Promoting Use of Effective Early Intervention Programs

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is now strong scientific support for the wide-spread implementation of proven, effective early intervention programs for children with, or at risk for, developmental disability. However, in practice, programs that lack demonstrated effectiveness are often implemented, undermining the impact of early intervention. Our goal is to create an archive of early intervention programs for which scientific evidence of effectiveness exists when implemented with children ages 0-5 with, or at risk for, developmental disability. The Early Intervention Program Archive to Reduce Developmental Disability (EIPARD) will consist of complete replication kits of all necessary materials for implementation in service settings. These will be described in detail on Psychometrics' website to facilitate selection of the most appropriate program for a given need. To further ensure the best use of this archive, two additional innovative practical products will be developed: the Early Intervention Program Implementation Tutorial, a CD-ROM-based tutorial that will offer both generalized and program tailored implementation training; and the Early Intervention Program Evaluation Toolkit, a CD-ROM-based toolkit that will guide El program leaders in assessing evaluation readiness of their programs and provide the tools for conducting an evaluation of program effectiveness. The goal of the proposed Phase I project is to test the feasibility of a plan to develop these products. More specifically, we will address the following questions: (1) Can a set of criteria be developed that can be applied reliably by experts in the selection of early intervention programs to be included in the EIPARDD? (2) Can an adequate set of exemplary early intervention. Programs be identified that have demonstrated scientific effectiveness and meet the to-be developed selection criteria? (3) Can permission be obtained to acquire, upgrade, market, and disseminate program curricula and ancillary material from the original developers of the selected early intervention programs? (4) Can original program material be enhanced to the point of public usability and commercial viability? And, (5) Can additional resources and their content be detailed that will facilitate the selection, design and implementation, and evaluation of early intervention, and the training of the professionals responsible for these activities? The commercial market for these products is substantial with over 55,000 professionals working in early intervention under IDEA Part C, serving over 237,000 infants and toddlers.