State Early Childhood Technical Assistance Systems

Florida

• Section 619 State TA System Description
• 1/17/07

Basic design features

The Florida Department of Education (DOE), Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) has funded the Technical Assistance and Training System (TATS) project through a grant to the University of Central Florida. The purpose of the TATS is to develop a coordinated technical assistance and training system to respond to school district needs for technical support in providing services to pre-kindergarten children with disabilities and their families. The state DOE has established six project priority areas to be addressed - Program Effectiveness/Quality, Inclusion, Evaluation and Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction, and Family Involvement.

The activities of the Florida Transition Project are also supported and integrated into the TATS project. Seven regional facilitators and a transition consultant operate statewide and are supported by a central office located at the University of Central Florida. The TATS staff support collaboration and networking opportunities, and provide technical assistance to primary and secondary recipients throughout the state of Florida. They are key personnel in assuring that communication among districts, regions, and the state occur.

Participation and coordination with other projects and initiatives in the state include, but are not limited to DOE/BEESS funded projects, IDEA Part C, Early Steps Program, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Head Start, Voluntary Pre-kindergarten (VPK), Office of Early Learning, National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC), Centers for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), reading and early literacy initiatives, and family support groups.

Primary clients/recipients of TA assistance

The primary recipients of the technical assistance system are district-level pre-kindergarten coordinators, who may be the ESE director or his/her designee. Secondary recipients of the technical assistance system are administrators, teachers, and service providers, in both public school and community-based settings serving pre-kindergarten children with disabilities (Head Start, Early Learning Coalitions, Voluntary Prekindergarten, community child care providers, etc.), and families.

Ways technical assistance is provided

Information and training is shared in a variety of formats including statewide and regional meetings, individual consultations (in person and via telephone and email), teleconferences, workshops, trainings, focus groups, field visits, and an interactive website. Research based exemplary practices serve as the core content of technical assistance and training.

Year three of the grant is focusing on development of communities of practice around the six priority areas. The purpose of these communities is to share expertise, issues, and solutions; exchange knowledge, and develop individual capabilities. Workgroups have been established to support the communities of practice and help assure that they remain viable and active. They are responsible for identifying research and evidenced-based recommended practices, and strategies for implementation of those practices. They consist of small groups of family members and professionals from around the state who demonstrate strength or expertise in the identified priority area.

Technical Assistance Action Plans for individual districts have also been developed and a new set of action plans with a third set of districts are in the process of development. Once this has occurred at least 30 districts will have developed and implemented TA Action plans.

TA System Operations

The analysis of existing data and gathering new needs assessment data to determine gaps and issues serves as the basis for program planning to meet the needs for program improvement and systems change within the priority areas.

Each TATS region has a Regional Steering Committee with representatives from school district prekindergarten ESE programs, parents, and community partners, including Head Start, Early Learning Coalition, Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) representatives, and others. The TATS Regional Facilitator works closely with all school districts and community partners within the region facilitating collaboration, and serves as a conduit for information exchange and communication between school districts, the TATS statewide office, and the State Advisory Committee.

There is also an interactive website featuring a cascade of services for technical assistance and training. The site is monitored daily and updated weekly. Site contents include resource (documents, power points, links, etc.) and training files for accessing information around the identified priority areas, reports of sponsored meetings and workshops, a statewide directory of early childhood partners, a statewide training calendar, and secure areas for interaction and information exchange among work group members. The site is also used for registrations and for surveys for TATS and Bureau sponsored activities.

Evaluation of the TA system

TA services and activities are documented through the monthly activity logs of the regional facilitators and incorporated in quarterly reports sent to the Bureau. Discrete TA activities are evaluated by participants. Intermediate and long-range impacts of TA services are evaluated by a variety of methods including surveys of stakeholder groups, feedback from state advisory board and the progress on four indicators in Florida's State Performance Plan.

Relationship of the TA system to the monitoring/supervision of local programs

Support and technical assistance is provided to those districts targeted for planning activities around State Performance Plan Indicators. as needed (specifically LRE, child and family outcomes and transition). This assistance includes needs assessments, surveys, technical assistance plans, resources, meetings logistics, training, and use of the TATS web site to host materials, provide information, and interactive forums.

Relationship of the TA system to the State’s Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD)

The TATS project regions mirror the nine Florida PDP regions and TATS staff maintain contact and collaborate with the PDP Coordinator in that region. The PDP facilitator in each region sits on the TATS Regional Steering Committee and the TATS regional facilitator attends the regional CSPD PDP meetings.

Relationship with the Part C program

TATS works closely with Florida's Early Steps (Part C) program in joint activities including planning for transitions from Part C to Part B, developing interagency agreements, and measuring child outcomes. Early Steps representatives are also invited to participate on regional steering committees.

For further information, contact:

• Lee Cross, Principal Investigator
• University of Central Florida
• TA 403
• 4000 Central Florida Boulevard
• Orlando, FL 32816
• Phone: (407) 823-5477
• Fax: (407) 823-1360
• Email: tats@mail.ucf.edu
• Website: www.tats.ucf.edu