Expanding Opportunities Promoting Inclusive Opportunities for Young Children With Disabilities: A Cross Agency Initiative

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Expanding Opportunities Promoting Inclusive
Opportunities for Young Children With
Disabilities A Cross Agency Initiative

• OSEP/NECTAC National Early Childhood Conference
• December 3, 2007
• Washington, DC

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Inclusion Policy Forums

• In 2004, CCB, ADD and OSEP held two policy forums
  to discuss challenges and strategies in the
  inclusion of young children with disabilities in
  community-based settings and activities.
• Participants included parents, service providers,
  researchers, federal, state and local
  administrators and technical assistance
  providers.

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Policy Forum Recommendations

• Create a comprehensive, cross-systems approach to
  inclusion.
• Bring together national-level stakeholders to
  build and implement a common vision.
• Additional recommendations in Awareness/Public
  Relations, Policy, TA and Dissemination,
  Professional Development, Data Collection and
  Analysis, Financing Strategies, Monitoring and
  Accountability, Research.
• Two Project Forum proceedings documents are
  available through NECTACs Expanding
  Opportunities page www.nectac.org/expopps/default
  .asp High Quality Inclusion Opportunities for
  Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities and
  Inclusive Early Care and Education Forum Synthesis

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Cross-Agency Inclusion Initiative

• In response to these Policy Forum
  recommendations, the Child Care Bureau, Office of
  Head Start, Administration for Developmental
  Disabilities and OSEP have invited cross-agency
  teams from 3 to 4 states per year to participate
  in a strategic planning initiative called..

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Expanding Opportunities for Young Children with
Disabilities and Their Families Through
State-Wide Interagency Efforts

• First meeting was held August 2005 as a
  pre-conference day at the Fifth National Early
  Childhood Inclusion Institute in Chapel Hill, NC
• Subsequent teams met in 2006 and 2007.

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Expanding Opportunities (Cont.)

• State teams included representatives from Head
  Start, Child Care, Administration on
  Developmental Disabilities programs, and IDEA
  early childhood programs.
• Teams came together to develop state action plans
  targeted at improving inclusive opportunities for
  young children with disabilities in their state.

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Federal Partnerships

• Child Care Bureau, Office of Head Start and
  Administration on Developmental Disabilities each
  provided funds for the state representative from
  each of their respective agencies to attend the
  meeting.
• Each Federal agency committed their TA network to
  provide follow-up support to the Inclusion Teams
  as they began to implement state plans.

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Technical Assistance Follow-Up

• Once teams returned to their states, Technical
  Assistance Networks from CCB, Office of Head
  Start, OSEP, and ADD began to work with state
  teams on further developing and implementing
  their plans.

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Technical Assistance Contacts

• National Early Childhood Technical Assistance
  Center (NECTAC) www.nectac.org
• National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC)
  http//nccic.org/itcc

• Regional Resource Centers for Special
  Educationwww.rrfcnetwork.org
• National Head Start Training and Technical
  Assistance Resource Center www.hsnrc.org
• Head Start Regional Disabilities Services TA
  Providers

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Participating States

• Year 1 (2005) Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Montana
• Year 2 (2006) Delaware, Idaho, Tennessee,
  Wisconsin
• Year 3 (2007) Kansas, Massachusetts, Oregon

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State Team Contacts

• Florida Kim Galant
• Iowa Mary Schertz
• Montana Karen Martin
• Arizona Valerie Andrews
• Delaware Jim Lesko
• Idaho - Mary Jones

• Tennessee Debbie Cate
• Wisconsin Jill Haglund
• Kansas Jennifer Spencer
• Massachusetts Patricia Cameron
• Oregon Jennifer Olsen

http//www.nectac.org/expopps/states.asp
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Federal Team
From Left to Right Beth Caron, OSEP Nancy
Treusch, OSEP Ginger Johnson, OSEP Jim O'Brien,
HS Jennifer Tschantz, OSEP Zack Poimboeuf, CCB
and Moniquin Huggins, CCB. Jennifer Johnson, ADD,
was not able to attend the meeting.
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Federal Partner Contacts

• Jim OBrien
• Office of Head Start
• Administration for Children and Families
  (ACF)U.S. Department of Health and Human
  Services (HHS) jim.obrien_at_acf.hhs.gov
• Beth Caron
• US Department of Education
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
  Services
• [phone] beth.caron_at_ed.gov

• Moniquin Huggins
• Director, Program Operations
• Child Care Bureau
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at
  HHS
• [phone]
• mhuggins_at_acf.hhs.gov
• Jennifer Johnson
• Administration on Developmental Disabilities
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at
  HHS
• [phone]
• jjohnson1_at_acf.hhs.gov

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Other Initiatives

• CSEFEL
• SpecialQuest
• National Professional Development Center on
  Inclusion (NPDCI)

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Next Early Childhood Inclusions Institute
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State TeamsIdaho
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State TeamsOregon