HOW DO WE SET UP A COLLABORATIVE INCLUSIVE PROGRAM?

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW TO SET UP AN INCLUSIVE PROGRAM?

Talk with you staff about their views on inclusion, and get their input. Generate specific discussions about how they feel about children with disabilities in their classroom, how children without disabilities benefit, etc.
Look for a partner. This should be a special education agency willing to enter into an equal partnership with both parties respecting each other as a valued contributor to the relationship. Each party should be committed to the increased understanding of the work of the other.
Look for a partner with a shared vision, philosophy, and common ground in practical application regarding early childhood education, inclusion, and special education. Spend a lot of time on this! Be as detailed as possible to determine where you agree and where you do not. If you always seem to agree, talk some more.
Discuss how you would handle conflicts and support needs. See if you can agree on a process.
Share information on mandates, regulations, and any other constraints (policy, parent organization limits, etc.) Determine if your agencies are at least "workably" compatible.
Consider joint/collaborative interviews for hiring staff and for evaluations (performance appraisal and staff evaluations). At the minimum, each agency should have "veto power" on hiring/retaining collaborative services staff, and each should have input on job performance evaluations

The next few pages describe things to think about...

Philosophy

This is one of the most important aspects of providing an inclusive setting in your early childhood program. Whether the services take place in your child care center or at the child's home, you will need to think hard about what you want. You need to:

Make a clear statement of your beliefs about how children learn, and how they should be served. Be specific! Generalities can lead to a false sense of compatibility.
Get familiar with each other's agency mission statement. Policy manuals and job descriptions can give a clearer sense of practical applications of mission.
Whose children are these children? What degree of responsibility for all children in the classroom or program in each partners willing to assume? How is this actualized?

The Appendix has an example of a philosophical mission statement.

I've gained an understanding of how to help different people with whatever needs they have. I used to feel sorry for handicapped people. I had an image of physical disabilities. I have learned about the abilities of kids."

Quote from a child care provider

Lines of authority

Since there will be many people involved, this needs to be carefully explored from the beginning.

Administrators: Includes executive directors, directors

Need to create specific channels of communication & decision-making
Day care administrators need to understand and be aware of what services are provided and how they address children's needs
Both agencies need to understand each other's mandates and regulations

The Team: Includes special education teachers and teacher assistants, child care lead teachers and teacher assistants, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech and language therapists, social workers, etc.

All staff are part of the team
Clarify early childhood and special ed staff roles: how they interrelate and how support structures will work together
Consider the relationships among staff between agencies
Consider the relationships among staff within agencies at each level
Ask the following questions:
1. Who makes what decisions?
2. How will successes be celebrated?
3. How will support be made available?
4. Who is responsible for what paperwork, contacts, coordination, etc.? This includes IEPs, IFSPs, day care checklists, etc.
5. How will problems/breeches of regulations or policies be handled?
6. How will corrective action or training needs be handled?
7. Who is the support person/coordinator? From which agency? If there is one from each agency, how will they relate to each other?
8. How can you enable people to release their roles?

"[It's great] having an administrative support person to help mediate and help work things out on the team?

Quote from an early childhood provider

Money and contracts

You need to make a clear and detailed plan about who pays for what, and ensure that payments are made promptly. You should also consider:

What costs are there? Who pays for each itemized cost?
If an academic calendar is followed, where does money come from for breaks and holidays?
If services are not on an academic schedule (itinerant services or early intervention) then how is payment for child care or nursery school secured?
Who purchases and decides on supplies and equipment?
How will you coordinate paperwork?
Who develops contracts and signs them?
How can day care staff be freed for planning time, training, etc.?
Who provides maintenance of the facility?
Are your respective mandates congruent? For example, Department of Social Services, Department of Health, State Education Department
Who pays for insurance coverage and other liability issues?

Schedules

Schedules need to be set so that all staff have knowledge of daily, weekly and annual calendars. All staff should work together to plan schedules. All staff need to be flexible!

Annual

Share the Calendar in the beginning of the school years
Plan for holiday and vacation coverage as needed
Plan for snow emergencies
If children are bussed from different parts of the county, plan for differing arrival and departure times

Weekly

Everyone should know when each staff person works
Planning meetings should be part of the schedule
Create a schedule that makes sense to the child and the classroom

Daily

Clarify who is responsible for which part of the daily plan
Clarify who schedules staff breaks and when they are to occur
Everyone should know the daily schedule for each child

"Scheduling is one of the biggest [challenges]. Team planning is very difficult to schedule."

Quote from a child care provider

Space and accessibility

When we think about space, generally we think of the classroom. However, this can also be extended to adult space too. Some of the things to keep in mind include:

Will some therapists need space outside of the classroom for "pull-out" services?
Is there therapeutic equipment that will take up a lot of room?
Is there "quiet space" for children?
Are there too many people for the size of the classroom?
Are there times when different staff can set up for activities?
Are staff responsible for taking care of the space they use?
Is there space for assessments and evaluations?
Is there a place for staff belongings?
Is there adequate space for files and notes?
Is there a place staff can write up observations and notes?
Is there a place where staff can keep materials for therapies?

