Research has shown that both young children with disabilities and their peers benefit from participating together in programs and community activities. While there has been much progress to assure that children have these opportunities, challenges still exist. Given the complexity of federal, state and local programs and services that touch the lives of children with disabilities, crossagency dialogue is an effective mechanism for identifying strategies to address these challenges.
In 2004 the Child Care Bureau, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities,
and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) held two policy forums in Washington,
DC, to discuss strategies for including young children with disabilities in community-based
settings and activities. These forums included parents, service providers, researchers,
federal, state and local administrators, and technical assistance providers.
Recommendations from the forums included the creation a comprehensive, cross-systems
approach to inclusion and the bringing together of national-level stakeholders to
create and implement a shared vision. Two proceedings documents are available.
High Quality Inclusion Opportunities for Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities
(PDF: 371kb) from Project Forum at
NASDE and Inclusive
Early Care and Education Forum Synthesis (PDF: 62kb) .
From Left to Right: Beth Caron, OSEP; Nancy Treusch, OSEP; Ginger Johnson, OSEP; Jim O'Brien, HS; Jennifer Tschantz, OSEP; Zack Poimboeuf, CCB; and Moniquin Huggins, CCB. Jennifer Johnson, ADD, was not able to attend the meeting.
In response to these recommendations, the Child Care Bureau, the Office of Head Start, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, and OSEP invited states to send cross-agency teams to a strategic planning initiative in the summer of 2005 known as Expanding Opportunities. The goal of the four participating states was to increase inclusive opportunities for young children with disabilities and their families and to make their findings available to other states. In 2006, the number of participating states was increased to eight.
At both Expanding Opportunities meetings, state-level representatives from each of the coordinating federal agencies, parents, and others met with their federal colleagues in Chapel Hill, NC. Working in teams, they developed strategies to assure that young children with disabilities have access to quality early care and education programs and services in their communities. The teams have continued their efforts to further develop and implement these strategies upon returning to their home states. OSEP, the Child Care Bureau, and Office of Head Start through their national and regional technical assistance projects continue to support the state Expanding Opportunities teams.
Expanding Opportunities is coordinated by NECTAC in collaboration with the OSEP Preschool LRE Community of Practice. This initiative continues to provide a unique opportunity for collaborative technical assistance across federal agencies and for learning across states.
