1. Providing Services to Young Children with Disabilities through Inclusive Child Care Dubai International Rehabilitation Forum March 7, 2006 12:40-13:00 Session 3: Marketing of Special Needs Projects

2. Topics  Desired Goals of Early Intervention  Rationale for Child Care-based Services  Outcomes in the U.S.  Barriers: Overall Quality of Child Care  Necessary Resources  An Example of Success

3. Early Intervention Goals  to support families in achieving their own goals for their children  to promote child engagement, independence, and mastery  to promote development in key domains  to build and support children’s social competence  to promote generalized use of skills  to provide and prepare for normalized life experiences  to prevent the emergence of future problems or disabilities

4. Child Care-based Early Intervention Services  Natural context of services for children and families  Opportunities for physical, communication, and social skill building  With qualified teachers and aids, opportunities for cognitive skill building as well  Reduction in services families need to go to

5. Roots of Early Intervention in the United States  Special Education (Behavioral analysis)  Compensatory Education (e.g., Head Start)  Early Childhood Education (DAP)

6. U.S. Principles of Early Intervention 2 Family-centered services 2 Normalization and services in natural environments 2 Variety of service delivery models 2 Diversity of children and families served 2 Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary service models 2 Functional and developmental programming strategies 2 Individualized programming 2 Blending of philosophical perspectives (developmental, behavioral, ecological/functional)

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10. Necessary Components  Low staff:child ratios;  small group sizes;  associate or bachelor level trained teachers;  low turn-over;  well-educated directors and administrators  Engaged, responsive interactions between teachers and children  Planned, purposeful, goal- oriented activities that emerge from children’s interests, activities, and backgrounds

11. Challenges to Child Care-based Early Intervention  Skills and training of child care staff  Turn-over of child care staff  Resistance of staff and families of children without disabilities  Resistance of physicians and other rehabilitation providers  Wide variation in overall quality of child care programs  Lack of monitoring of child care program quality

12. Quality Profile of Center-Based Programs Serving 3 to 5-year-olds in Delaware 38.6% N=64 48.2% N=80 13.3% N=22 26.5% N=44 42.8% N=71 30.7% N=51 37.6% N=62 42.4% N=70 20.0% N=33 9.7% N=16 47.9% N=79 42.4% N=70 59.4% N=98 20.0% N=33 20.6% N=34 43.9% N=72 34.8% N=57 21.3% N=35 45.5% N=60 42.4% N=56 12.1% N=16 Figure Legend = rating of “poor”= rating of “mediocre”= rating of “good”

13. Quality Profile of Center-Based Programs Serving Infants and Toddlers in Delaware 21.3% N=24 53.1% N=60 25.7% N=29 8.8% N=10 20.4% N=23 70.8% N=80 33.6% N=38 32.7% N=37 33.6% N=38 8.0% N=9 46.0% N=52 46.0% N=52 47.8% N=54 38.1% N=43 14.2% N=16 23.9% N=27 50.4% N=57 25.7% N=29 29.6% N=29 50.0% N=49 20.4% N=20 Figure Legend = rating of “poor”= rating of “mediocre”= rating of “good”

14. Quality Profile of Head Start and Early Childhood Assistance Programs in Delaware Designed to Serve Children in Poverty and with Disabilities 62.2% N=51 36.6% N=30 1.2% N=1 52.4% N=43 34.1% N=28 13.4% N=11 43.9% N=36 50.0% N=41 6.1% N=5 18.3% N=15 75.6% N=62 6.1% N=5 68.3% N=56 17.1% N=14 14.6% N=12 65.9% N=54 31.7% N=26 2.4% N=2 69.1% N=38 29.1% N=16 1.8% N=1 Figure Legend = rating of “poor”= rating of “mediocre”= rating of “good”

15. Ensuring High Quality Child Care and Early Intervention  Meaningful partnerships with children’s families and specialists  Teachers with associate or bachelor degrees in early care and education and significant knowledge of child development and curriculum development and implementation  Programs that embrace and incorporate the cultures and communities of the children they serve

16. Ensuring High Quality Child Care and Early Intervention (continued)  Program directors with advanced expertise and experience in early care and education, including the ability to manage and lead  Excellent capacity to address language, literacy, and numeracy components of children’s development  Excellent capacity to address social-emotional components of children’s development  On-going training and development for teachers and administrators that focus on special needs

17. University of Delaware Early Learning Center  Child care center for 225 children birth to 12 years of age  20% children with disabilities  40% children living in poverty  provides state of the art, evidence- based, education, prevention, and intervention services  Currently conducts 18 research studies within the Center focusing on neurological development; PT, OT, and speech treatments strategies, and a host of other topics  Currently provides training to over 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students through clinical and research experiences each semester  Currently provides training and technical assistance early care and education providers throughout the state

18. University of Delaware Early Learning Center Examples  4 year old with Down syndrome  28 month old toddler with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and blindness  10 month old infant with visual impairment, mild cerebral palsy and a 40% cognitive delay

19. Next Steps  To work with community child care setting to: –Increase staff knowledge and skills about physical, sensory, communication, and cognitive disabilities –Reduce staff resistance to serving children with special needs –Provide technical assistance support as community-based child care settings serve children with special needs

20. Contact Information Karen Rucker, Director University of Delaware Early Learning Center 489 Wyoming Avenue Newark, DE 19716 USA krucker@udel.edu +1 302 831 6205 Michael Gamel- McCormick, Director Center for Disabilities Studies 166 Graham Hall University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 USA mgm@udel.edu +1 302 831 6974 www.udel.edu/cds