Higher Education Consortia for Early Intervention: A Survey of State Efforts

Abstract

A significant challenge to the successful implementation of statewide early intervention service delivery systems is the adequate and timely preparation of personnel to provide appropriate family-centered interdisciplinary services for young children and their families. A promising strategy utilized by state agencies and faculty to build personnel preparation program capacity is the formation of consortia of faculty from the early intervention disciplines. However, no systematic data exists to document the use of such consortia. To address this need, this study provides descriptive data on higher education consortia obtained from a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Respondents were the directors, coordinators (or designees) of each of the state early intervention systems. The data revealed that more than half of the states utilized a Higher Education Consortium (HEC) to facilitate personnel development and capacity building in the early intervention disciplines. Information about the membership, mission, and meeting structure of the consortia is provided as well as potential explanations as to why some states are not using a higher education consortium specific to early intervention.

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