Building the Birth to Five Workforce

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.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.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. Using ARRA money • 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

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. 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 Vermont: Building the Higher Education Collaborative-EC/ECSE Program

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. 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 A Word About VT Licensure

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. 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 Snapshot of Today’s HEC-EC/ECSE

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.edu • NEW HAMPSHIRE: Linda Graham: linda.graham@dhhs.state.nh.us Gale Hall: ghall@ccsnh.edu • VERMONT: Manuela Fonseca: manuela.fonseca@state.vt.us