Great Teachers Lead to Great Starts

Early On® Training and Technical Assistance (EOT&TA) Team Inspires and Supports Teachers Who Work with Michigan’s Youngest Citizens with Special Needs

by Linda Wacyk, Communication Specialist

Picture this. You’re a parent of a two-year-old who has special needs—maybe your child has a developmental delay or a physical disability. You’re seated at a table with seven or eight professionals, each with unique expertise to help your child thrive. They invite you to talk about your child, share concerns, and ask question after question to tap their talents.

Finally, you all work together to devise a plan—a plan that brings together all their skills and fits your family’s needs. Since there is a lot to plan, this process takes all day, but no one hurries off to other appointments.

Sound like a fantasy? Not really. Twelve Michigan families got to live this dream at a conference center in Dearborn. However, families weren’t the only ones to benefit from the experience. The event, called Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) Outcomes Day, was actually a training sponsored by Clinton County Regional Education Service Agency (CCRESA), Early On® Training & Technical Assistance (EOT&TA). Just one of a range of services provided by EOT&TA, the event allowed 90 professionals the chance to participate in real-time training around the needs of an actual family, then get feedback from experts about how they performed.

Powerful learning experiences are what EOT&TA is all about. The program was launched October 1, 2001 to provide training and technical assistance to interagency providers of early intervention services. In other words, EOT&TA teams support the professionals who in turn support families of young children with special needs. CCRESA, EOT&TA is one of seven major grantees charged with fulfilling the services mandated by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In Michigan, this effort is called Early On®, and its services extend to all 57 education and human service areas in the state.

“Early On® is a system, not a program,” said Christine Callahan, project coordinator for EOT&TA. “It’s an umbrella system that coordinates services to families.” This vast network of agencies includes anyone who works with children, birth to age three, who have special needs. Because young children come with families, Early On® also helps coordinate services to meet their needs as well.

EOT&TA provides training, technical assistance, and mentoring to the thousands of service providers who work with families and their children ages birth to age three who have special needs. CCRESA serves as fiscal agent for the project, although the funds come ultimately from federal sources and are regranted through the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services.

Helping the Helpers

EOT&TA works with Early On® coordinators in each county, as well as with each local interagency coordinating council (LICC), to help them address the needs of infants and toddlers, birth to age three with special needs, and their families. Embedded in the year’s schedule are five mandated areas of focus: Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP); transition services; embedding services in the natural environment; procedural safeguards; and developing evaluation tools.

“Our focus is to develop leadership skills and build capacity in the people who work with families,” said director Julie Banfield. “Then we expect them to use this expertise to help families support the growth and development of their infants and toddlers with special needs.”

The early interventionists they train represent a variety of agencies and service areas, including occupational therapists, physical therapists, Head Start teachers, health care providers, and more. Although these specialists may know a lot about families and kids, there is a lot to learn about the federal rules and regulations that go along with the federal legislation.

Training topics, however, go far beyond untangling red tape. Trainings encourage everyone to enhance personal skills. EOT&TA hopes to generate an environment of creativity and energy that will inspire all Early On® professionals to do their best work for families.

Technical Assistance Follows

Follow up for these trainings, as well as day-to-day mentoring and support, comes through the Technical Assistance program. EOT&TA has divided the state into six different service regions, each staffed by at least two technical assistance specialists. They answer questions about everything from rules to record-keeping, and they suggest ways to meet the challenges faced by local families and children.

Building relationships Is key

Indeed, relationships are central to the goals of the EOT&TA team. Team members have worked hard during their first year to build relationships with field workers, relationships built on trust. They listen carefully to the needs in the field, and then pool all their talents to meet those needs with lively and effective training.

For more information, visit www.ccresa.org/eotweb. To request training or technical assistance or to suggest topics for future trainings, call (866) 334-KIDS.