Broader & Deeper

Documenting Family Mentorship Outcomes in Interdisciplinary Personnel Preparation

Evelyn Reed-Victor & Belinda HooperProject UPLink

Urban Partners Linking Personnel Preparation & Practice for Young Children with Low Incidence Disabilities

Ann Cox & Evelyn Reed-Victor, Co-DirectorsBelinda Hooper, CoordinatorVirginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VAOSEP Grant: H325A000044

Goals

Recruitment Retention

Quantity

QualityDivers

ity

OUTCOMES

STATE & NATIONAL NEEDS

University Prep.

Community Practice

UPLink

UPLink Curriculum Model

+ 10 Credit Specialization

Interdisciplinary Core

TEDU 541 & 651InterdisciplinaryPractices in Early Intervention

IDDS 600Interdisciplinary Teamwork in EI

Interdisciplinary Fieldwork

Discipline SpecificGraduate Programs

NursingOccupational TherapyPhysical TherapyPsychologySocial WorkEarly Childhood

Early Childhood Special EducationGraduate Program

+ Courses in Severe Disabilities

Knowledge, Skills, & Dispositions

Early development Delays/disabilities &

early intervention strategies

Interdisciplinary roles & perspectives

Team communication & collaboration skills

Cultural competence

Assessment Individualized

planning Family-centered

services Inclusive practices Legal

requirements, policies & program evaluation

DEC Recommended Practices in Personnel Preparation

Family-centered practices Family involvement begins early &

continues throughout program Family participants represent diversity

in race, culture, & socioeconomic status

Family Mentorship

Family mentors student during interdisciplinary courses

Objectives Provide opportunities to learn about

family life & experiences Foster understanding of family strengths,

expertise, & diversity Promote long term commitment to family-

professional partnerships

Interdisciplinary Core - 541 & 651 Linked Courses

Infants & Young Children with Special Needs Interdisciplinary Practices in Early

Intervention Content: Foundations of EI/ECSE Interdisciplinary faculty & community

presenters Individual & team assignments

Field observations, links to practice guidelines Web-based support Family mentorship

Interdisciplinary Core - Interdisciplinary Teamwork

Content EI teamwork knowledge, skills, & dispositions

Teamwork assignments Transdisciplinary Play-Based

Assessment IEP development Self & team analysis during semester

Family mentorship

Interdisciplinary Faculty Team

Early education Early childhood special education Family Specialist Nursing Occupational therapy Physical therapy Psychology Social work Speech & language pathology

Family Specialist

Roles Background Connections to community

Family Mentorship Sequence of Activities Spring (prior to core courses)

Identify families, orient & survey students Summer

Match families & students Family-student picnic & orientation

Fall & Spring Family-student meetings & contacts Faculty-student monitoring

Year’s end Students & families evaluate experience

Post-graduation Graduates provide feedback

Evaluating Family Mentorship

Process & Outcomes Key questions Data collection Findings

Process Questions How effective is our recruitment,

selection & matching process? Are trainees contacting and meeting

with families? What’s the nature of the meetings? What are trainees learning from their

experiences? Is more support needed?

Process Data Matrix of family/child characteristics Matching survey Trainee activity logs & reflective journals

Tied to course requirements Submitted 2 x per semester through course

website Faculty meetings with trainees Pre-post case analyses

Findings

Recruitment & matching Family & child characteristics Matching survey

Implementation Logs Journals Case analyses

Outcome Questions Did students’ understanding of families’

experiences change? Are students committed to family-

centered practices? What benefits did families identify? How can we improve this experience? How did this experience influence

graduates’ practices?

Outcome Data

Student feedback Focus groups Surveys

Family feedback Trainee post-graduation surveys

Findings

Students’ perspectives Families’ perspectives Graduates’ reflections

Your experiences?

Family involvement Evaluation Outcomes

For more information, please contact ushttp://www.vcu.edu/uplink/Evelyn Reed-Victor ereedvic@vcu.eduBelinda Hooper bbhooper@vcu.edu Ann Cox acox@mail2.vcu.edu

OSEP Grant: H325A000044