Quality Interventions for Early Care and Education QUINCE The Partnerships for Inclusion Model of On

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Quality Interventions for Early Care and
Education (QUINCE) The Partnerships for
Inclusion Model of On-Site Consultation

• Carla Fenson, Karen Taylor Pat Wesley

Inclusion Institute, July 25th, 2006
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Session Objectives

• Describe QUINCE- 5 state study
• PFI model of on-site consultation
• Present successes and challenges

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Partners and Participants

• Research Teams
• FPG Child Development Institute at UNC-CH
• Iowa State University
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Child Trends and U of Minnesota Harris Center
• UCLA
• 25 Agencies in 5 states
• Federal Partners
• Child Care Bureau, ACF, US Dept. of Health and
  Human Services
• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
  and Evaluation (ASPE)

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Main Research Questions

• Is child care quality improved when
  teachers/providers receive the Partnerships for
  Inclusion model of on-site consultation?
• Is PFI more effective than these existing QE
  services?
• Are QE interventions related to childrens
  outcomes?

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Study Design

• Random assignment of consultants providers to
  PFI or Control (typical services)
• Pre, post, and follow-up observations of quality
  assessments of children over time
• Very few exclusionary criteria

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Cohort 1 Demographics
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Highest Education Level ()
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How many years planning to be a
teacher/provider/consultant?

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Goals of On-Site Consultation

• Enhance the quality of the environment
• Enhance childrens development and learning
• Provide consultees with skills to solve problems

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(No Transcript)
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Preschool Classroom ECERS Before After
Consultation (N14)





From Palsha Wesley, 1998, Topics in Early
Childhood Special Education
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Stages of Consultation
1
Entry
Building a Relationship with the Consultee
Gathering Information through Assessment
2
Setting Goals
3
4
Selecting Strategies
5
ImplementingThe Action Plan
Evaluating the Plan
6
Holding aSummaryConference
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Key Components of the PFI Model of On-Site
Consultation

• Focus on environment, both physical and
  interactions
• Joint needs assessment
• Goals identified by consultee(s)
• On-site visits to support change
• Joint assessment of change
• Evaluation of consultation process

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PFI On-Site Consultation Training for QUINCE

• Week-long training in Chapel Hill
• 3 days on rating scales 2 days of initial
  training on PFI
• 5 follow-up seminars
• language literacy, interactions, diversity,
  health safety, environments
• Pilot site
• Follow-up support from liaison

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Consultants are asked to

• Implement PFI on-site consultation model
• Have regular contact with liaison, especially
  during pilot site training
• Document visits on web and send liaison other
  related documentation, regularly

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Challenges

• Consultants
• Difficulty following through with study
  requirements
• Varying degree of skill administering rating
  scales
• Did not follow stages of the model and/or took
  longer than optimal
• (6-12 months) to move through the process
• Attrition 44
• Providers
• Leery of participating in an in-depth process
  and/or wanted a quick fix
• Attrition 38

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Successes

• Consultants
• Receive training in collaborative on-site
  consultation
• Learn strategies to promote provider growth in
  specific areas of need
• Many changes have been implemented
• over time. I am convinced that these
• changes happened because of our
• action plan and our in-depth discussions
• over all the items on the scale and why
• they were important for children.

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Successes

• Providers
• Improve problem-solving skills and learn to
  assess quality in their own program
• I am able to assess things
• differently to determine how to
• handle things and to see what is
• needed in my environment to
• provider better care to the
• children. I personally feel more
• confident and professional.

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Agencies most effective implementing PFI
consultation

• Already provide on-site consultation services
• Staff have education, experience and skills
  required for consultation
• Able to reduce consultant typical caseload
  without affecting expectations of existing
  funding sources (QUINCE provides no agency
  funds)
• May have additional funds for quality improvement
  (i.e., grants for materials, substitute teachers
  and professional development)

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Agencies less effective implementing PFI
consultation

• Experience internal instability with staff
• Unable or unwilling to reduce consultant caseload
• Supervisory staff not supportive of study and of
  implementing the model

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What are we learning?

• Information about consultants providing TA
• (education, background, turnover, etc)
• Types of services that enhance
• quality
• Effects of PFI model in sites where
• implementation occurred
• Factors that impede effective
• implementation of the PFI model
• and other approaches of quality enhancement