Creating Inclusive Early Care
and Education Communities:
Maine's Inclusive Preschool Project

Project Information

The benefits to the State:

• The development of high quality inclusive child care and early education for young children with disabilities in seven sites across the state
• The improvement of quality community early care and education across the state
• The increase of the numbers of young children who are receiving developmental therapy in inclusive community programs/settings
• The decrease in the numbers of children who are receiving developmental therapy in segregated programs/settings
• The development and field testing of a quality assurance program evaluation tool including guidelines and recommendations on its use
• Identification of quality placements and training and technical assistance needs
• The coordination of quality training including assessment and activity based intervention and its application within inclusive community placements and as well as other potential training as identified through the quality assurance field testing process.

The benefits to the University:

• The enhancement of the ability to further its teaching, research and public service mission by sharing its research and public service capacity within the State
• The support of a research and public service project that will generate needed information and enhance the expertise of University faculty and staff in a critical area needed by the State
• The furthering of knowledge and understanding by University faculty and staff of the needs of young children with disabilities in order to strengthen the outreach capacity of the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies to work with early care and education professionals, educators, policy makers, families, professional organizations and state agencies on topics related to inclusive early care issues.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES & SCOPE OF WORK

Goal: The project, in collaboration with the State and Regional Child Development Services (CDS) network, will provide capacity building training, technical assistance, consultation, and support to early childhood providers, parents, and other appropriate personnel to encourage and facilitate the inclusion of young children with disabilities in early childhood settings.

Objective 1: The Project, in collaboration with State CDS, will continue to work with the identified 7 regional CDS sites in this initiative over the project period.

Objective 2: The Project staff will facilitate planning sessions with the 7 participating CDS regional site staff to continue to develop the program quality assurance tools and process for systemic recommendation.

Objective 3: Based on quality assurance field testing process, the Project staff will facilitate planning sessions with the participating CDS regional site to develop a training and technical assistance plan to increase the number of young children with developmental and related disabilities receiving high quality, inclusive, early childhood education and childcare.

Objective 4: The Project, in collaboration with the regional CDS participants, will conduct training and technical assistance based upon each region's need, according to its training and technical assistance plan.

Objective 5: The Project, in collaboration with the regional CDS participants, will design and implement a process for documenting systemic and program specific outcomes related to this initiative.

Other goals: The following additional Developmental Disabilities Council Annual Program performance indicators will be met:

• Seven Regional CDS "public programs" will be improved (A.10)
• Two Early intervention Specialists/CDS region (total of 16) will facilitate person- and family-directed services/supports (A.18)
• Seven regional CDS "public education programs/policies" will be improved (E.11)
• Twenty-four early intervention specialists will facilitate inclusive education (E.15)
• Sixteen CDS Directors--public policymakers--will be educated about inclusive education (E.18)
• Seven regional CDS "public programs" become more inclusive (F.7)
• Twenty child care, day care and HeadStart "private programs" will become more inclusive (F.9)

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