Compelling evidence from neuroscience about how early relationships and experience influence the architecture of the brain, and in turn early school success, has led to increasing policy and practice attention to implementing child development and family support programs like Early Head Start for infants and toddlers. But, there is also a group of…

This final report discusses the activities of the Mississippi Early Education Program for Children with Multiple Disabilities, a program designed to train Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part H service coordinators and service providers to use family centered strategies. Two levels of training activities were implemented. The first…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…

This text presents 12 chapters on the development of coordinated systems of service delivery to infants and toddlers who have disabilities or are at risk for disabilities and their families, as mandated by Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). An introductory chapter by Lawrence J. Johnson presents a general overview of…

This paper argues that there is a critical need to reframe the fundamental policy questions which fragment early childhood intervention services and health care, in order to construct an integrated system of comprehensive services that includes basic health care and developmental support for all children and their families and that provides…

This report covers the risks to health, safety, and emotional well-being for infants and toddlers in child care settings, and examines opportunities for diminishing those risks and promoting healthy development. Part 1 examines the risks of poor caregiving practices, including the spread of infectious disease, the incidence of injury, and the…

This guide to early intervention services under Part H of Public Law 101-476 (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is intended to aid state legislators who have the primary responsibility to create and shape programs under this Act. Three aspects of Part H legislation are stressed: (1) requirement of unprecedented coordination among…

The philosophical, legal, moral, economic, and empirical bases supporting educating teachers to teach both typically and atypically developing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and to work with their families are presented. Content for such integrated teacher education curricula and certification standards are recommended. Efforts by…

Despite the availability of relevant knowledge to guide policy formulation, and in spite of financial resources appropriated to support the developmental process, policies and procedures related to child identification in Public Law 99-457 (Part H), state plans are inconsistent with both contemporary research and Congressional expectation. Eleven…

In the wake of intense national interest in very young children, this volume presents an examination of the findings of the Commonwealth Survey of Parents with Young Children, as analyzed by scholars from diverse disciplines. What emerges from this analysis is a picture of the complex forces that influence families and child rearing in the…

The 19th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is organized around a model which views educational results as products of three sets of factors: the context and environment in which the education is provided, student characteristics, and school programs and services. Section 1, on…

This summary of the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990, Public Law 101-476, identifies how these Amendments extend and expand special education research, demonstration, and training programs of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA authorizes three state formula grant programs and several discretionary grant…

This 23rd annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 (IDEA) discusses the progress of students with disabilities. It includes a number of modules reporting on the results of the National Assessment. Section 1 includes five modules that present statereported data on high school gradation…