Survey for Early Intervention Providers

We are forwarding the following request from Child and Family Studies Research Programs at Thomas Jefferson University. Please take a moment to provide your responses for this survey:

Dear Early Intervention Providers,

We are conducting a survey to better understand early intervention providers' perspectives on teaching caregivers during early intervention visits. Effectively teaching caregivers is a critical component of family-centered recommended practice. However, there is little research in this area.

If you provide early intervention services to children birth to three, we ask to please give us your valuable perspective on teaching caregivers.

The survey should take 20 minutes or less to complete, and results may help identify strategies that may make teaching less challenging. Additionally, you will be eligible to win a gift card in the amount of $50 or $100.

Here is a link to the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/339B63V

Thanks for your consideration!
Brook Sawyer, Ph.D.
Child and Family Studies Research Programs Thomas Jefferson University
130 South 9th Street, 5th floor Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-503-1626
215-503-1640 (fax)

Invitation from Provider Relations Committee

To Providers, Service Coordinators, and Community Affiliates,

We would like to cordially invite you to participate in the Provider Relations Committee, a subcommittee of the EIC. The Provider Relations Committee (PRC) is really just getting started, and we need help and input! Our overall goal is to enhance the relationship between current providers and Service Coordinators, and we need your help in determining the best way to do it.
The purpose of the PRC is multi-faceted:

To assist the SPOE in seeking ways to help improve their provider practices in the community to enhance effective education for providers through mentoring and monitoring.

To recommend ideas, methods, and plans to retain current service providers.

To communicates with the SPOE to address provider concerns, suggestions and deficits.

To assist the SPOE in identifying, locating and recruiting potential First Steps service providers (therapists, social workers, counselors, special instructors, etc.) needed for specific geographical areas within the service delivery area.

The next PRC meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 16, 2010 at 12:30pm at the SPOE office (1215 Fern Ridge Parkway, Ste. 101, 63141). The agenda for this meeting will focus on brainstorming ideas to address the above-listed goals. For example, the PRC has already discussed with Howard and Ashlie the possibility of using the blog as a vehicle for better communication with providers. We also discussed developing a PowerPoint presentation that can be used for training providers, especially new ones. Other ideas included developing a mentoring system, or at least a "new provider packet" of some sorts to help new providers acclimate to the system, and know where to turn for help.

Please contact Cassie Geithman at 314-973-7489 or cgeithman@awsusa.com OR Karen Wild at 1-866-495-5437 or kids@lormaxrehab.com.


Hope to see you there!
Cassie Geithman and Karen Wild
Co-Chairs of the PRC

1 Year Anniversary for St. Louis Area SPOE

July 1 2010 marks the 1 year anniversary of AWS as the contractor for the St. Louis Area SPOE. We have been very busy over the past 12 months adjusting to changes and working with the community to ensure that we are continuing to provide supports to the families we serve. As we venture into the second year of our contract, we'd like to take a moment to look back at the last year as well as look forward to more successes and opportunities to improve the role we play in the lives of families.

Since July 1, 2009 we have:

• Established 1 central SPOE office that accepts referrals and provides service coordination for the entire St. Louis Metropolitan Area
• Transitioned our Family Service Coordinators to working in the community from their home offices
• Begun the implementation of Early Intervention Teams by creating a pilot team for St. Louis City in Dec. 2009 while continuing the pilot for St. Louis County. In addition to the pilots, held numerous EIT Workgroup meetings throughout the metropolitan area where we shared details regarding our plan to implement EIT in the area and gathered input from a variety of stakeholders


• With consent from both committees, successfully combined the local RICC's for Region 1 and Region 2 into 1 unified group


• Obtained a perfect 4 rating for both SPOE Regions from the state based on criteria set by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in regards to meeting timelines and accuracy of data.
• As a final step to moving forward with the state's plan for EIT in Missouri, obtained final approval of our EIT plan from DESE

It has been a very exciting year and we look to continue our momentum with goals we have ahead of us:

• Implementing the next phase of Early Intervention Teams in the metro area
• Continuing our efforts to establish and improve our relationships with community partners and First Steps referral sources
• Continue to meet the standards set forth by DESE and OSEP regarding SPOE performance standards
• Insist on providing quality supports that aim to build family confidence and their capacity to meet their own individualized goals

Thank you, and we look forward to another year working together!