Early Childhood Outcomes Center: Papers

Recommended Outcomes for Families of Young Children with Disabilities. Bailey, D. B. Jr., Bruder, M.B., Hebbeler, K., Carta, J., Defosset, M., Greenwood, C., Kahn, L., Mallik, S., Markowitz, J., Spiker, D., Walker, D., & Barton, L. (2006).

OSEP's Revised Child Outcomes Reporting Requirement for Part C and Part B/619 Programs: What the Changes Mean for States. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (September, 2006).

Guidance for States in Documenting Family Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April, 2006).

2005

Comments from the Early Childhood Outcome Center on Proposed Indicators for Child and Family Outcomes. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (May, 2005).

Family and Child Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April 2005).

Family Outcomes of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Issues and Considerations. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (January, 2005).

2004

Uses and Misuses of Data on Outcomes for Children with Disabilities. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (July, 2004).

Considerations Related to Developing a System for Measuring Outcomes for Young Children with Disabilities and Their Families. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April, 2004).

Full Citations and Links to Papers

2009

Hebbeler, K. & Rooney, R. (2009). Accountability for Services for Young Children With Disabilities and the Assessment of Meaningful Outcomes: The Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist. Language, Speech, and Hearing in Schools, 40, 446- 456.

This article describes the federal accountability requirements related to young children with disabilities and the contribution of the speech-language pathologist (SLP) to provide these data through the use of authentic, functional assessments. The article summarizes recent state and federal developments related to assessment for accountability and draws on the recommendations of national organizations to underscore the importance of high-quality assessment for guiding practice and for documenting child outcomes for accountability. The widespread use of recommended practices for assessment will provide children, families, and practitioners, including SLPs, with the highest quality assessment information while providing states and the federal government with much-needed valid data on child outcomes for accountability purposes.

http://lshss.asha.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/4/446

Raspa, M., Bailey, D. B., Nelson, R., Robinson, N., Simpson, M. E., Guillen, C., Olmsted, M., & Houts, R. Measuring family outcomes in early intervention: Findings from a large-scale assessment (in press). Exceptional Children.

This study reports data from a large scale assessment using the Family Outcomes Survey with families participating in early intervention. The study was designed to determine how families describe themselves with regard to outcomes achieved, the extent to which outcomes are interrelated, and the extent to which child, family, and program factors are associated with outcomes. Families reported positive outcomes but there was variability in their responses. Factor analysis revealed that outcomes clustered in two areas: (a) family knowledge and ability, and (b) family support and community services. Hierarchical linear models indicated race/ethnicity, income, time in early intervention, perception of early intervention, and family-centered services were related to family outcomes. Recommendations for how to best use survey data are discussed.

Raspa, M., Hebbeler, K. & Bailey, D. (2009). A Guide to Analyzing Data from the Family Outcomes Survey.

The Family Outcomes Survey (FOS) provides a way for state and local programs serving young children to assess the extent to which families have achieved a variety of outcomes. This document provides suggestions on how to analyze the data from the survey; the analyses in turn can be used to plan for program improvement.

A Guide to Analyzing Data from the Family Outcomes Survey (331K PDF)

2008

Hebbeler, K. & Kahn, L. (2008). Setting Targets for Child Outcomes.

States must set targets for each of the Early Childhood Outcome Indicators, C3 and B7, once their baseline is established in the SPP/APR due 2010. OSEP received comments from states suggesting that three sets of five targets (each set totaling 100%) is excessive, and that OSEP should reduce the number of targets for the SPP/APR indicators. The purpose of this paper is to provide background as to the work that has been done to date regarding this issue, as well as summarize possible options for setting targets for OSEP reporting and making recommendations.

Setting Targets for Child Outcomes (176K PDF)

Bailey, D., Hebbeler, K., Olmsted, M., Raspa, M., & Bruder, M. (2008). Measuring family outcomes: Considerations for large-scale data collection in early intervention. Infants & Young Children, 21 (3), 194-206

Early-intervention programs are increasingly being asked to provide data showing effectiveness. Usually this means proving benefit for children, but here we argue that documenting benefit for families is also important. A recent national effort has led to the identification of 5 desired outcomes for families whose children participate in early-intervention programs. This article discusses issues and considerations in documenting family outcomes in the context of large-scale assessments, and describes the initial development of a survey instrument that could be useful in such efforts.

Hebbeler, K., Barton, L.R., & Mallik, S. (2008). Assessment and accountability for programs serving young children with disabilities. Exceptionality, 16 :1, 48-6327(1), 2-18.

This article reviews issues related to the use of assessments in providing outcome data, discusses challenges in conducting valid assessments with young children for accountability purposes, and outlines decisions states must make related to assessment as they design and implement outcome measurement approaches. Considerations related to the use of standardized or curriculum-based measures are discussed, along with other choices related to the use of assessment for accountability.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content?content=10.1080/09362830701796792

2007

Hebbeler, K., & Barton, L. (2007). The need for data on child and family outcomes at the Federal and State levels. Young Exceptional Children Monograph Series , 9, 1-15.

This article describes issues related to the current federal requirements for reporting outcomes on children and families served through Part C and Section 619 of Part B of IDEA. Critical events leading up to the current requirements are summarized, followed by a discussion of efforts to design and implement state outcome measurements systems, and implications of outcome measurement for children, families, and the programs serving them.

