State Early Childhood Technical Assistance Systems

Kentucky

• Part C TA System Description
• 12/1/06

Basic design features

The Kentucky Part C TA system is decentralized and is accomplished largely through contracts granted by the Part C lead agency, which is the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, administered through the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs. The TA system consists of two major components both provided through contracts.

The first component is the provision of seven (7) contracts to institutions of higher education to establish and maintain regional technical assistance teams in each of fifteen districts in KY. These regional teams evolved over the years and members of each regional team are viewed as Part C staff who provide all required training and as local staff are able to bring issues of policy development, interpretation and implementation to the field. Each regional team has a full-time Program Consultant and a part-time paid Parent Consultant as a member of the team. One of the university contracts includes a statewide Training Coordinator that is housed in the state central office. This Training Coordinator develops and maintains all training curriculums for required training, conducts this training with assistance from the other university teams, and supports the other teams with any regional training.

The second component is the provision of five (5) contracts responsible for training and technical assistance in special issue areas. Three of the five contracts are related to client groups (individuals with visual impairments, individuals with hearing impairments, and individuals with severe disabilities); the remaining two contracts address the issues of transition and assistive technology.

Through this contract arrangement, KY has established strong partnerships with area universities and diverse providers across the state. The lead agency also works closely with the pre-school resource centers in the school system.

Primary clients/recipients of technical assistance services

Primary clients of the state TA system include early intervention providers and administrators, local ICCs, and families. Secondary clients are considered representatives of the broader early childhood community, at-risk groups, and the governor’s early childhood initiative. For the most part, required training needs are met on a statewide basis, and local TA needs are addressed through the regional team. Occasionally, targeted training needs are addressed at the district level. At times, TA needs are addressed by type of client (visual, severe disabilities, etc).

Ways technical assistance is provided

Technical assistance is most frequently provided through the following methods: providing information and consultation person to person, via telephone and email, peer to peer information exchange and consultation, in-service training, regional/topical workshops, and parent-to-parent mentoring. Printed materials are used to disseminate lead agency policies and procedures and to disseminate state-of-the-art practices. Each regional team has a lending library. Interactive and instruction video has been used occasionally.

TA system operations

Needs are assessed at the annual Early Childhood/Early Intervention conference and to a lesser extent some local ICCs gather information to inform the TA needs process. There is a core team with representation from EI, Childcare, and Head Start that organizes an annual retreat to coordinate training opportunities and plan the coming year. A master calendar of all training/TA activities is maintained. The EI and Childcare Division sponsor an annual conference. For management, planning, and monitoring of training and technical assistance activities the Part C coordinator meets monthly with the Technical Assistance teams.

Federal funds from a SIG grant support the TA system along with money from State General Funds. In addition, KY is working to access 4E funds. All the parties identified above share personnel and resources to support the technical assistance efforts in early childhood, which strengthens the EI efforts.

Evaluation of the TA system

Participants in TA activities complete satisfaction evaluation forms. Each TA provider keeps records of events, including types of activities, and the number and types of training participants. KY is in the "talking stage" concerning how to evaluate intermediate and long-range impacts.

Relationship of the TA system to the monitoring of local programs

The process of monitoring local programs has evolved over time. Now the management of monitoring is centralized in the Part C office with implementation of the monitoring process decentralized in each of the seven regional teams. Six of the regional teams are funded for a full-time person, with the seventh team having 1½ full-time people responsible for monitoring. This implementation consists of monitoring both compliance and program quality.

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

In general, the state early intervention TA system is the CSPD. Each regional TA team is responsible for: (1) conducting the mandated orientation training for new staff jointly with the training coordinator, (2) conducting the mandated five day training required by primary service coordinators jointly with the training coordinator, (3) developing additional district training, as needed, and (4) monitoring local implementation. In addition, one of the regional directors takes the lead in revisiting and modifying the state CSPD plan at least annually.

The Part C office does have a TA/CSPD position that provides an organizing structure to the TA/CSPD system. The Part C office also handles logistical issues such as tuition assistance, etc.

Relationship with Section 619 of Part B

Part C maintains a strong partnership with the state pre-school program and works collaboratively on transition issues.

For further information, contact:

• Lynn Butler, Training Coordinator
• First Steps Program
• Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs
• 275 East Main Street
• Frankfort, KY 40621
• Phone: (502) 564-3756
• Fax: (502) 564-8389
• E-mail: lynn.butler@ky.gov
• Web site: chfs.ky.gov/dph/firststeps.htm