Report on the NCSEAM Part C Family Survey Batya Elbaum, Ph.D. National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring February 2005

Goal of the NCSEAM Parent Involvement Workgroup To develop a set of survey instruments that will yield valid, reliable and useful measures of families’ perceptions and family involvement in early intervention and special education.

Phase I of Survey Development Review of the empirical research Review of existing instruments designed to gather data on parent/family involvement Focus group interviews including families, advocates, community representatives, and early intervention, school district and state personnel Consultation with professional experts Outcome of Phase I: The NCSEAM Item Bank

Dimensions of Part C family perceptions & participation Families’ perceptions of program/agency partnership efforts and quality of services Families’ perceptions of the impact of early intervention services on their child Families’ perceptions of the impact of early intervention services on the family Families’ reports of the ways in which they participate in the early intervention process

Phase II of Survey Development The National Item Validation Study was designed to gather data from families across a range of geographical areas, ethnicities, and age of child Data were gathered October January 2005 in a group of NCSEAM partner states through collaborations with selected PTIs Outcome of Phase II: Item Calibrations and Recommended Item Sets for States’ Use

Item calibrations Items vary in “difficulty” On tests, some items are easier and others harder On surveys, there is more agreement with some items than with others Item calibration gives an index of each item’s difficulty When items are carefully selected to measure a single construct, the order of difficulty of the items is relatively constant across respondents

Items addressing Partnership Efforts and Quality of Services 34.0 My service coordinator acknowledges my family’s efforts My service coordinator respects my culture and language My service coordinator understands the unique needs of my child and family.

Items addressing Partnership Efforts and Quality of Services 43.9 Service providers are available to speak with me The written information I receive is in a language I understand My family’s schedule and daily routines were considered when planning for my child’s services.

Items addressing Partnership Efforts and Quality of Services 52.1 I was given all the written reports or information ahead of time to make informed decisions at the IFSP meeting(s) I was offered help I needed, such as child care services or transportation, to enable me to participate in the IFSP meeting(s).

Items addressing Partnership Efforts and Quality of Services 64.9 My family was given information about support groups for parents The early intervention program regularly holds public meetings to gather family input on early intervention services Someone from the early intervention program went out into the community with me and my child (to a park, church, child care facility, etc.) to help me get involved in community activities and services.

Items addressing Impact of EI on the Family Over the past year, early intervention services have helped me and/or my family: 35.1 Feel that my efforts are helping my child Understand my child’s special needs Get the services that my child and family need Know about services in the community Participate in typical activities for children and families in my community.

ECO Indicators of Family Outcomes Families know their rights and advocate effectively for their child Families understand their child’s abilities and special needs Families help their child develop and learn Families have the supports they want Families participate in desired services and activities that are available to all families in their community

Phase III of Survey Development Administration of the survey by individual states. NCSEAM will assist states on a case- by-case basis to determine:  Optimal mode(s) of administration (e.g., paper, web, phone)  Sampling plan  Timeline Analysis of data, quality control, and report generation to be conducted in conjunction with NCSEAM

How data from the survey can be used A measure (similar to a score) can be calculated for each dimension that is surveyed. Over time, it is possible to assess whether there are significant changes in the measure. Provided that sufficiently representative data are available, programs within a state can be differentiated on relevant measures in order to assist states in targeting resources and technical assistance.

How data from the survey can be used For each dimension surveyed, measures can be reported for any subgroup for which sufficient data are available, allowing for the examination of differences in performance by variables such as community location, family ethnicity, age of child receiving services, etc.

Long-term vision for use of the NCSEAM survey Creation of a unified database containing data from different administrations of the instrument Addition of new items, as needed, in order to make the instruments more responsive to changes in perceptions and/or performance Use of the instruments as research tools to evaluate the effectiveness of improvement efforts

Projected Outcomes Increased family participation in accountability and quality assurance More responsive accountability systems Improved results for children with disabilities and their families

Contacts National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring Batya Elbaum, Ph.D.

Corresponding items from MS Part C and CT Part C Family Surveys

Intercorrelation of MS Part C and CT Part C item calibrations, r =.966