.
• Fear is the biggest obstacle we have to overcome.

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Lessons Learned

• The ADA does NOT mean the American Dental
  Association.
• Clearly define what Inclusion means.
• Partnerships are vital to the success of the
  project.
• Inclusion Specialists dont need to know
  everything coming in. Its a BIG learning curve!

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Lessons Learned

• We cant save the world in one day.
• This process takes TIME!
• Sometimes a more narrow focus is o.k.
• There is strength in numbers.

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Lessons Learned

• Can we do it?
• YES WE CAN!!!!

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On The Horizon

• Training on Promoting Infant and Toddler Social
  and Emotional Competence information.
• Inclusion Specialists trainings available on-line
  for group.
• Narrowing focus of
  Inclusion Specialists
  work.
• Challenging behaviors?

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On The Horizon

• Continued development of an inclusive environment
  tool.
• Finalize a statewide CCRR
  train-the-trainer model.
• Increased level of on-site technical assistance
  visits and trainings due to Paths to QUALITY.

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• "Success is a journey, not a destination."
• Ben Sweetland, Author

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Contact Information

• Renee S. Kinder
• Indiana Association for Child Care
  Resource Referral
• 3901 N. Meridian Street Suite 350
• Indianapolis, IN 46208
• rkinder_at_iaccrr.org

THANK YOU!