Project Description:
OSEP is investing in a new technical assistance (TA) center with the purpose of improving state capacity to collect and report the high-quality data required under Sections 616 and 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To accomplish OSEPs purpose, Westat has assembled a team of organizations and consultants, led by Drs. Joy Markowitz, Thomas Fiore, and Julie Bollmer, that has a wealth of experience with IDEA data collection and reporting and with the provision of general, targeted, and intensive TA to improve the quality of those data. The Westat IDEA Data Center team includes WestEd, University of Kentucky-Human Development Institute, AEM, SRI International, University of North Carolina-Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Frameweld, and a group of prominent expert consultants.
Two long-term, measurable outcomes will result from the Centers activities and services: (1) states will have accurate EDFacts data and (2) the quantitative and qualitative data in State Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports will meet ED data quality standards. In the shorter term, the Center will achieve incremental outcomes. Specifically, states will have effective and well-coordinated data infrastructures, implement high-quality data validation strategies, adequately support local IDEA data collectors, and accurately analyze and use IDEA data to report on improvement efforts and inform future improvement activities. The accomplishment of these outcomes will affect states, school districts, and local early intervention programs across the Nation. Those entities will in turn use the higher quality data they generate to improve the outcomes for all children and youth with disabilities served under IDEA.
To achieve its outcomes, the IDEA Data Center will provide universal, targeted, and intensive TA through a comprehensive and innovative array of activities, services, and products. The Centers efforts will be organized under five Activity Areas: (1) Leadership and Coordination, (2) Targeted and Intensive TA, (3) Tools and Products, (4) Communication and Dissemination, and (5) Evaluation. The purposeful use of the principles and frameworks of implementation science will be integral to the systems improvement approach the Center will apply, particularly through targeted and intensive TA. The Center will create Part B and Part C IDEA Data Quality Profiles for each state that will capture essential information about states, steer TA activities and services, and guide the evaluation. Other activities and products will include data analytic workshops, intensive on-site TA, topical reports, technical briefs, data quality self-assessments, interactive videos, toolkits, and training modules for new data managers. Some interactive tools will be state-specific for use as part of targeted or intensive TA. All activities and tools will be promoted through a fully accessible, state-of-the art web site that will be the hub of the Centers communication and dissemination and will engage data stakeholders through a range of media.
The IDEA Data Center will work closely with OSEP to refine the work scope for the Center and to identify TA needs of states and locals. Working in conjunction with OSEP, state and local stakeholders, and other TA organizations with overlapping work scopes, the Center will provide coordinated responses to those TA needs. Refinements to the Centers work scope will continuet hroughout the life of the Center, and the staff will be dedicated to ensuring that the Center meets OSEPs evolving and emerging needs while continuously serving the needs of those who collect, report, and use the IDEA data at the state and local levels.
