Gloria L. Harbin

Early Intervention Service Coordination Policies National Policy Infrastructure

Effective implementation of service coordination in early intervention, as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, remains a challenge for most states. The present study provides a better understanding of the various aspects of the policy infrastructure that undergird service coordination across the United States. Data from a national survey of all state Part C coordinators contained critical variables that are used to describe three dimension of the policy infrastructure—responsibilities of the service coordinator, the document used to guide service coordination (Individualized Family Service Plan), and policies that facilitate a comprehensive and interagency coordinated service system. The results indicated that in general, most states do not have a sufficient policy infrastructure to support the implementation of effective service coordination.

Evaluating Interagency Coordination Efforts Using a Multidimensional, Interactional, Developmental Paradigm:

Evaluation of interagency coordination is difficult due to the complexity of these efforts. This article provides a paradigm which describes interagency coordination as a multidimensional, interactional, and developmental effort. Five dimensions–climate, resources, policies, people, and process–are identified and defined. The developmental nature of these dimensions is explained through the use of developmental stages and developmental continua. The interactional nature is illustrated through examples. This paradigm can be used in special education as a training tool for those involved in coordination efforts, as a guide for the development and evaluation of interagency coordination efforts, and as a conceptual framework for research.

Establishing Outcomes for Service Coordination: A Step Toward Evidence-Based Practice.

The Research and Training Center (RTC) in Service Coordination is a federally funded project charged with carrying out an advanced research program to analyze current, and recommend future, policies and practices for service coordination under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 1997. One RTC objective was to identify outcomes of service coordination that could be measured to provide evidence for effectiveness. To accomplish this objective, four national studies were implemented with multiple stakeholder groups. The outcomes generated from each of the four studies were then combined and reduced to a set of child and family outcomes that could be measured as evidence of effective service coordination. These outcomes were then embedded in a service coordination logic model to illustrate the complexity of variables contributing to achievement of positive outcomes for families and their children.

Revisiting a Comparison of Eligibility Policies for Infant/Toddler Programs and Preschool Special Education Programs

In this study, the authors repeated an earlier analysis and comparison of state eligibility policies under the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program, Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the preschool special education program, Part B, Section 619, of IDEA. The impact of federal and state policy changes in the intervening years on the prospects for continuity of eligibility as children move from Part C to Part B was investigated. The analysis revealed fewer states in which discontinuity was a concern (21, down from 27). States in which continuity was either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” increased from 24 to 30. The authors discuss policy options affecting continuity of eligibility across the early childhood programs of IDEA and the relevance of their findings for realizing the purposes of IDEA.

Comparison of Eligibility Policies for Infant/Toddler Programs and Preschool Special Education Programs

The purpose of this study was to address three concerns expressed by parents, professionals, and policymakers about eligibility continuity for children moving from early intervention programs for infants and toddlers (Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]) to preschool special education programs (Part B of IDEA). Three questions were used to guide the analysis: (a) Does discontinuity exist between the two policies? (b) What is the nature of the discontinuity? (c) What types of children are most likely to be affected by the discontinuity? Each of these questions was applied to the PartH and Part B eligibility policies of all the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Analysis revealed that the policies fell into three groups: States in which all children eligible under Part H would remain eligible under Part B (n = 14); states in which Part H eligible children would probably continue to be eligible for services under Part B (n = 10); and states in which the differences in Part H and Part B eligibility criteria caused some concern and doubt that all children eligible under Part H would be eligible under Part B (n = 27). The study also revealed that the eligibility policy variables have interactive effects and cannot be examined independently of one another.

Implementation of P.L. 99-457: State Technical Assistance Needs.

The implementation of P.L. 99–457 will require dramatic changes in policies and service provision in many states. The successful development of a comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary service system will require a considerable amount of technical assistance to states. In order to understand more clearly the nature of these needs, this article presents a definition of technical assistance; a description of developmental levels in the provision of comprehensive, coordinated services; an approach to designing a system of comprehensive services; and a brief discussion of major needs that are likely to exist across states.

