1. Building the Birth to Five Workforce Three States’ Experiences of Collaborative Activities for Assuring Highly Qualified Personnel

2. Introductions VIRGINA: Deana Buck, Project Director/Team Leader Partnership for People with Disabilities Virginia Commonwealth University NEW HAMPSHIRE: Linda Graham, Family Centered Early Supports & Services DHHS Bureau of Developmental Services Gale Hall, Department Head, Child & Family Studies NHTI, Concord’s Community College VERMONT: Manuela Fonseca, Early Education Coordinator Vermont Department of Education

3. Virginia: Strengthening the System

4. Virginia Lead Agency – Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Partnership for People with Disabilities at VCU (VA’s UCEDD) – Integrated Training Collaborative

5. Virginia Needs – Highly Qualified Personnel: –Additional providers to serve eligible children and families. –Improve quality and consistency of services and service delivery. –Meet federal requirements regarding Part C personnel.

6. Virginia Needs – Highly Qualified Personnel: –Standardized processes across the Commonwealth. –Collect and report data (OSEP & GA). –Requirements for ongoing professional development to meet and maintain Part C credentials. –Expand funding for Part C system, including Early Intervention Medicaid Model.

7. Recent Activities Established Core Competencies in 10 areas, including SC –http://www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-cc-EI-ITC-CoreCompetenc.pdfhttp://www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-cc-EI-ITC-CoreCompetenc.pdf Clarified Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia Service Pathway –http://www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-ccED-ServicePathChart.pdf Developed Practitioner Qualifications and Responsibilities (by discipline) – –http://www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-cc-EI-PersonnelQual-QA.pdfhttp://www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-cc-EI-PersonnelQual-QA.pdf Defined Training/Competency requirements in Virginia

8. Development of Professional Development/Credentialing Resources www.eitraining.vcu.edu Through the Integrated Training Collaborative, developed, field-tested, and posted 5 content modules: –Family-Centered Practices –Child Development –Practitioner Requirements –Service Pathway –Supervision

9. Impact:  On-Line Modules:  Complexity of content varies by topic  Include video links  Interactive discussion questions  Linked to competencies  Questions to ponder….  Test at the end of each module  References

10. Impact:  Credentialing Medicaid Early Intervention Providers:  Must have passing score on all modules  Maintain professional licensure  Apply as a provider and agree to meet all Part C requirements  1,220 individuals enrolled (as of 11/16/09)

11. Impact  Stronger collaboration with the Department of Medical Assistance Services.  Greater clarity in early intervention system (including development of Practice Manual).  Stronger articulation of Part C personnel requirements in IHE programs.  Better data about providers and means for reaching them.

12. New Hampshire

13. New Hampshire: Building the system Meetings among stakeholders to plan strategies started 2001 Process ended without resolution after 2-3 years FCESS resuscitated group to advise on changing the rules and creating a process for alternative credential for evaluators Agreed to develop a system for bringing evaluators into EI drawing on competencies and portfolio assessment Agreed to end the work and implement a project

14. Early Interventionist Credential System designed as a pilot Candidates had to be working in FCESS, have attended the “Welcome to ESS” orientation, have a BA in a related field, and apply. There are 67 competencies. Candidates show they meet these through a combination of work samples, interviews, family surveys and peer and supervisor reports. Validators- have worked in EI for 5 years, are evaluators according to the rules,have completed the “Welcome to ESS” training. Advisory board-convened from interested parties, mostly people who had worked on previous stages of the process.

15. New Hampshire Career ladder Advisory board focused on access to the system and building the pipeline Visuals- a career ladder- to stimulate discussion of what is missing

17. Independent IHE’s figure it out Articulation agreements between Technical schools and IHEs Developed an AS in working with young children with disabilities, BS in Early Intervention is in development Developed in tandem Rule change for EI Credential-recommended by the Advisory Board

18. Investigating on line classes, creating NH specific modules IHE planning EI specific classes for BS certificate program for personnel currently in the field who want more birth-3 coursework Mentoring for validators and candidates Stipends for validators-pilot to determine how much to put aside Using ARRA money

19. Impact Three individuals have successfully completed this new Early Interventionist credential Three additional individuals are in the process of completing the requirements for the Early Interventionist credential

20. Vermont

21. Vermont: Building the Higher Education Collaborative-EC/ECSE Program Needs: Lack of licensed EI/ECSE personnel Requirement for licensed ECE or EI/ECSE personnel to staff state prekindergarten program People in the workforce with years of valuable experience in Head Start, in schools as para- educators, in child care, etc. but who lacked a license Only one IHE approved to offer EI/ECSE preparation Access limited by geography, cost, scheduling HEC-EC/ECSE Goals: Increase the number of licensed EI/ECSE (birth through age 5) and ECE (birth-grade 3) personnel Increase access to preparation by bringing classes closer to students, offering reduced tuition costs and scholarships, and alternate scheduling Increase number of EI/ECSE/ECE personnel with advanced degrees

22. HEC-EC/ECSE Program Development Collaboration between the University of Vermont and the Vermont Department of Education An advisory committee was formed and began planning in 2004 A 3-tier program (i.e., additional endorsement, initial licensure, and BA with a recommendation for licensure) was outlined Part of Vermont’s OSEP State Improvement Grant funded need-based scholarships The first cohort enrolled in Summer 2005

23. A Word About VT Licensure Structure: Separate licenses for EI/ECSE and ECE If licensed in another area, can add endorsement (21 credits for EI/ECSE & 18 credits for ECE) Initial licensure requires 12 weeks internship or student teaching (or equivalent experiences), and a web-based licensure portfolio Requirement for license: EI/ECSE: –Provide special education services under Part B 619 –OPTIONAL for delivering Part C services EI/ECSE or ECE: –Lead teacher in state’s publicly funded pre-K ECE: –Teach preK - grade 3

24. Features of HEC-EC/ECSE Program Graduate level course work based on EI/ECSE or ECE competencies Shared foundational coursework between the EI/ECSE and ECE programs (i.e., child development, early language and literacy development, curriculum development) Offsite two-year preparation program; one course per semester Tier 1 is for those seeking an additional endorsement Tier 2 is for those seeking initial licensure; includes a supervised EI/ECSE internship or ECE student teaching experience All of HEC-EC/ECSE credits may be applied towards a masters degree

25. Snapshot of Today’s HEC-EC/ECSE Cohort 3 began Summer 2009; –21 EI/ECSE & 18 ECE Hybrid courses: Courses typically delivered onsite (2 or 3 sites) on 5-6 Saturdays/semester plus some online work Instructors are from UVM, or are consultants or practitioners Approximately 25% of each cohort members decide to pursue the masters degree Development of Tier 3 continues to be stymied

26. Impacts Program completers: –Cohort 1: EI/ECSE = 25, ECE = 21 –Cohort 2: EI/ECSE = 30, ECE = 28 Masters degrees from UVM: –M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education 8 completed or in progress –M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction 12 completed or in progress Decrease in “provisional licenses” in EI/ECSE

27. For More Information VIRGINA: Deana Buck: dmbuck@vcu.edudmbuck@vcu.edu NEW HAMPSHIRE: Linda Graham: linda.graham@dhhs.state.nh.uslinda.graham@dhhs.state.nh.us Gale Hall: ghall@ccsnh.edughall@ccsnh.edu VERMONT: Manuela Fonseca: manuela.fonseca@state.vt.usmanuela.fonseca@state.vt.us