Promoting Early Identification and Support for Families of Young Children: The Early Connections Project
Project Description:
Early Connections is designed to increase the number and percent of eligible young children (birth to three years) and their families served by Part C of IDEA in New Hampshire. Through collaboration by key state agencies, a state university, a medical school and local providers and families, the project will promote:
* statewide hearing and vision screening;
* family participation in a parent-completed developmental screening system; and
* linkages among practitioners and agencies concerned with early identification.
Early Connections is nationally significant because it synthesizes a variety of successful and innovative approaches for state and local child find to address the issue of early identification for families of young children.
Over the course of four years, the project will develop, implement, evaluate and disseminate a comprehensive approach to state and local child find that is grounded in a set of values long promoted by New Hampshire's early intervention system (e.g., family-centered, community based, etc.). The model for the project supports the strengths of local communities and state-level committees to affect needed change. This approach was successfully implemented by the Institute on Disability/UAP at the University of New Hampshire over the past five years through OSERS funding (Community Options Project, HO24B40014).
Early Connections will accomplish its purpose via five major goals aimed at both
state and local child find systems and practices. These goals include: 1) establish and support a state-level policy and practices review committee and project advisory committee to promote a comprehensive, collaborative, value-based, high quality child find system across state and other agencies concerned with young children and their families; 2) establish and support community (demonstration) teams in six diverse New Hampshire communities to promote high quality child find policies and practices at the local level; 3) disseminate information, strategies, resources and materials in a variety of user-friendly formats to wide audiences throughout the state and nationally; 4) conduct formative and summative evaluation of all project processes, activities, materials, strategies and outcomes; and 5) work with committees and constituents to design and implement a plan to infuse successful processes and strategies in communities throughout the state.
At least six major outcomes are expected from Early Connections:
1) an increase in the number and percent of eligible infants and toddlers and their families identified and served by Part C of IDEA; 2) an increase in the number and percent of eligible infants less than one year old and their families identified and served by Part C; 3) an increase in the number of young children who participate in hearing and vision screening in six target communities; 4) an increase in the number of families participating in parent-completed screening and monitoring of their young children; 5) development and implementation of innovative strategies and useful products for quality child find, such as the MTI Photoscreener to screen vision in babies as young as six months; and 6) adoption of exemplary child find policies and practices at the state and local levels.
Keyword(s):
early identification, child find, public awareness
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Technical Assistance and/or Training, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Education & Early Intervention, Child Care-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
