Maine UCEDD Awarded $1.2M Grant to Support Graduate Study in Early Intervention

October 15, 2010

Deborah Rooks-Ellis, PhD, EChO Scholars Project Coordinator

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, has awarded the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) a $1.2 million grant to support the preparation of highly qualified early intervention professionals serving children with disabilities in Maine. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the total annual funding is designated for student stipends. Working in collaboration with the university's College of Education and Human Development, the project represents Maine's only graduate study designed with an emphasis on young children ages birth-5 with disabilities and their families, including children who live in poverty, are homeless, are in foster care, are English language learners, or who reside in rural, remote, and sparsely populated areas with limited access to resources.

The four-year project, Early Childhood Opportunities (EChO) Scholars, addresses an urgent need for fully credentialed early intervention personnel in Maine. In exchange for a commitment to serve young children with disabilities and their families, forty EChO Scholars will be selected to receive financial support for full-time graduate study. Twenty high-performing UMaine undergraduates in early childhood education will be selected to participate in a 5th Year Masters option, and twenty early childhood professionals will be selected to participate in a Masters for Early Childhood Professionals option. At the conclusion of the four-year project period, all EChO Scholars will have completed requirements for both the Master of Education degree and state certification in early childhood special education (birth-five).