Orientation to Outcomes

1. Orientation to Outcomes Lynne Kahn Kathy Hebbeler The Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center October 16, 2012 Early Childhood Outcomes Center

2. What We Will Cover • Background on child and family outcomes • Family Indicator C4 • Indicators C3 and B7 • The three child outcomes • Progress categories & summary statements • Approaches to measuring child outcomes • Emerging trends • Conference overview Early Childhood Outcomes Center

3. Background on Measuring Outcomes Why are state early intervention and preschool special education agencies collecting data on child and family outcomes? Early Childhood Outcomes Center

4. Need for Outcomes Data • Accountability • Federal government (Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education) requires that states submit data on outcomes • In some states, policy-makers are asking for outcome data • Program Improvement • State agencies (and local programs) want to use data on outcomes to improve services for children and families Early Childhood Outcomes Center

5. Background • Part C and Part B, Section 619 are line items programs in IDEA funding • OSEP had no data on these programs. • In 2003, funded the ECO Center to convene stakeholders to make recommendations on the outcomes and what to report. Early Childhood Outcomes Center

6. Why do we care about outcomes for families? • Pt. C of IDEA is based on expected benefit to families • Achieving child outcomes requires healthy families • Families can be affected by having a child with a disability- early intervention/preschool can reduce negative impacts and promote positive adaptation • Family outcomes may be especially important for families whose children, despite intensive early intervention/preschool, make relatively little progress and suffer serious health or developmental challenges Early Childhood Outcomes Center

7. Ultimate Goal for EI and ECSE: Families “to enable families to provide care for their child and have the resources they need to participate in their own desired family and community activities. .” Based on the ECO stakeholder process when identifying outcomes Early Childhood Outcomes Center

8. Considerations in Developing Family Outcomes for Part C and 619 • How can a national system to assess family outcomes accommodate the wide range of individualized outcomes? • What measurement strategies should be used that are objective yet sensitive to the fact that many outcomes are perceptions? • Should a similar set of family outcomes be expected of early intervention and preschool programs? Early Childhood Outcomes Center

9. Input Process and Recommendations • Technical Workgroup on Family Outcomes • Developed priority outcome statements based on commonalities across the literature • ECO Constituent Workgroups • Reacted to and tweaked the resulting list of outcome statements • Recommended that the same set of family outcomes be used birth through five • Recommended family report of perceptions as the measurement strategy Early Childhood Outcomes Center

10. Stakeholder Recommendation: Family Outcomes • Families understand their child’s strengths, abilities, and special needs • Families know their rights and advocate effectively for their child • Families help their child develop and learn • Families have support systems • Families are able to gain access to desired services and activities in their community Note: 1 through 3 were recommended for EI and ECSE. There was not consensus on whether 4 and 5 applied to ECSE. Early Childhood Outcomes Center

11. Family Outcomes: Additional Resources • Family and Child Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April 2005) • Recommended Outcomes for Families of Young Children with Disabilities. Bailey, D. B. Jr., Bruder, M.B., Hebbeler, K., Carta, J., Defosset, M., Greenwood, C., Kahn, L., Mallik, S., Markowitz, J., Spiker, D., Walker, D., & Barton, L. (2006). • What Is the Future of Family Outcomes and Family-Centered Services? Bailey, D., Raspa, M., & Fox, L. (2012). Early Childhood Outcomes Center

12. Family Indicator: C4 Early Childhood Outcomes Center

13. APR Requirements for Part C Percent of families participating in Part C who report that EI services have helped the family: • Know their rights • Effectively communicate their children’s needs • Help their children develop and learn Early Childhood Outcomes Center

14. APR Requirements for Part B, Section 619 Preschool Programs • Percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities • no specific indicator for preschool, nor the expectation for examining preschool family involvement separately from Part B Early Childhood Outcomes Center

15. State Approaches for Family Indicator: 2012 • Original ECO Family Outcomes Survey, Items 16-18 (17 states) • Revised ECO Family Outcomes Survey (6 states)* • NCSEAM Impact on Family Scale (25 states) • State Survey (7 states) *One additional state used both ECO Surveys Early Childhood Outcomes Center

16. Family Survey: Additional Resources • ECO Family Surveys • http://projects.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pages/tools.cfm#SurveyVersions • NCSEAM* Survey • http://www.accountabilitydata.org/FamilyInvolvmentNCSEAMMeasures.htm *National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring Early Childhood Outcomes Center

17. Early Childhood Outcomes Center

18. Challenges Related to Family Surveys • Need to increase the response rates • Determining and increasing the representativeness of the data • Interpreting the data to improve outcomes for families Early Childhood Outcomes Center