Purchase online: http://www.dec-sped.org/index.aspx/Store/YEC_Monograph_Series

Greenwood , C. R., Walker , D., Hornback, M., Nelson, C., Hebbeler, K., & Spiker, D. (2007). Progress developing the Kansas Early Childhood Special Education Accountability System: Initial findings using the ECO Child Outcome Summary Form (COSF). Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 27 (1), 2-18.

Policy decision makers, early educators, and early interventionists face numerous challenges as they develop and implement statewide accountability systems to evaluate and improve children's early intervention and early childhood special education outcomes. Kansas was an early adopter of the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) developed by the Early Childhood Outcomes Center ; this article describes the Kansas experience and discusses preliminary findings and implications.

http://tec.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/1/2

ECO Suggestions for Updating SPP Child Outcome Indicators due February 2008. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (October, 2007)

Embedded within these sample SPP reporting forms are suggestions for how states might document any changes in their outcome measurement systems since the February 2007 SPP, and how to describe their current approach toward meeting OSEP's Part C and B/619 child outcome reporting requirements. Additionally, draft examples of an SPP updated to reflect minor changes a state made in their approach is provided for indicators B7 and C3.

ECO Suggested Format for SPP Indicator B7, due February 2008 [37 PDF] - Revised October 30, 2007
Example: Part B SPP Indicator B7 [39 PDF] - Revised October 30, 2007

ECO Suggested Format for SPP Indicator C3, due February 2008 [37 PDF] - Revised October 30, 2007
Example: Part C SPP Indicator C3 [39 PDF] - Revised October 30, 2007

2006

Bailey, D. B. Jr., Bruder, M.B., Hebbeler, K., Carta, J., Defosset, M., Greenwood , C., Kahn, L., Mallik, S., Markowitz, J., Spiker, D., Walker, D., & Barton, L. (2006). Recommended Outcomes for Families of Young Children with Disabilities. Journal of Early Intervention , 28 (4), 227-243.

This article describes the process by which The Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center generated outcomes by which the effectiveness of services for families could be assessed. This evidence-based, iterative process utilized extensive stakeholder input, and led to the identification of five family outcomes: (a) families understand their child's strengths, abilities, and special needs; (b) families know their rights and advocate effectively for their child; (c) families help their child develop and learn; (d) families have support systems; and (e) families are able to gain access to desired services and activities in their community. Discusses issues and challenges regarding family outcomes measurement.

http://jei.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/227

OSEP's Revised Child Outcomes Reporting Requirement for Part C and Part B/619 Programs: What the Changes Mean for States. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (September, 2006)

On August 10, 2006, The Office of Special Education Programs revised their reporting requirement for Part C and Part B/619 programs related to child outcomes. This document summarizes those changes and describes the new reporting categories and what they mean. Implications for states in the process of developing their outcomes measurement systems are discussed.

OSEP's Revised Child Outcomes Reporting Requirement (41K PDF)

Guidance for States in Documenting Family Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April, 2006)

This paper addresses the range of decisions states need to make related to collecting family outcome information, including assessment selection and logistical issues such as survey distribution and timelines, use of ID numbers, and methods for increasing return rates.

Guidance for States (287K PDF)

2005

Comments from the Early Childhood Outcome Center on Proposed Indicators for Child and Family Outcomes. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (May, 2005)

This paper is a response to the Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests published in the March 6, 2005 Federal Register. The ECO Center presents recommendations for revisions to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) indicators to be requested by states as part of their Part C and Part B State Performance Plans (SPPs) and Annual Performance Reports (APRs). Recommendations are made in four indicator areas: 1) Child Outcomes for Part C; 2) Child Outcomes for Part B Preschool; 3) Family Outcomes for Part C, and 4) Family Outcomes for Part B Preschool. Recommendations are based on ECO Center work and input from stakeholder groups.

Comments from the ECO Center on Proposed Indicators (92K PDF)

Family and Child Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center ( April 2005)

This paper describes initial steps by the ECO Center to developing an approach for collecting data on child and family outcomes. The family and child outcomes in this document were developed through a year-long consensus-building process involving input from and review by stakeholders including federal, state, and local policy-makers and administrators, local providers, family members of children with disabilities, and researchers.

Family and Child Outcomes (140K PDF)

Family Outcomes of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Issues and Considerations. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (January, 2005)

The ECO Center prepared this paper to provide a review of information relevant to developing family outcomes for Part C and Preschool Part B. It also contains a summary of various frameworks that have been developed for family outcomes including examples of outcomes.

Family Outcomes of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education (140K PDF)

2004

Uses and Misuses of Data on Outcomes for Children with Disabilities. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (July, 2004)

The ECO Center prepared this paper to make explicit some the diverse ways in which data on outcomes can be used effectively, as well as misused. The paper provides background information for stakeholders who are involved in developing outcome measurement systems for young children with disabilities.

Uses and Misuses of Data (264K PDF)

Considerations Related to Developing a System for Measuring Outcomes for Young Children with Disabilities and Their Families. The Early Childhood Outcomes Center (April, 2004)

This document presents a framework for thinking about the key considerations related to the development of a system for measuring outcomes. Examples of key decisions are presented.

Considerations Related to Developing a System for Measuring Outcomes (398K PDF)