February 16, 2025 Tips for Creating an Inclusive ECE Environment Below are tips, practices, and tools that support an inclusive and equitable learning environment for ALL children.
February 15, 2025 Behavior is Communication: Understanding the Basics of Behavior Now what? By noting patterns of a concerning behavior, you can start to work with your classroom team and EI providers to address environment, interactions, developmentally appropriate practices, etc. Remember: You can’t control someone’s behavior. What you can control are environmental antecedents and your reaction (the consequence). Additional Behavior Support Resources OCDEL Behavioral Help for Early Childhood Programs (PDF) Allegheny County Rapid Response Team System 1-2-3 National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations
February 14, 2025 The Role of ECE Programs in EI Services Before EI Starts: Talk to the parents/guardians about … The child’s developmental milestones. Observations of the child, highlighting both areas of strength and areas that need additional support. Encourage the child’s family to talk to their pediatrician about any developmental concerns or reach out to Early Intervention for a no-cost developmental screening. Have local EI resources available to all families in your program. After EI Starts: Share information about … The child’s interests and preferences (toys, friends, games, songs, etc). The child’s dislikes or non-preferred activities. Your classroom schedule, transitions, and routines. Partner with the EI providers: Welcome EI into your classroom with the assumption that they want to make your day easier—not harder! You likely aren’t able to spend the full session engaging with the EI provider and child. Try to take a few minutes to check in with the EI provider at the beginning and end of the session. Intentionally observe the EI provider’s interactions with the child. Be open to new suggestions and give yourself time to try new strategies. You may need to try a new strategy for a few weeks before you notice a difference. Advocate for yourself and your classroom: Ask the EI providers to write a few bullet points of practice strategies on a sticky note, or text you a quick summary of strategies. If you find a strategy is too difficult to implement given your program’s policies and procedures, ask the EI provider to brainstorm ways to incorporate the strategy into routines and activities that you’re already doing. Provide honest feedback to the EI provider as well as the parent.
February 10, 2025 EI & ECE: Myths vs. Facts Myths about Early Intervention Myth: Early intervention can “cure” a child’s delays or disability. Fact: Early Intervention aims to build parent and caregiver capacity in supporting a child’s unique developmental needs. EI is designed to be a collaborative process that provides tools, resources, strategies, and coaching to parents and caregivers. Myth: EI providers should be working directly with the child one-on-one during their full session. They should not be talking to the teacher or completing paperwork during the session. Fact: EI providers should balance between modeling strategies, engaging with the child, and coaching the caregiver. EI providers may also be required to collect data, document progress, and complete session notes during the session to promote caregiver involvement in these aspects of EI. Myth: EI sessions don’t feel long enough or frequent enough for change to happen. Fact: When EI is provided in the home or at child care, sessions are typically up to 60 minutes in length. Sessions use a coaching model of service delivery to support parent/caregiver carryover, consistency, and repeated practice outside of the EI session—all of which help young children learn. Children who benefit from more intensive supports may qualify for a dedicated preschool EI classroom. Families can talk to their preschool EI team or local Intermediate Unit for more information. Myth: If a child has EI, they’ll automatically be in special education for the rest of their schooling. Fact: A child who receives EI may stop receiving services at any time if the parent/guardian chooses to do so. Children receiving EI are also regularly reevaluated and may stop receiving services when they meet developmental milestones. Research suggests that EI can actually be linked to a lower need for special education support in the future. Myth: Child care is the same as babysitting. Fact: There are many differences between licensed child care and babysitting. Babysitting is typically a private arrangement made between a parent and a caregiver. Licensed child care is regulated by the Department of Human Services, Regional Child Development Office. In child care programs, there are regulations in place to protect the health and safety of young children. There are also quality standards guided by Keystone STARS. Many child care programs follow a curriculum aligned with PA Early Learning Standards to promote positive interactions, developmentally appropriate practice, and social-emotional development. Myth: Most child care providers and early educators do not have child development training, credentials, or degrees. Fact: The minimum required education for a teacher’s assistant or aide in a licensed child care program in PA is a high school diploma plus 15 hours of new staff orientation training. Assistant Group Supervisors must have a high school diploma with credit hours in an early childhood related field or two years of experience with children. Lead teachers or group supervisors must have a minimum of an Associate’s Degree in ECE or related field plus two years of experience with children, but many have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Pre-K Counts teachers are required to have a PA teaching certification. Learn more about ECE Career Lattice (PDF). Myth: Child care providers and early childhood educators should be able to provide one-on-one support to children who need it. Fact: Child care is a group care setting. While child care teachers provide some individualized attention throughout the day, they are responsible for the safety and education of the full group. Child Care providers in PA are required by PA code to maintain the following student-to-staff ratios: Infants (birth–12 months): 1 adult to 4 infants Young Toddler (1–2 years old): 1 adult to 5 young toddlers Older Toddler (2–3 years old): 1 adult to 6 older toddlers Preschool (3 years old–beginning K): 1 adult to 10 preschoolers Myth: It doesn’t matter if you call it “child care” or “day care.” Fact: Words matter! In June of 2018, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed House Bill 1677 to update Pennsylvania’s regulations and code to use the term “child care,” rather than “day care,” to reflect the work of early learning programs more accurately. The impacts of child care are multifaceted and lifelong—much longer than a day. Learn more about why it’s important to Call it Child Care. Send Us Your Questions! First Name Last Name Email Phone Title/Role Parent/Guardian Early Educator/Teacher Program Director Early Intervention Provider Early Intervention Service Coordinator Pediatric Professional Other (Please let us know below!) What other questions do you have about Early Intervention and/or Inclusion in Early Care and Education?
