Outcomes 101: ECO Q&A

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Q. Can you define some of the acronyms and abbreviations that are used throughout the ECO Center website?

A. Many common acronyms and abbreviations are listed below. Let us know if there are others that would be helpful to include as well.

  • COSF - Child Outcomes Summary Form. See also http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pages/outcomes.cfm
  • ECO Center - The Early Childhood Outcomes Center, funded by OSEP. See also http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pages/overview.cfm
  • ECSE - Early Childhood Special Education services, as defined in Part B, Section 619 of IDEA
  • EI - Early Intervention, as defined in Part C of IDEA
  • FOS - Family Outcomes Survey, developed by the ECO Center. See also http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/pages/tools.cfm
  • GPRA - The Government Performance and Results Act (1993) requiring that each federal agency establish measurable performance indicators for its programs aligned with the program's purpose and documented in a strategic plan. See also http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/mgmt-gpra/gplaw2m.html
  • IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Legislation funding services for individuals with disabilities from birth through 21 years. IDEA components authorizing services for children birth through 5 years include the Part C (Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities) Program and the Part B Preschool Grants program.
  • IEP - Individualized Education Program developed to guide services for a child who receives services under Part B of IDEA legislation.
  • IFSP - Individualized Family Service Plan developed to guide services for a child and family who receive services under Part C of IDEA legislation.
  • NECTAC - National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. See also http://www.nectac.org
  • NEILS - National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study. See also http://www.sri.com/neils/. NEILS provided some outcome data for several GPRA indicators for Part C, but does not have ongoing data about child and family outcomes.
  • OMB - The Office of Management and Budget. The federal office conducting the PART reviews.
  • OSEP - Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education. It is the federal agency responsible for administering IDEA and for developing GPRA indicators and collecting the relevant data for programs supported under the law. See also http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html
  • PART - The Program Assessment Rating Tool conducted by OMB. The use of the PART has put pressure on federal agencies to gather outcomes data. See also http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/part/#partweb and www.ExpectMore.gov
  • Part B Preschool Part B, Section 619 section of the IDEA legislation, addresses services for children 3 through 5 years. Sometimes these services are referred to more generally as early childhood special education services.
  • Part C - Portion of the IDEA legislation addressing services for children birth to 3 years and their families. Sometimes these services are referred to more generally as early intervention services.