ZERO TO FIVE:EXTEND EARLY INTERVENTION TO 5 YEARSNana Matoba, MD HPA 432

nmatob2@uic.edu July 12, 2015

“How a society treats its disabled is the true measure of civilization.”

Chen Guangchen, civil activist

“High-quality early learning is the best education investment we can make in our children, our communities, and our country.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Overview

It is estimated that 1 in 6 children aged 3- 17 has a developmental disability, and 1 in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder.

Many children with a developmental disability are not identified until after entering school.

Early Intervention before school age can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to learn new skills as well as reduce the need for costly interventions over time.

The Issue

Early Intervention (EI) provides resources and support at no charge to families with children, age birth to 3 years, with diagnosed disabilities, developmental delays or substantial risk of delay.

At age 3, EI services end and are transitioned to preschool- or community-based programs.

For many families, this transition brings stress, uncertainty, and anxiety. This is repeated again at entry to kindergarten.

Individualized educational programs vs Individualized family service plan

Diagnostic labels: non-categorical (e.g. “developmental delay”) vs categorical (e.g. “mental retardation”)

Location: home-based vs center-based services Integrated vs segregated settings Frequency & availability of special education services Amount & type of communication between family

and staff Service coordination

Challenges at Transition

Mission & Vision of Our Initiative The mission of the Zero to Five initiative

is to amend Illinois state legislation to extend the length of EI services up to 5 years for families and children in Illinois with developmental disabilities, to lessen the burden of transition at the current cut-off age of 3 years.

Zero to Five envisions all families and children with disabilities enabled to access necessary services and resources without cost until school entry.

Current Legislation

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) (34 CFR303.148 and 34 CFR300.124) Part C: EI Program for Infants and Toddlers with

Disabilities, reauthorized in 2004 by President Bush Est. 1986 A federal program, assists states to serve infants and

toddlers with disabilities, from birth through age 2 yrs Part B:

ages 3-22 yrs All children will not be eligible to enter into preschool

special education programs.

Proposed Action Plan

Pilot study of EI-provided services from birth to 5yrs City of Chicago, Cook County

Raise awareness about EI and its benefits, as well as its current transition program

Mobilize action on a state-level, coordinated effort to amend current legislation

Policy Entry Point

Illinois state government EI is a statewide program, assisted by the

federal government (Department of Education)

Funding to each state is based upon census figures of the number of children in this age group in the general population

Vehicle & Venue

Identify and reach out to target audiences

Ask to write a letter to representatives & legislators

Unite stakeholders behind goals of initiative

Policy Paramours, House

Chairman of the Health and Healthcare

Disparities Committee, Chairman of the Elementary and

Secondary School Appropriations

Committee, “Legislator of the Year”

Chair of the House Human Services

Committee, Vice-Chair of the Human Services

Appropriations Committee, former

Executive Director of Illinois Maternal and

Child Health Coalition

Deputy Minority Leader, Minority

Spokeswoman on Human Services Appropriations

Committee

William Davis Robyn Gabel Patricia R. Bellock

Policy Paramours, Senate

William Delgado, Chairperson of Committee of

Education

Kimberly A. Lightford, Vice-

Chair of Committee of

Education

Daniel Biss, Member of

Committee of Education,

Chairperson of Committee of

Human Services

Stakeholders

Governmental Illinois School

Board of Education

Illinois Department of Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nongovernmental American Academy of

Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Children with

Disabilities Illinois Federation of

Teachers Illinois Education

Association Chicago Teacher’s Union National Association of

School Social Workers

Marketing approach

Host public hearings in the community National Children’s Day (June 1),

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3)

Local celebrity with charities for children in Chicago: Charles “Peanut” Tillman’s Cornerstone

Foundation Ryan Dempster Family Foundation

Anticipated Barriers

Lack of government funding Lack of government interest

E.g. Recent proposed budget cut by Governor Rauner

Previous Success

Campaign “Save Illinois Early Intervention” Launched in early

2015, in response to Governor Rauner’s $23 million fiscal year 2016 budget cut

Petitioned to bring attention

Resources

Early Intervention Resources. Department of Human Services. https://

www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=32361 Early Intervention to Early Childhood Special

Education Transition. Illinois State Board of Education.

http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/html/ec_speced_intervention.htm

IDEA 2004 Part C. U.S. Department of Education. http://

idea.ed.gov/part-c/search/new

Works Cited Chen Guangcheng. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015, from BrainyQuote.com Web

site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/chenguangc432163.html

Arne Duncan. (February 23, 2014). At National Governors Association Winter 2014 Meeting, 2014.

US Department of Health & Human Services. (1987). Easing the Transition from Preschool to Kindergarten. US Government Printing Office.

Colorado Department of Education, Early Childhood Initiatives. (2000). IDEA Part C – Part B Side by Side Comparison. Colorado Department of Education.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/about-initiative.html

CHILDREN(325 ILCS 20/) Early Intervention Services System Act. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1463&ChapterID=32

IDEA 2004: Building the Legacy. http://idea.ed.gov/part-c/search/new

Illinois General Assembly. http://www.ilga.gov/

Pearson R, Garcia M, Cancino A. Rauaer starts budget cuts to force Dems to negotiate on his agenda. Chicago Tribune June 2, 2015. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rauner-madigan-budget-cuts-met-0603-20150602-story.html#page=1

Garcia M. Gov. Bruce Rauner plans to restore $26 million in grant cuts. Chicago Tribune April 30, 2015. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-budget-cuts-met-0501-20150430-story.html

Save Illinois Early Intervention! https://www.change.org/p/bruce-rauner-illinois-state-house-illinois-state-senate-save-illinois-early-intervention?source_location=update_footer&algorithm=promoted