Building the Birth to Five Workforce

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Building the Birth to Five Workforce

• Three States Experiences of Collaborative
  Activities for Assuring Highly Qualified
  Personnel

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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, Concords Community
  College
• VERMONT
• Manuela Fonseca, Early Education Coordinator
• Vermont Department of Education

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Virginia Strengthening the System
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Virginia

• Lead Agency Department of Behavioral Health and
  Developmental Services
• Partnership for People with Disabilities at VCU
  (VAs UCEDD) Integrated Training Collaborative

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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.

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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.

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Recent Activities

• Established Core Competencies in 10 areas,
  including SC
• http//www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-cc-EI-ITC-Co
  reCompetenc.pdf
• Clarified Infant Toddler Connection of Virginia
  Service Pathway
• http//www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-ccED-Service
  PathChart.pdf
• Developed Practitioner Qualifications and
  Responsibilities (by discipline)
• http//www.infantva.org/documents/ovw-cc-EI-Person
  nelQual-QA.pdf
• Defined Training/Competency requirements in
  Virginia

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Development of Professional Development/Credential
ing 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

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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

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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)

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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.

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New Hampshire
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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

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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.

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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

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Independent IHEs 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

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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

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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

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Vermont
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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

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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 Vermonts OSEP State Improvement Grant
  funded need-based scholarships
• The first cohort enrolled in Summer 2005

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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 states publicly funded pre-K
• ECE
• Teach preK - grade 3

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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

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Snapshot of Todays 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

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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

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For More Information

• VIRGINA
• Deana Buck dmbuck_at_vcu.edu
• NEW HAMPSHIRE
• Linda Graham linda.graham_at_dhhs.state.nh.us
• Gale Hall ghall_at_ccsnh.edu
• VERMONT
• Manuela Fonseca manuela.fonseca_at_state.vt.us