Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 1 Virginia’s System for Determination of Child Progress (VSDCP)

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 2 Orientation to Training Modules Modules Introduction/basic information Determining child status Documentation of child status Case study/videotape demonstration Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Documents and Resources Instructions, forms, tools, resources and references

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 3 Module One Objectives Participants will: Have a basic knowledge of Virginia’s System for Determination of Child Progress (VSDCP) Understand why this system is being put in place Know how the information will be used Know the requirements for implementation including how and when to determine child’s status for each of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) indicators

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 4 What is VSDCP? Mechanism to determine the amount of progress infants and toddlers made during the time they received supports and services through the Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 5 What is Measured? Functional status in relation to same age peers at the time of the Initial Family Service Plan (IFSP) compared to Functional status in relation to same aged peers at the time of exit from the Part C System

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 6 Outcomes/Indicators Each child’s functional status in relation to same age peers is assessed in three broad areas These three areas are referred to as indicators or child outcomes These outcomes/indicators are the same for every child in the Part C System in Virginia and throughout the nation

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 7 Indicators/Child Outcomes Positive social emotional skills (including positive social relationships) Acquisition and use of knowledge and skills (including early language/ communication [and early literacy]) Use of appropriate behaviors to meet their needs

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 8 Child Indicators/Outcomes Developed through an extensive stakeholder process Consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and legislative intent Compatible with best practice (transdisciplinary service models, functional behaviors) Incorporate universal design Reflect functional skills rather than domains

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 9 A Point of Clarification: “Indicators” vs. “Outcomes” The Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center uses the word “outcomes” to refer to both these global child outcomes as well as the individualized child outcomes In Virginia, the word “indicator” refers to the 3 broad OSEP outcomes to distinguish them from individualized IFSP outcomes

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 10 Functional …. Refers to things that are meaningful to the child in the context of everyday living Refers to an integrated series of behaviors or skills that allow the child to function in their daily life Functional skills are not single behaviors, nor are they the sum of a series of discrete behaviors

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 11 Functional Skills are About.. What the child typically does throughout his/her day Actual performance across settings and situations How child uses his/her skills to accomplish tasks They are Not the child’s capacity to function under unusual or ideal circumstances

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 12 Overarching Purpose The ultimate goal is for young children to be active and successful participants now and in the future in a variety of settings– in their homes, in their child care, preschool or school programs, and in the community. Virginia’s System for Determination of Child Progress provides a mechanism to see how successful the state and local systems are in helping children reach this goal.

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 13 Benefits of Measuring Child Progress Improve outcomes for children and families Provide data for program evaluation and improvement Meet Federal requirements Provide data to support continued Federal funding for Part C

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 14 Why Was the System Developed? Expectation of Accountability Accountability increasingly means looking at results – not just process Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has been under increasing pressure to produce progress data on children participating in early intervention programs in order to retain early intervention funding

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 15 Critical Events in Early Intervention Accountability 1993 – GPRA (Government Performance and Results Act) was passed 2002 – PART (Program Assessment Rating Tool) found there was no data on outcomes for Part C 2003 – OSEP began to ask states for early intervention child outcome data (and funded the ECO Center) 2005, 2006 – OSEP released revisions to the Part C reporting requirements for states

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 16 “Results Not Demonstrated” Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) review findings for Part C (2002) “ While the program has met its goal relating to the number of children served, it has not collected information on how well the program is doing to improve the educational and development outcomes of infants and toddlers served” Read more at ExpectMore.gov

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 17 OSEP’s Response to PART Findings OSEP required states to develop a state performance plan (by December 2005) that included indicators of child progress. OSEP requires states to submit child progress data in their Annual Performance Report (APR) Feb. 1 each year

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 18 State Requirements Prior to 2004, states were already required to report on indicators such as service settings (natural environments), number of children served and compliance with the 45-day timeline. Specific child and family indicators were added after the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 19 How Will This Information be Used? Evaluation of effectiveness of early intervention (national, state and local levels) Determination of compliance with federal indicators Program improvement Public Reporting

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 20 How Will The Data Be Reported? The data will aggregated before reporting. The number and percentage of children who made progress in each of 5 categories will be reported. OSEP will compile the percentage of children in each of five progress categories with the information from other states to report to Congress

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 21 Progress Categories Reported to OSEP Number and Percentage of children who: a.Did not improve functioning b.Improved functioning, but not sufficient to move nearer to functioning comparable to same-age peers c.Improved functioning to a level nearer to same-age peers but did not reach it d.Improved functioning to reach a level comparable to same-age peers e.Maintained functioning at a level comparable to same-age peers 3 outcomes x 5 “measures” = 15 numbers

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 22 Program Evaluation and Improvement Child Outcome/indicator data provides: A means to assess the effectiveness of the early intervention system A mechanism to assess the effectiveness of changes in practices/ policies/ procedures designed to improve the effectiveness of the system.

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 23 Requirements for Implementation Assessment of each child’s status on the three indicators Functional assessment team process, including family multiple sources of information use of developmental tool Comparison to same aged peers Entry and Exit Assessment/Rating Data entry into ITOTS

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 24 Reporting on the Child Indicators Ratings on the 3 indicators must be reported for every child enrolled. Ratings are needed in all areas even if: No one has concerns about a child’s development in some areas A child has delays in one or two indicators, but not in all three indicators

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia 25 For More Information Click on Virginia’s System for Determination of Child Progress Note: Many of the slides and handouts were developed from information on this Early Childhood Outcome (ECO) Center Website.