Head Start provides comprehensive education and family support to over 15 million children living in impoverished environments in the United States. Surveys and canvass calls were used to ascertain the extent and nature of contact that Head Start staff have with parents with disabilities. Responses from Head Start programs in a six-state region…

In order to investigate what types of training and technical assistance (TA) are needed by Early Head Start programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin (EHS Waves I & II), particularly with regard to children with special needs, the Great Lakes Quality Improvement Center for Disabilities (GLQIC-D) and the Region V…

The Great Lakes Resource Access Project (GLRAP), a federally-funded program through the Department of Health and Human Services, provides training and technical assistance in the area of disability services to Head Start staff in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The GLRAP investigated the impact of the Personal…

A 1997 study assessed the impact of welfare reform as reported by Head Start staff served by the Great Lakes Resource Access Project (GLRAP), a federally funded program providing training and technical assistance to Head Start staff in the area of disability services. The states served by the project are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,…

The Great Lakes Quality Improvement Center for Disabilities (GLQIC-D) serves Head Start programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and conducts an annual needs assessment of these programs. For the 1998-99 assessment, 229 Head Start directors completed the survey, which gathered information regarding: (1) program…

Interviews of 18 parents with children (ages 3 to 6) with disabilities in inclusive settings indicate that parental world views had a strong influence on decisions about children's placement, parents had a broad view of inclusion, and expectations of the parent/professional relationship were more pronounced because of factors related to inclusion.…

The Great Lakes Quality Improvement Center for Disabilities (Region V QIC-D or GLQIC-D) serves Head Start Programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and conducts an annual needs assessment of the Head Start Disability Services Coordinators. For 1998, 264 coordinators completed the survey, which gathered information…

Twenty-one families participated as members of experimental or control groups in a study which investigated the effects of family-oriented intervention on the stress level of families with young handicapped children (average age 2 years) whose impairments were primarily developmental delay or cerebral palsy. Parents completed the Parenting Stress…

This article discusses the reflections of an early childhood special education professional on her visit to the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. After describing the activities observed, the schools' philosophy, and the schools' environments, the paper discusses how the schools work with children with "special rights" (i.e., special…