February 9, 2025 Early Intervention Transition Q&A Why does transition occur? Answer: Infant/Toddler EI, Preschool EI, and K-12 education are administered (or managed) differently. In Pennsylvania, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) administers early intervention in collaboration with both the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) and the PA Department of Education (PDE). Infant/Toddler EI in Allegheny County: The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Behavioral Health contracts with The Alliance for Infants at Toddlers to provide evaluations, service coordination, and developmental monitoring. Early Intervention services are provided by one or more of 12 contracted provider agencies. Preschool EI in Allegheny County: Depending on where you live in Allegheny County, two different Intermediate Units administer preschool EI—Mt. Oliver Intermediate Unit 2/Pittsburgh Public School District (PPS) and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 (AIU). School-Age Special Education in Allegheny County: School-age (K-12) special education services are administered by the PA Department of Education (PDE) and Bureau of Special Education. Special Education services are provided by the Local Education Agency (LEA), which includes both public school districts and charter schools. When does transition occur? Answer: In Infant/Toddler EI, a transition planning meeting is held with the family six months to 90 days before the child’s third birthday to discuss and plan for transition. Some children may exit EI before or at age 3 if they’ve met all of their developmental goals and/ or are no longer eligible for services. For children interested in transitioning from Infant/Toddler EI to Preschool EI, a new evaluation may be completed. If a child is eligible to transition to Preschool EI, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) will be developed before their third birthday and services should begin no later than 14 days after the child’s third birthday. In Preschool EI, transition planning starts the year before a child is old enough to enroll in kindergarten or first grade. In February of the child’s transition year, kindergarten transition meetings occur between the Preschool EI program, the school district, and the family. The family will complete an “intent to register” form and will work with the school district through the school-age evaluation process. If the child continues to remain eligible for special education services, an IEP should be developed so that services are in place on the first day of kindergarten. If a child received Infant/ Toddler EI, will they automatically receive Preschool EI? If a child received Preschool EI, will they automatically receive special education in Kindergarten? Answer: No, a child who received Infant/Toddler EI will not automatically receive Preschool EI and a child who received Preschool EI will not automatically receive school-age services. This is because: A child may exit early intervention because they have met their developmental milestones and no longer qualify. The eligibility criteria changes with each transition. From Infant/Toddler EI to Preschool EI, children are no longer able to qualify on the eligibility criteria of “informed clinical opinion” (qualifying based on the professional opinion of the evaluator, even if the child did not qualify based on assessment). From Preschool EI to K-12, children can no longer qualify for services based on having a “developmental delay.” During all transitions, the legal guardian must provide consent/permission. Guardians must be an active participant during the transition process. What if a child is no longer eligible for services after a transition? Answer: If a child who was eligible for Infant/Toddler EI does not qualify for Preschool EI, the family may pursue private non-special education services through insurance or private pay (for example, outpatient speech therapy). The family may also request further screening or an evaluation at a later point if developmental concerns continue. School-age children who do not qualify for special education may also pursue private non-special education services (for example, outpatient therapy). School-age children with a documented disability who are not eligible for special education may qualify for accommodations in the general classroom under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If a child did not previously qualify for EI but concerns arise in the K-12 setting, the guardian can request a special education evaluation by contacting the school in writing. How can Early Care and Education (ECE) programs support transition? Answer: ECE programs can be open to inviting evaluators to come into their program, especially during the transition process. This allows evaluators to conduct observations or evaluations of a child in their current early learning environment, and also allows the child’s current program to provide input. ECE programs can also offer to participate in planning meetings at the parent’s request. Parents are entitled to invite other relevant individuals to meetings pertaining to their child’s services. ECE programs can be aware of approaching transitions ahead of the child’s third birthday and when they’re preparing to enter kindergarten. Programs can ask families if they’ve had a transition meeting and discuss any achievements or areas that need additional support.