19. Child Outcomes: C3 and B7 Early Childhood Outcomes Center

20. Themes from the Stakeholders: Child Outcomes • Consistent with IDEA and legislative intent • Reflect what EI and ECSE are trying to do • Develop one set of outcomes for all disabilities • Develop one set of outcomes for birth to five • Make the outcomes functional • Have the potential to positively influence practice; do not drive the field backwards Early Childhood Outcomes Center

21. Ultimate Goal for EI and ECSE “To enable young children to be active and successful participants during the early childhood years and in the future in a variety of settings – in their homes with their families, in child care, preschool or school programs, and in the community.” Based on the ECO stakeholder process when identifying 3 functional outcomes Early Childhood Outcomes Center

22. Understanding the Three Child Outcomes Early Childhood Outcomes Center

23. Three Child Outcomes • Children have positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships) • Children acquire and use knowledge and skills (including early language/ communication [and early literacy]) • Children use appropriate behaviors to meet their needs Early Childhood Outcomes Center

24. Outcomes Are Functional Functional outcomes: • Refer to using skills to accomplish things that are meaningful to the child in the context of everyday life • Refer to an integrated series of behaviors or skills that allow the child to achieve the important everyday goals Early Childhood Outcomes Center

25. Children Have Positive Social Relationships • Involves: • Relating with adults • Relating with other children • For older children, following rules related to groups or interacting with others • Includes areas like: • Attachment/separation/autonomy • Expressing emotions and feelings • Learning social rules and expectations • Social interactions and play Early Childhood Outcomes Center

26. Children Acquire and Use Knowledge and Skills • Involves: • Thinking • Reasoning • Remembering • Problem solving • Using symbols and language • Understanding physical and social worlds • Includes: • Early concepts—symbols, pictures, numbers, classification, spatial relationships • Imitation • Object permanence • Expressive and receptive language and communication • Early literacy Early Childhood Outcomes Center

27. Children Take Appropriate Action to Meet Their Needs • Involves: • Taking care of basic needs • Getting from place to place • Using tools (e.g., fork, toothbrush, crayon) • In older children, contributing to their own health and safety • Includes: • Integrating motor skills to complete tasks • Self-help skills (e.g., dressing, feeding, grooming, toileting, household responsibility) • Acting on the world to get what one wants Early Childhood Outcomes Center

28. Taking Action to Meet Needs • Includes • Integrating various skills (gross motor, fine motor, communication skills) to complete tasks • Self help skills (feeding, dressing, toileting, household task) • Acting on the world to get what he or she wants • Not JUST acting on the world: takes APPROPRIATE action to meet needs Early Childhood Outcomes Center

29. Outcomes Reflect Global Functioning • Each outcome is a snapshot of: • The whole child • Status of the child’s current functioning • Functioning across settings and situations • Rather than: • Skill by skill • In one standardized way • Split by domains Early Childhood Outcomes Center

30. Child Outcomes: Additional Resources • Family and Child Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April 2005) • Child Outcomes Video: Step by Step Early Childhood Outcomes Center

31. OSEP Reporting CategoriesPercentage of children who: a. Did not improve functioning b. Improved functioning, but not sufficient to move nearer to functioning comparable to same-aged peers c. Improved functioning to a level nearer to same-aged peers but did not reach it d. Improved functioning to reach a level comparable to same-aged peers e. Maintained functioning at a level comparable to same-aged peers 3 outcomes x 5 “measures” = 15 numbers Early Childhood Outcomes Center

32. Who is included in the reporting • In February 2013, states will report progress on all children who • Exited the program between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, and • Were in the program for at least 6 months. Early Childhood Outcomes Center

33. Helping Children Move Toward Age-Expected Functioning • Assumption: Children can be described with regard to how close they are to age expected functioning for each of the 3 outcomes • By definition, most children in the general population demonstrate the outcome in an age-expected way • By providing services and supports, EI and ECSE are trying to move children closer to age expected behavior Early Childhood Outcomes Center

34. Functioning

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38. Key Points • The OSEP reporting categories describe types of progress children can make between entry and exit • Data from two time points (entry and exit) are needed to calculate what OSEP category describes a child’s progress Early Childhood Outcomes Center

39. e. % of children who maintain functioning at a level comparable to same-aged peers Understanding the reporting categories a - e Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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42. d. % of children who improve functioning to reach a level comparable to same-aged peers Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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45. c. % of children who improved functioning to a level nearer to same aged peers, but did not reach it Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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48. b. % of children who improved functioning, but not sufficient to move nearer to same aged peers Early Childhood Outcomes Center

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