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal law that requires facilities to be accessible for people with disabilities. As you plan your rooms, imagine what it would be like for a child in a wheelchair to get around. Remember that this includes classrooms as well as bathrooms.

"Kids need space and lots of adults [in the classroom] mean taking up space. Not enough space brings out anxiety in kids and adults."

Quote from a day care provider

Meeting together

Regular planning time needs to be scheduled so that day care staff and special education staff can attend. Many teams do this during a nap time or provide a sub from either staff so that the early childhood teacher(s) can be available. When teams meet there is communication, a consistent approach for children and families, and an efficient way to share the work of the classroom. This meeting can have several purposes:

Plan together for:

The weekly themes, schedule and routines
Who designs and sets up which activities
Classroom coverage at different times
Clarifying each person's role
Acknowledgement of what is going well

Problem-solve together about:

Goals for children with special needs and how to implement them
The development and updating of these goals (the IFSP & IEP)
Classroom issues related to children and families
Results of record keeping
How the team is working together (see Appendix)
Transitioning children to other settings

Staff Development by:

Creating opportunities to share information and approaches with each other
Bringing in speakers or films around topics of interest

Teams can get better at using limited meeting time by having agendas, keeping time, etc. The Appendix has ideas about ways to make the best use of your time together.

Staff development

As with any new venture, all staff will need to learn from each other, as well as learning about how to work with each other. Together the staff should consider:

What kinds of training or in-service opportunities can be made available to us?

Can we get substitute teachers to free up our time?

Can we manage to arrange for larger blocks of time to learn from each other

and outside experts?

What do we need to know about each other in order to work well together?

How do we view children and their strengths and needs?

What kinds of rules and regulations do we each have to work with?

What do we need to know about modifying our separate programs to provide a truly inclusive program?

What do we need to know about building teams, having productive planning meetings, choosing activities, and resolving conflicts that arise?

What do we need to know about working with families?

Here are some important tips to remember:

All staff should help identify topics and needs for training
Al staff should participate together in the training activities
All staff have knowledge and resources to share with each other
Acknowledge differences in your programs and educate each other in your different methods and approaches in an on-going manner

"To have successful collaboration, it is crucial to have in-service around communication skills."

Quote for an early childhood center director

What do families want from us?

To be sensitive to the needs of the families we serve, we should take into account the degree to which our programs and agencies are truly focused on both the strengths and the needs our families offer. Moving toward more family-centered practices involves a consideration of the following:

Families want to be respected
Families want to be treated as individuals
Families want to hear from other parents who have "been there"
Families want to feel welcome in your center
Families want accurate and consistent information in writing' information that is simplified and packaged in a useable way
Families want connections with sensitive and knowledgeable professionals
Families want the system to be responsive to their needs
Families want to develop a degree of trust through open and honest communication
Families want access to programs and services embedded within their local community
Families want consistency in transitions when a child goes from infant to preschool program, and from preschool to the public school system

Strategies to keep families involved:

Establish on-going communication by:

Regularly scheduled home visits
Daily or weekly notebooks that go home with children
Phone calls that are convenient to families
Make the classroom accessible for parents to observe
Help parents access resources and support, including the following areas:

Rights and responsibilities within IFSP, IEP and CPSE systems
Medical professionals
Child welfare programs
Involve families at your center

Develop parent support groups (daytime and evening)
Informational meetings in specific topics (daytime and evening)

Remember...

What families want for their children with identified special needs are the same things that families want for their children without special needs. This includes:

Positive and consistent human relationships
Understanding and well training early childhood providers and staff
Closer child/adult ratios in all classrooms
Less adult-directed "education" and more developmentally appropriate practice
A view of the child based more upon individual strengths than perceived deficits
Acceptance and appreciation for the unique ways in which we all learn and grow

"First help me identify the need, and then help me meet it."

Quote from parent

What's it like to have a child with special needs?

Every family is unique and deals differently with a child with special needs. However, many families express these types of feelings when they discover that they have a child with special needs.

Isolation:
We are in this alone, and no one else has ever had this experience. Our friends and family don't understand and aren't helpful. It's us against the world.

Guilt:
Whose fault is this? Why did this happen to us?

Fear:
What is going to happen next? How will these bills get paid? What will this disability mean to me and my child? Will he be able to do things like other children? Will any of my dreams for her be realized?

Anger:
This is the fault of ____________!!!! (God, the doctor, etc.)

Depression: (chronic sorrow)
This isn't going to be easy. Look what the other kids are doing that my child can't do.

"Acceptance" (coping)
We are dealing with this. She is accomplishing things. There are others in our shoes or even worse off. Our child is unique just like every other child and is a gift to us like any other child.

These feelings come and go like a circle. They are all perfectly "normal" and helpers shouldn't label them otherwise!