Division for Early Childhood 2024 Conference

Join the Service Coordination Committee as we highlight new resources you can use to recruit service coordinators, build their knowledge and skills, and retain them as valuable members of the early intervention workforce. This session will also include engaging discussion and opportunities to provide input to inform future Committee activities. 

This session will explore opportunities for DEC members to influence policy changes for more equitable and inclusive early childhood systems for young children with disabilities and developmental delay using the 5 Ws framework (Who, What, When, Why, How).  You already know the WHY – early childhood systems are not working for families with young children with disabilities and developmental delays. This session will provide an introduction for attendees to understand WHAT state-level policy and systems change is all about and some of the hot topics states are tackling; WHO can help you make the changes you want to see; WHEN the windows of opportunity for policy change happens in states; and HOW you can influence and strengthen early childhood policies.

This session will also include a panel of state-level advocates discussing ways to get started in advocacy, how to engage families and providers in advocacy work, and other ways they have brought the 5 Ws to life.

This session will offer a world café model for attendees to explore early childhood disability policy issues they would like to influence.  Each table will have a different early childhood policy topic for discussion -- Early Intervention access, Early Childhood Special Education and inclusion across settings, child care access for children with disabilities, and another topic(s)   Each table will start with a state spark story to get the discussion going, with opportunities for attendees to identify specific activities (guided by a worksheet ) they can take back to their home states to begin to explore policy change opportunities.

DEC’s Policy and Advocacy Committee will provide recommendations on how policies can support a diverse workforce in early childhood at both the federal and state levels. Practical perspectives from traditionally marginalized backgrounds will be shared to amplify their voices, and advocacy strategies will be shared and aligned with DEC’s Racial Equity Point of View.  

During this session, participants will discuss a family-centered, early intervention assessment process while engaging in effective teaming and collaboration. Practitioners will walk away with strategies that will assist with creating improved children and family outcomes.

The Subdivision Support committee and a panel of subdivision leaders will provide resources and actionable tasks to support you in starting subdivisions, reviving subdivisions, and maintaining active membership. Participants will engage in panel discussions and small group activities and will leave with immediately actionable items related to their specific needs.

This session provides an in-depth look at the dimensions of equity in early childhood assessment. Participants will explore the relationships between the cost, usability, technical merit, and cultural relevance of early childhood measures. They will consider the implications for how to best meet the measurement needs of their communities.

Evidence-based approaches to designing high-quality inclusive field experiences across early childhood personnel preparation that connect theory and practice are essential. This session will share the results of a systematic literature review of ECE/EI/ECSE fieldwork to help identify essential practices and fill research gaps to promote inclusive practices in communities.

Parent-mediated Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions for children with ASD often focus on play activities. By coaching families to use these evidence-based strategies during typical family routines, parents can extend intervention throughout their day and teach their children to use social communication skills during routines where those skills are needed.

Processes and structures can lead to good practices, minimizing the impact of individual-professional acumen. This minimization enhances consistency without diminishing the strengths of professionals who do well. Three tools we have employed are supporting professionals visiting homes, child cares, and preschools: the Ecomap, the Matrix, the Next-Steps Form.

This session will focus on the effects of nurse-led experiential training on childcare providers’ self-efficacy, response efficacy, confidence, and competence for specific healthcare needs such as seizures or asthma. How a program such as Childcare Ready for All (CRAwl) supports inclusivity and readiness will be discussed as well as policy implications.