¨       Family-Centered Principles are a set of interconnected beliefs and attitudes that shape directions of program philosophy and behavior of staff as they organize and deliver services to children and families. Core to family-centered services is sensitivity and respect for the culture and values of family members.  Resources about measuring child and family outcomes, sharing individual data with families, and more are on the Early Childhood TA Center (ECTA) website.

¨       Let's Talk Transition! Family Engagement during the Transition to School is a new discussion board sponsored by the Harvard Family Research Project and The SEED Lab for those who support children of transition age (ages 4-6) and their families in order to locate, react to, and share resources as they work to improve the transition to school.  Parent centers can join.

¨     Building the Legacy for Our Youngest Children. Transitioning from early intervention services (IDEA Part C) to preschool (Part B) or other appropriate services is an important step in a young child's life. Two NICHCY training modules are available for Parent Centers to use to help families understand Part C requirements for transition planning and activities that must occur as toddler's in early intervention approach their third birthday. Read more

¨   Gateways to Two Generations: The Potential for Early Childhood Programs and Partnerships to Support Children and Parent Together (2014) looks at how early childhood programs are supporting families' educational success and economic security by providing more than just care and education for children in early childhood programs.

¨    Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) - Parent Centers can assist their Part C agency with recruitment of parents to serve on their state's ICC so that authentic "parent voices" are present to ensure family-centered services in their state. Some centers also provide training to ICC members in their states. Quarterly webinars related to ICC's and Sate Advisory panels are planned and offered by an OSEP workgroup. Webinar Archive

Many organizations are against employees using social media in the workplace because they worry about time-wasting behavior and drains on productivity. However, using social media at work can drastically improve communication among staff. Read more...

Case name:  Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati, Plaintiff v. Martin Wilhelmy, et al., Defendants, 689 F. Supp. 2d 970, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 54 IDELR 58, 7 ECLPR 73, 110 LRP 12093

Critical issue in this case:  The ability to acquire oral language skills decreases significantly after age 5 giving the child a limited period of time to learn oral communication.  One hour of intervention services per month for a child with bilateral hearing impairments is not enough for a kindergartener to receive educational benefit.

Facts of the case:  A judge in Ohio found that a school district should be required to fund a child's private placement because the minimal services offered in a child's kindergarten IEP were inadequate. The child with bilateral hearing impairments only had a limited amount of time to acquire oral communication skills and the judge determined that the child needed intensive speech-language services in a segregated setting to receive an educational benefit. The judged noted that the ability to acquire oral language skills decreases significantly after age 5 giving the child a limited period of time to learn oral communication.  "The evidence shows that without intensive therapy, [the child] will be unable to close the gap between her receptive and expressive language skills," The judge noted that this gap would impede the child's academic progress as she advanced through school, as she would have trouble receiving and conveying information.

Case name:  Eastland Community Unit School District #308, Illinois State Educational Agency10 ECLPR 54, 112 LRP 57999, 2012-0536, November 24, 2012

Critical issues in this case:  (1) IEP goals must contain specific points of measurement and must have baselines.  Without being measurable, IEP goals are not appropriate and can result in a denial of FAPE. (2) If a recommendation is made to move a student to a more restrictive setting at least in part because of behavior issues, a BIP or measurable goals in the IEP should exist regarding behavior.

Facts of the case:   The school district wanted to change the placement of a kindergartener with autism from a general education setting with pullout services to a self-contained class. The parents filed due process, alleging that the IEPs lacked measurable goals because some goals lacked measurability, for example, "student will increase her attention to developmentally appropriate tasks and activities." Other goals lacked baselines. For example, the student "will improve functional communication skills by at least 9 months as measured by informal checklists." The present level stated: "the Student's speech and language skills are improving ... She is more verbal and has used a few words at school." The judge noted that the lack of appropriate goals constitutes a denial of FAPE if it impedes the student's right to an appropriate education. In this case, several goals were clearly not measurable because they lacked present levels of performance and did not provide criteria for assessment.

The IEPs also failed to adequately address the student's behaviors. The judge wrote, "None of the Student's IEPs contain a BIP or measurable goals to instruct her to develop skills to self-regulate her behavior and attend to large group activities even though she has been observed by staff as 'becoming overstimulated and frustrated when expected to sit and attend regular education classes,'" The district's statement that it did not believe the behaviors were significant enough to require a BIP were unsupportable, given that it was recommending moving her to a more restrictive setting.