Factors influencing state progress in the implementation of Public Law 99-457, Part H

Policy implementation has been an infrequently studied process although it has become increasingly evident that the implementation processes of policy development, policy approval, and policy application can shape and delay prospective implementation of legislation. The current study analyzes the implementation of P.L. 99–457 (Part H) the Education for the Handicapped Amendments of 1986. This law provides the states with planning money from the federal government to design a comprehensive interagency, multidisciplinary program of services for children with handicapping conditions and their families. Ratings were taken from key administrators and citizens knowledgeable about the law on state progress in implementing the fourteen requirements of the law and also on proposed influential conditions that might affect that implementation. Additional demographic information was obtained for the fifty states. The factor that seemed to be most influential in a subset of 35 states was the prior presence in the state of systems for interagency planning and development. Neither prior history of early childhood services, available resources, wealth of the state, or geographic region appeared to have a significant influence on policy development. There was some indication that different factors might become influential in the next phase of implementation, policy approval. It appears that progress in state policy development may be linked to the special requirements of the legislation itself and to prior availability of institutional structures that make mandated collaborative efforts more possible.

Welfare Reform and Its Effects on the System of Early Intervention.

The importance of the transactional and ecological nature of the childs development is well documented. Literature demonstrates the importance of addressing all of the childs developmental needs in addition to building the capacity within the childs ecology. Part C of the Individual With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) recognized the importance of the ecological theory by calling for a system of early intervention to meet the diverse needs of children and their families, which is comprehensive and coordinated across agencies. Likewise, the services provided by this system should be multi-disciplinary, coordinated, family-centered, and provided in settings where children without disabilities are served. A wide array of services are to enhance the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities and to minimize their potential for developmental delay while simultaneously enhancing the capacity of families to meet the special needs of their infants and toddlers with disabilities. Although these policy provisions make sense based upon the collective literature, developing such a system has been a monumental undertaking at both the state and local levels. Key legislative developers of this important federal policy historically have described the legislation as the glue that pieces together a disparate array of separately funded categorical programs. Thus, the early intervention system requires putting together multiple public categorical programs, in addition to a host of other state and community resources. But what happens to this early intervention system when there is a fundamental change in one part of the system? Picture a geometric structure in which one of the sides has been modified. The structure, and hence the system, is no longer the same. In order for the structure to be fixed, the broken portion must be restored as it was originally or other parts of the structure or system must be modified to account for the changes and shifts in the original piece. Some changes within the structure cause more shifts, requiring more modifications, and thus being more difficult to fix than others. The enactment of the Omnibus Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996) presents such a dilemma for all of those individuals within each state who have worked for over 10 years to construct and glue together a service system for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. These coordinated early intervention systems are now potentially in jeopardy. The processes, procedures, and financial plan that were established to support and run the system were often based on the expectations that policies and programs of individual agencies, particularly eligibility and funding, would stay the same. Recent

Reactions from the Field Implementing Early Intervention Policy: Are We Making the Grade?

The enactment of Part H of P.L. 99-457, now known as Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), sought to reform the organization and delivery of services to infants and toddlers with delays and disabilities, from a narrow constellation of fragmented services provided by autonomous programs and individuals into a more comprehensive and coordinated system of services. With this monumental legislation came the promise that all eligible children would be found and served, children and families would receive the array of services needed to meet their needs, and services would be received in a timely manner. States were given 5 years to develop the required comprehensive, coordinated, interagency system of services and resources, including the infrastructure needed to support this system. Although local implementation began nearly 10 years ago, little is known about whether the goals and promises of this legislation are being achieved (Kochanek & Buka, 1998). Perry, Greer, Goldhammer, and Mackey-Andrews are to be commended for providing needed implementation data, and state administrators are to be commended for developing a data system that goes beyond the federal reporting requirements. The data system provides information to policy makers that facilitates program planning, evaluation, and training design (Hebbler, 1993) for Indiana. Data from this study provide important policy implementation findings and raise questions having implications for policy, practice, and personnel development in several interrelated areas relevant to all states and communities.