Project Description:
Early childhood partnerships with state agencies
CEDD staff participate in various state agency-sponsored advisory groups and interagency collaboratives, and provide technical assistance to various state agencies, including Public Health, Education, and Developmental Services. Examples include:
The CA Interagency Coordinating Council (IACC). CEDD faculty member, Kathy Angkustsiri, MD, is CEDD's representative on the California State Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Intervention, which provides oversight and input to the California Department of Developmental Services on issues related to implementation of Part C services in California.
The CA Statewide System of Support is one of the central components of CA accountability and continuous improvement system. The goal is to support local education agencies in meeting the needs of students by building local capacity to sustain improvement and effectively address disparities in opportunities and outcomes. Led by CDE and the CA Collaborative, CEDD staff provide technical assistance to service providers and other stakeholders on:
1. Addressing disparities in health outcomes based on race, ethnicity, and language, through new and innovative measures that address social determinants of poor health, advocacy, capacity building and systems change.
2. Strategies for reducing health disparities, such as development of bilingual/bicultural parent advocacy networks; programs to raise awareness and foster knowledge of living with developmental disabilities, in general, and Regional Center services, in particular, among underserved families; training of community-based outreach workers to assist individuals in underserved communities with DD; development, adoption and sustainment of interventions to facilitate family engagement in transitions into service and between service systems; translation and adaptation of resource materials; and cultural and linguistic competence in programs.
3. Our CEDD team worked with the Autism Intervention Research Network in Behavioral Health (AIR-B) to develop resources for families who recently received a diagnosis of autism, in a program called Mind the Gap. Videos about autism, the service system, understanding how to access educational and developmental services, talking with your family about autism etc. are freely available. Materials for autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, developmental delays, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy, language differences and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, have been developed through funding from HRSA to provide information for additional disabilities in multiple languages. They are available in English, Spanish, Nepali, Punjabi, Chinese and Korean. www.airbnetwork.org
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Legislators/Policy Makers
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances
