Using Systems Change Strategies to

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Using Systems Change Strategies to Support
Children Birth to Five in Natural and Inclusive
Environments
Preschool LRE Community of Practice September 28,
2004 Jan Thelen, Nebraska Department of
Education Early Childhood Special Education
Coordinator jthelen_at_nde.state.ne.us Jeanine
Huntoon, Nebraska Department of Education Early
Childhood Specialist jhuntoon_at_nde.state.ne.us
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What was the Impetus for our Systems Change? The
Law Says
The Federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) requires that early
intervention (EI) services under Part C for
infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth
to three years of age
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be provided in natural environments and that
early childhood special education (ECSE) services
under Part B for children ages three through
five be provided in least restrictive
environments.
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Natural and least restrictive environments means
settings that are natural or normal for the
childs age peers who do not have disabilities.
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Where We Began
1998 OSEP Part C Monitoring visit to Nebraska
need to provide services in natural environments

• 1999 2001
• Creation of state-level Natural Environments
  Task Force by co-lead agencies for Part C
  (NDE-HHS)
• Multiple trainings, workshops and forums across
  the state by various experts (J. Woods, L.
  Edelman, R. McWilliam, M. B. Bruder, D. Rush, M.
  Shelden, S. Walsh)

• Spring 2001
• Task Force additional Stakeholders meet to
  develop recommend comprehensive statewide plan
  for personnel development B-5
• Adopted two pronged approach (1) systems change
  model for EI/ECSE practitioners Personal
  Development Support model (Dathan Rush MLisa
  Shelden) (2) Companion model for child care
  providers Special Care training (Child
  Development Resources)

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Where We Began (cont.)

• Spring 2001
• Memo to stakeholders statewide inviting
  nomination of LICC Teams to include
• Administrator/ supervisor
• ECSE teacher
• PT, OT, SLP
• Services coordinator

Summer 2001 Stakeholder meeting to customize PDF
material to reflect state SPED and Co-lead
rules and regulations

• Oct. 2001-Oct. 2002
• 3 day PDF Institutes
• All 29 LICCs represented
• 140 facilitators trained

• Oct. 2002-Oct. 2003
• One day PDFI follow-up meetings

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Support Level One

• State-level early intervention and early
  childhood special education program staff,
  regional teams of early childhood leaders from
  across the state, and other selected key
  stakeholders serve as personal development
  facilitators (coaches).

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Support Level Two

• Early childhood staff receive ongoing coaching
  by the personal development facilitators.

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Support Level Three

• Families and other care providers who
  participate in early childhood programs receive
  coaching from service coordinators, therapists,
  and teachers.

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Purpose of the PDF Model

• To support the delivery of services in natural
  and least restrictive environments by assisting
  teams of recognized leaders from across the state
  to function as personal development facilitators.

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Goals of the PDF Model

• Support Nebraska in increasing the numbers of
  children with disabilities served in natural and
  least restrictive environments.
• Improve quality of early intervention and early
  childhood special education services and supports
  provided in and across natural and least
  restrictive settings.
• Build statewide capacity for ongoing, continuous
  improvement

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Philosophical Underpinnings
The purpose of early childhood intervention is
to support care providers B-5 in developing the
competence and confidence to help the child learn.
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Core Values Beliefs

• Culturally Competent, Family-Centered Care
• Every family is unique
• We honor the diversity of families
• The family is the expert on the child and
  the constant in the childs life
• Families are equal team members

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Core Values Beliefs

• Natural Learning Environments
• Opportunities for learning occur as part of
  typical life activities both routine and
  spontaneous
• Our role is to assist care providers to support
  or increase the childs participation in
  existing or desired activity settings
• Our focus is on activities and settings that
  are interesting and important to
  the child and family

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Core Values Beliefs

• Learner-Focused Intervention
• Teachers and care providers are the primary
  learners rather than the child

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Core Values Beliefs

• Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special
  Education Staff as Coaches
• Coaching is a reciprocal process
• The coach recognizes and uses the knowledge,
  skills, experience, and interests of the
  learner
• The coach supports the care
  providers to help the child learn

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Core Values Beliefs

• Functional Outcomes Meaningful Supports
• Supports are designed to achieve outcomes that
  make a meaningful difference in the life of the
  child
• Supports occur within and are a part of
  real-life
• We use evidence-based practices

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Evidence-Based Practices
Practices that are informed by research, in
which the characteristics and consequences of
environmental variables are empirically
established and the relationship directly informs
what a practitioner can do to produce a desired
outcome. (Dunst, Trivette, Cutspec, 2002)
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Traditional Paradigm

• Treatment models
• Expertise models
• Deficit-based models
• Service-based models
• Professionally-centered models
• (Dunst 2000)

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New Paradigm

• Promotion models
• Capacity-building models
• Strengths-based models
• Resource-based models
• Family-centered models
• (Dunst 2000)

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Our Goal
Promoting the childs ability to be and do by
facilitating the familys or care providers
ability to enhance the childs development using
what they consider important. (Shelden Rush,
2001)
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The Role of Personal Development Facilitators
(PDF)

• To engage early childhood staff and families
  within their region in an interactive and ongoing
  learning process related to providing support in
  natural and least restrictive environments using
  the process of coaching.

