Early Childhood Transition: Effective Approaches for Building and Sustaining State Infrastructure

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Early Childhood Transition Effective Approaches
for Building and Sustaining State Infrastructure

• Indianas Transition Initiative for Young
  Children and Families
• Dawn Downer, First Steps Director
• Sheron Cochran, 619 Coordinator
• December 3, 2007

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Indianas Transition Initiative for Young
Children and Families

• TOPICS
• Background
• Infrastructure
• Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
  Outcomes
• How Initiative Fosters Quality Control and
  Compliance
• Lessons Learned

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Background

• Indiana sent a State Team to the 1999 National
  Transition Forum held in Lexington, KY.
• The State Team agreed to adopt Project STEPS
  (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public
  Schools) Model. We developed a work plan.
• DOE and First Steps jointly funded the initiative
  with a budget of 96,000 in the first year. DOE
  funded the most recent fiscal cycle with a grant
  of 129,582.
• Even back in 1999, research evidence showed that
  a community-wide transition system is necessary
  to ensure positive and effective transition
  experiences.

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Background

• A lot has changed since 1999, but the STEPS
  philosophy is the same for Indiana
• An interagency team that assesses the needs of
  the whole community, while ensuring the
  successful movement of children and families
  between and among agencies.
• Collaboratively developed policies and procedures
  that enable all agencies to achieve compliance
  with regulations.
• Inclusion of four critical components for
  implementing effective transitions
  administrative supports staff involvement and
  training help for families, and child
  preparation.
• Change at the local level that is supported and
  facilitated at the state level.

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Infrastructure

• State Transition Team
• See Brochure for State Team members.
• Vision, guiding principles, ground rules,
  interagency structure, parent involvement, work
  plan, meeting structure. Follow STEP philosophy.
• State Transition Coordinator facilitates state
  team work and provides local team facilitation
  and work plan development. The State Transition
  Staff ( 1 Coordinator and 2 regional
  facilitators) provide technical assistance,
  either directly or indirectly, to teams in all 92
  counties.

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Infrastructure

• Local Transition Teams
• Transition team participation is voluntary.
  State Transition Staff and the Transition
  Initiative offer resources to assist teams.
  Local teams determine how to configure themselves
  (community, county, multi-county). Local teams
  develop action plans.
• Local Memorandums of Understanding are in place.
  First Steps System Points of Entries and Head
  Start agencies must have procedures in place
  which may be in the form of an MOU.
• Small Local Learning Opportunity Grants of up
  to 200 are made available to support local
  transition efforts.

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Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
Outcomes

• Policy Clarification A State Transition Team
  Representative from First Steps and from Part B
  jointly developed transition guidelines and
  policy clarifications. The Transition
  Coordinator and staff helps the State Team to
  identify issues and helps local teams work
  through procedural issues and barriers.
• Data collection and analysis First Steps and
  Part B share transition data and do follow-up
  with our local agencies when data is
  questionable Transition staff have reviewed the
  local MOU and provided feedback to local teams.
  Transition staff analyzed and reported results of
  parent surveys. The Head Start Partnership
  Office has reported on Head Start Agencies
  transition practices.

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Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
Outcomes

• Personnel Development State Team Members
  traveled to all nine First Steps Clusters to
  share agency specific information that will
  assist local teams The 619 Coordinator has
  spoken to First Steps System Point of Entry
  Supervisors and First Steps Director has spoken
  to Early Childhood Administrators Transition
  Staff presented at state wide conferences such as
  IAEYC, Head Start Association, and parent
  organizations, and Ready Schools Conferences.
  Transition staff provide technical assistance to
  local teams.

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Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
Outcomes

• Collaborative Activities and Products
• The State Team identified need for a state-wide
  transition DVD. This product was developed with
  funds from Indianas State Improvement Grant.
  Material to help parents
• Transition to Early Childhood Special Education
  A Guide for Parents of Children with Disabilities
  Who Are Turning Three booklet jointly developed.
  Material to help parents
• A Transition Web Site maintained by Transition
  Staff is linked to State Team Member Web Sites.
  The web site disseminates information to those
  interested in transition as team members,
  professionals, and families. Last year there
  were 31,029 requests for web site information.
  Locally developed products are on the web site.

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Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
Outcomes

• Collaborative Activities and Products
• Indianas Interagency Memorandum of Agreement
  Regarding Provision of Services to Young Children
  with Special Needs and Their Families 2006.
• The State Transition Coordinator facilitated the
  work of the parties to the agreement. There were
  seven signatory agencies. Specific roles and
  responsibilities for transition are addressed.

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Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
Outcomes

• Collaborative Activities and Products
• Transition to Preschool and Transition to
  Kindergarten Back Packs in English and Spanish.
• Material to help prepare child and family
• Six Agencies on the State Team collaborated to
  fund this activity. Each backpack contains
  reusable material designed to support children
  and families experience a positive transition
  experience. See display. These back packs are
  available from local agencies and every library
  in the State.

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Strategies Leading to Successful Transition
Outcomes

• Collaborative Activities and Products
• Jointly Developed Position Statement on
  Transition of Young Children signed by agency
  heads.
• The State Team felt it was important to
  demonstrate commitment from top level
  administrators.

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How Transition Initiative Fosters Quality Control
and Compliance

• How are we doing
• We are not there yet, but statistics are
  improving.
• Part B -- of children referred by Part C prior
  to age three, who are found eligible for Part B,
  and who have an IEP developed and implemented by
  their third birthdays.
• 04 84 05 96
• First Steps -- of children exiting Part C and
  potentially eligible for Part B had a Transition
  Conference meeting within 90-180 days prior to
  third birthday.
• 04 93 05 96

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How Transition Initiative Fosters Quality Control
and Compliance

• Frequent Communication between agencies
• Part C and Part B personnel sit on each others
  Advisory Group and are invited to participate in
  stakeholder groups.
• Part C and Part B share data for monitoring
  purposes.
• Transition Coordinator and staff bring transition
  concerns back to specific state team members for
  follow-up.
• Share compliance reports and transition concerns
  with one another.
• Commitment to discuss policies and procedures
  prior to implementation and provide opportunity
  for input.

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Lessons Learned

• It takes time to develop trust at both the state
  and local team level.
• Monthly meetings seem to foster team work better
  than quarterly meetings.
• A team needs procedures and strategies in place
  to transition in new members when experienced
  members leave the team.
• Keep teams thinking about vision and mission.
• Support development of resources to assist local
  teams. Keep new products coming.
• Teams need to develop clear operating guidelines
  so that responsibility does not fall on one
  agency or person.
• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.