Building the Legacy for Our Youngest Children with Disabilities

A Training Curriculum on IDEA 2004′s Part C

October 2012

Welcome to our new training curriculum on early intervention! The full curriculum isn’t done yet, but we are pleased to announce that The Basics of Early Intervention (Module 1) is done–and it’s available for your reading, downloading, and training use.

Module 1–take me there!
About the curriculum–by whom, for whom, what’s included, why?
Table of contents for the curriculum–what’s planned?
Sign up for email alerts–when new modules become available
Quote slides—a bonus!
Important thank you’s

About the Training Curriculum

Here’s the story, straight to the point:

Title | Building the Legacy for Our Youngest Children with Disabilities: A Training Curriculum on Part C of IDEA 2004

By Whom? | This training curriculum is being produced by NICHCY at the request of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education.

For Whom? | The curriculum is intended to help all those involved with infants and toddlers with disabilities understand and implement Part C of IDEA 2004. That’s the federal law that authorizes early intervention services in the nation.

What’s Included? | Modules are designed to be used primarily by trainers to train others about early intervention program under Part C of IDEA. As such, each completed module has a slideshow, a trainer’s guide, and handouts and activity sheets for participants. You don’t have to be a trainer to learn from the curriculum, though. All are welcome to read, download, learn, and share.

Why? | Final regulations for Part C of IDEA were published in September 2011. OSEP wants to ensure that the early intervention field has solid guidance about those regulations–what’s new, what’s the same, and the oh-so-many details involved in providing early intervention services to eligible infants and toddlers with disabilities in every state and territory.

Table of Contents for the Part C Curriculum

Building the Legacy for Our Youngest Children with Disabilities is organized according to seven themes central to IDEA, with multiple training modules beneath each theme. The seven themes are:

A | Welcome to Early Intervention

B | Public Awareness Program and the Child Find System

C | Evaluating Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities

D | The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

E | Transition from Part C to Part B

F | Procedural Safeguards

G | Use of Funds

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And now for the modules themselves! Only Module 1 is currently available. But here’s the list of what’s coming–and you can sign up below to receive email alerts whenever new materials in this curriculum become available.

Theme A: Welcome to Early Intervention!

Take a broad look at Part C of IDEA 2004 with these 2 modules–the first welcomes newcomers to Part C and the second identifies what has changed with the publication of the 2011 regulations.

Module 1 | Basic Steps in Early Intervention
Module 2 | Key Changes in the Law and Regulations

Theme B: The Public Awareness Program and the Child Find System

What’s involved in a State’s pre-referral activities–especially its public awareness program and its child find system? How are children referred to early intervention? Find out what the Part C regulations require.

Module 3 | Pre-Referral Activities
Module 4 | Referral to the Part C Program

Theme C: Evaluating Infants and Toddlers for Disabilities

When an infant or toddler is referred to early intervention, the Part C system must determine if the little one has a developmental delay or disability. Find out how.

Module 5 | Screening Procedures
Module 6 | Evaluation of the Child
Module 7 | Assessment of the Child and Family

Theme D: Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

The IFSP is an essential document in the lives of infants and toddlers receiving early intervention services under Part C. How is the IFSP developed—and by whom? Learn about everything IFSP and more!

Module 8 | Procedures for Development, Review, and Evaluation of the IFSP
Module 9 | The IFSP Team: Who’s a Member?
Module 10 | Content of the IFSP
Module 11 | Meetings of the IFSP Team

Theme E: Transition from Part C to Part B

Toddlers are expected to leave early intervention by their third birthday and move on to other programs, settings, or services. Sure does help to plan ahead! And it’s required.

Module 12 | The Transition Process and Lead Agency Notification to the LEA and SEA
Module 13 | Development of the Transition Plan

Theme F: Procedural Safeguards

Prior written notice, informed written consent, confidentiality, access to early intervention records, just a few of the critical safeguards in the Part C regulations.

Module 14 |Introduction to Procedural Safeguards
Module 15 | Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information
Module 16 | Access to and Examination of Records
Module 17 | Options for Dispute Resolution

Theme G: Use of Funds

A lot of changes in the Part C regulations here. Find out more about how States pay for early intervention services, including the use of a family’s public or private insurance.

Module 18 | System of Payments and the Use of Public and Private Insurance

Sign Up for Email Alerts

Want to know when new Part C training modules become available? Sign up below, and we’ll alert you via email.

Quote Slides!

NICHCY is also pleased to make available a slideshow of 20 quotes for trainers to use as they see fit, such as before a training session while participants are coming into the room or during breaks. The quotes touch upon universal themes in our lives, such as children, families, leadership, teamwork, love, and growth. The slides themselves feature vivid pictures of babies and toddlers with disabilities, moms and dads, early intervention providers, and…well, you get the idea. We hope you (and your participants) enjoy viewing this slideshow of quotes as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Quote slides for you

—Important Thanks You’s—

This training curriculum on Part C of IDEA would not be available without the support of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Not only did OSEP ask that NICHCY develop this training curriculum on Part C of IDEA 2004, it also has provided incredible guidance and legal review of all content. OSEP staff have created the first drafts of the modules; attorneys at the Office of General Counsel have exhaustively reviewed all written materials for consistency with the statute and its implementing Part C regulations; and logistical, technical, and fiscal support has been provided. NICHCY would like to express its deep appreciation for OSEP’s dedication and commitment to the field by making this product possible.

The names behind the training curriculum? Here they are.

OSEP Curriculum Coordinators: Jessica Spataro and Rhonda Spence

NICHCY Curriculum Coordinator and Editor: Lisa Küpper

NICHCY’s Project Officer at OSEP: Dr. Corinne Weidenthal

OSEP Management
Ruth Ryder, Deputy Director, OSEP
Gregg Corr, Director, Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division, OSEP
Larry Wexler, Director, Research to Practice Division, OSEP

Office of General Counsel
Kala Surprenant

OSEP Writers
Dawn Ellis
Charlie Kniseley
Frank Miller
Kim Mitchell
Tammy Proctor
Carmen Sanchez
Virginia (Ginger) Sheppard
Rhonda Spence
Hillary Tabor
Brenda Wilkins

Layout and Design of All Materials
Lisa Küpper

NICHCY Leadership
Elaine Mulligan, Director

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