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Criteria for Selection of PDF

• Function in a leadership role
• Have knowledge of state policies, procedures, and
  guidelines
• Be competent in own discipline and in the area of
  early childhood
• Be well respected by staff and parents

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Criteria for Selection cont.

• Be able to function as a coach
• Be interested in serving as a coach for others in
  the region
• Have time to provide coaching within the region

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Expectations of PDF

• Participate in the Personal Development
  Facilitator Institute (PDFI)
• Provide coaching to staff and families
• Work with team to create a Team Development Plan
• Participate in quarterly follow-up meetings

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Purpose of the PDF Institute

• To coach leaders how to engage early childhood
  staff and contractors within their region in an
  interactive and ongoing learning process related
  to providing supports in natural and least
  restrictive environments through the use of
  classroom-based training curricula, just-in-time
  learning, and the process of coaching.

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Objectives of the Institute

• 1) To obtain knowledge of the content (what) and
  process (how) to provide ongoing support to early
  childhood staff and families to ensure that
  supports are provided in accordance with the
  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (IDEA).

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Objectives cont.

• 2) To demonstrate skills in coaching and training
  for early childhood staff and families.

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Objectives cont.

• 3)To establish a support network among early
  childhood leaders for the purpose of coaching and
  training how to effectively provide supports.

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Institute Training Process

• Provide overview of module content
• Key issues
• Materials
• Practice coaching based on key issues module
  content
• Demonstrate knowledge of policies procedures
• Challenge bowl
• Provide opportunities for practice

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Institute Content Modules

• The Process of Coaching
• Natural and Least Restrictive Environments
• Gathering Information
• Evaluation Assessment
• Report-Writing
• IFSP

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Institute Content Modules cont.

• Learner-Focused Intervention
• Primary Coach Approach
• Supporting Teachers in Preschool Child Care
  Settings

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Coaching

• The strategy a primary coach uses to build the
  capacity of care providers to promote child
  learning and development in family, community,
  and early childhood settings.

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What is Coaching?

• Coaching is not telling people what to do its
  giving them a chance to examine what they are
  doing in light of their intentions. (Flaherty,
  1999)

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What is Coaching?

• Coaching is developing people on purpose.
  Coaching involves (the other person) in the
  process of planning, creating, and problem
  solving.
• (Doyle, 1991)

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Operational Definition of Coaching

• Coaching is an interactive process of reflection
  and feedback used to provide support and
  encouragement, refine existing practices, develop
  new skills, and promote continuous
  self-assessment and learning.

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Our Definition

• Coaching in early childhood is an interactive
  process of observation and reflection in which
  the coach promotes the other persons ability to
  support the child in being and doing. Being with
  the partners in life who the child wants and
  needs to be with and doing what he wants and
  needs to do.
• (Shelden Rush, 2001)

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The Coaching Process Summarized

• Initiation
• Observation
• Action
• Reflection
• Evaluation of the Coaching Process

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Features of the Comprehensive, Ongoing Support
Model

• Quarterly web-based meetings or conference calls
• Regional awareness-level training
• Administrators training
• Master Coach Training
• Summer Institute
• Continuous refinement and ongoing development of
  model with Rush and Shelden

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Lessons Learned (so far)

• Supports need to be provided to new and
  developing teams as system grows
• Provision of resources is critical
• Importance of direct link to local/state
  self-assessment process
• Readiness of local teams for change
• Local and state administrative buy-in is
  essential to systems change
• Using evidence-based practices is key!

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Were Part of a Bigger Picture

• Systems change work in higher education (SCRIPT
  and Natural Allies)
• Nebraskas Early Learning Guidelines (Good Start,
  Grow Smart)
• No Child Left Behind (standards, assessment and
  accountability measuring EC outcomes)
• Nebraska State Board of Education
• EC Policy Study
• Essential Education

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We leave you with this
(Change) is a time for new imaginings, of
windows opening even if some doors close. We need
not stumble backwards into the future, casting
longing glances at what used to be we can turn
around and face a changed reality. It is, after
all, a safer posture if you want to keep moving.
(Handy, 1989)
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We gratefully acknowledge and credit the work
of Dathan R. Rush and MLisa L. Shelden, Puckett
Institute, Morganton, NC, in the development and
ongoing implementation of the PDF model in
Nebraska. We also express our deep
appreciation to Dathan and MLisa for allowing us
to include their materials in this presentation.
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Questions Discussion
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Gotcha, Jan!