Read the following Q&A with Early Learning Director Carol Moore to learn more about what this achievement means for the Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) program.
Q: What is this report card and what does it mean for our agency?
A: It’s how the federal government measures the quality of special education programs. It reveals how many children in our program show growth in social-emotional skills, how they gain and use new knowledge and skills, and their use of appropriate behaviors.
Q: What is something you’re proud of that is reflected in this year’s report card?
A: Our program has made tremendous growth over the past few report cards. We met state targets in only 5 of 12 categories on the 2012-13 and 2013-14 report cards. We now meet or exceed targets in 10 of these, and we’re close to meeting in the other two.
We have also significantly increased the number of children we serve in inclusive settings like community preschools. On this report card, over 49% of ECSE children were in regular programs, well above state averages. When preschoolers experiencing disability or delay attend classes alongside their typically developing peers, they take an important first step toward fully participating in their communities.
Q: What is something your team will look to as an area of improvement for the coming year?
A: While continuing to improve in these areas, next year we will also put special attention on child find efforts for infants birth to age one. We fell below the state target for the first time in percentage of babies in our county who receive Early Intervention services.
