United states deparment of education office of special education and rehabilitative services
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B. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVED RESULTS FOR INFANTS, TODDLERS AND THEIR FAMILIES1. Assessment of system issues One strength of Nebraska’s Quality Improvement Process is that it provides a mechanism for the regional programs to provide feedback to the Co-Lead Agencies about problem areas. These data will be useful to the State as it addresses systemic issues of noncompliance and engages in ongoing improvement efforts. OSEP encourages the State to utilize these data for these purposes. Another source for system analysis will be an automated data system that the State is developing. The State’s current data system does not provide the Co-Lead Agencies with all the necessary data needed to monitor the early intervention system because the State’s data system was built prior to the implementation of Part C. The new system, containing demographic data, information about IFSP services, and referral sources, has the potential to enhance the State’s ability to target public awareness and outreach, monitor referrals from primary referral sources, monitor the provision of continuous IFSP services and types of services being provided, and identify gaps in effective outreach to under-served groups. The automated billing capability will assist in tracking fiscal matters, as well. OSEP encourages the State to continue to refine the current data system to enhance the ability to monitor the early intervention system and to monitor progress in meeting the noncompliance issues. 2. State Supervision As noted above, although the Co-Lead Agencies were required to fully implement the requirements of Part C, including the requirements regarding general supervision, beginning in 1995, at the time of the OSEP September 1998 visit, the Co-Lead Agencies could provide only one monitoring report. While they now have a projected date of September 30, 2001 by which all areas of the State will be monitored and have recently accelerated their monitoring schedule, OSEP remains very concerned about their failure to date to meet their general supervisory responsibility in a timely manner because the issues raised in this Report might have already been identified and corrected had the Co-Lead Agencies performed timely monitoring. OSEP encourages the Co-Lead Agencies to timely complete their self-monitoring. OSEP also encourages the State to follow up specifically in those districts where OSEP has identified areas of noncompliance and suggestions for improved results to assure that the identified problems are corrected. II. PART C: CHILD FIND AND PUBLIC AWARENESSThe needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families are generally met through a variety of agencies. However, prior to the enactment of Part C of IDEA, there was little coordination or collaboration for service provision, and many families had difficulty locating and obtaining needed services. Searching for resources placed a great strain on families. With the passage of Part C in 1986, Congress sought to ensure that all children needing services would be identified, evaluated, and served, especially those children who are typically underrepresented, (e.g., minority, low-income, inner-city, American Indian and rural populations) through an interagency, coordinated, multidisciplinary system of early intervention services. Each State’s early intervention system must include child find and public awareness activities that are coordinated and collaborated with all other child find efforts in the State. Part C recognizes the need for early referral and short timelines for evaluation because development occurs at a more rapid rate during the first three years of life than at any other age. Research in early brain development has demonstrated what early interventionists have known for years: that children begin to learn and develop from the moment of birth. Therefore, the facilitation of early learning and the provision of timely early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities are critical. Validation Planning and Data Collection OSEP with the Steering Committee identified five recurring themes about early intervention services in Nebraska leading to the validation data collection phase: (1) What activities are targeted for outreach to under- represented populations and what are the outcomes of these activities? (2) How does using the Part B categorical eligibility criteria for Part C affect the early identification of infants and toddlers? (3) What procedures are being followed for evaluation for eligibility by multidisciplinary teams? Are all areas of development addressed in the evaluation process? (4) How is informed clinical opinion being used? (5) What factors contribute to primary health providers referring or not referring? OSEP reviewed and analyzed data and identified the following strength and areas of noncompliance. A. STRENGTH1. Outreach to diverse groups There are several noteworthy activities the State is undertaking to address the needs of diverse groups in Nebraska that include urban-rural, city-town, town-farm, socioeconomic, experiential and generational issues, language, religious, ethnic and attitudinal diversity. A Nebraska Interagency Coordinating Council-sponsored cultural diversity survey is being followed up by a Statewide “Outreach” project. The outreach project provides funds to leader-representatives in Nebraska’s culturally diverse population to conduct focus groups comprised of culturally diverse families with children with disabilities. These focus groups will explore how to improve outreach to their particular population, identify cultural barriers to service, and identify methods of outreach that are effective with their populations. This information will be used by the Co-Lead Agencies to plan for future child find activities and services. One planning region team developed an assessment instrument to monitor the development of communication of infants and toddlers in bilingual families. Another planning region team, located in a populated area of State, provides information and videos about disabilities that can be rented at no charge from grocery stores. |