The science and practice of early childhood development now stands ready to address the needs and ensure the rights of infants and young children with disabilities and their families, among the most underserved and marginalized in all regions of the world. Synergies in global policies such as the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of…

In the United States, there is a widespread concern with not referring more infants and toddlers with a risk of or identified autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to Early Intervention (EI) under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004). Despite early signs and screening initiatives, most children with ASD are not referred…

The IFSP is both a document and process for developing, implementing, and evaluating the supports and services delivered to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families eligible under Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA; 2004). Recently, researchers have defined IFSP quality based on five…

Early intervention (EI) provides critical services to families with young children who have diagnosed disabilities, developmental delays, or who are at-risk for developmental delays. Very little is known about the experiences of adolescent mothers who have children who qualify for EI services. The authors investigated the perceptions of adolescent…

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) Program is the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) primary vehicle for providing technical assistance (TA) to individuals and organizations responsible for serving children with disabilities and their families. The evaluation is part…

Nearly half a million children in the United States are currently being served by the foster care system. Infants and toddlers represent the largest single group entering foster care. While these very young children are at the greatest peril for physical, mental health, and developmental issues and tend to spend the longest time in the foster care…

Visits were made to selected respite care and crisis nursery programs in order to describe the programs and services they offered to families of young children with special needs and to learn more about the families who used the services and the staff who provided them. The visits to 10 crisis nurseries and 24 respite care programs resulted in…

This report documents the activities and outcomes of the 5-year model demonstration project AHEAD (At Home and At Day Care), a Utah program that is designed to deliver services to infants, toddlers, and young children (ages birth-3) with noncategorical disabilities. The program delivers services to the children and their caregivers in their…

This needs assessment instrument contains indicators of recommended practice for serving infants and toddlers with disabilities in inclusive natural settings. It is designed to be used by early intervention personnel, child care providers, early childhood teachers, early Head Start providers, and others who wish to identify their needs for…

This final report describes achievements and activities of Project SELF (Supports for Early Learning Foundations), a federally funded project in New Mexico which developed, evaluated, and replicated an innovative model that provides strategies for early interventionists and families to support early learning foundations. The project identified…

This final report discusses activities and outcomes of "Caring for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: A Continuing Education Program for Nurses (CFIT Nurses)," a Virginia program designed to develop and implement a model of training to ensure that nurse practitioners and registered nurses have the information and skills needed to be…

A study of nine families and three service coordinators examined whether a family's level of satisfaction improves when the service coordination they receive adheres to a family-centered model. Results indicate a high degree of family satisfaction and a low degree of dissatisfaction when the model was adequately implemented. (Author/CR)

This practicum report describes development of a system of family support services for 56 parents of preschool handicapped children (ages birth to 3) in an early intervention setting. A preliminary survey was administered to determine family needs. A family support group was then developed which met monthly for fellowship, networking, work…

This report describes results of an evaluation of respite care programs and crisis nursery programs for children with disabilities, based on survey forms received from 81 programs and site visits to selected programs across the United States. The survey of crisis nursery programs and the survey of respite care programs gathered data on amount of…

Narrative descriptions of activities in 10 areas of Project FAITH (Family Assistance for Infants and Toddlers with Handicaps) and results of the 1977-1978 project year evaluation are presented. Cost figures, strategy activities, significant findings, recommendations, personnel responsible, product development information, and continuation plans…