TEAM EI Colorado: Best Practices and Framework for Early Intervention Services

TEAM EI Colorado Vision: Every child and family served by EI Colorado has access to a primary provider in addition to a diverse team of early interventionists that possess expertise to build family capacity to support the child in everyday learning

TEAM EI Colorado was developed and grounded in the nationally recognized best practices for providing Early Intervention, including:

National Organizations and Resources

• Division of Early Childhood (DEC)

  • DEC Recommended Practices

• Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA)  

  • Information about Part C of IDEA  

    • Agreed Upon Mission and Key Principles for Providing Early Intervention Services in Natural Environments

    • Seven Key Principles: Looks Like/Doesn’t Look Like

    • Service Delivery Approaches Descriptions

    • Performance Checklist "Communication for Teaming and Collaborative Checklist" based on the Division of Early Childhood’s Recommended Practices

    • Self-evaluation "Family Engagement Practices Checklist"  

    • Self-evaluation "Family-Centered Practices Checklist"  

      • Both can be used by IFSP teams to identify areas of strength and weakness concerning providing family-centered services

  • Practice Improvement Tools:  

    • Using DEC Recommended Practices

References

• Childress, D. C. (2021). Pause and Reflect: Your Guide to a Deeper Understanding of Early Intervention Practice. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.

• Rush, D. D., & Shelden, M. L. (2019). The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook. Brookes Publishing.

• Shelden, M. L., & Rush, D. D. (2021). The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook: The Primary Service Provider Approach (Second ed.). Brookes Publishing.

The TEAM EI Colorado model does not change the professional responsibilities or scopes of practice for any provider. Each provider continues to operate under their own discipline's license and is expected to follow the same ethical, legal, and professional standards, including carrying the appropriate liability insurance coverage required by their license and by their contract with the EI Broker

• Providers may engage in role release and cross-disciplinary collaboration, but this is done through coaching and team-supported strategies, not through performing services outside of their scope of practice

• For example, if a speech-language pathologist shares ideas with an occupational therapist for supporting communication during a visit, it’s still the family, not the occupational therapist, who implements the strategy under the guidance of their primary provider

• The primary provider remains responsible for maintaining their professional boundaries and consulting with the team when specialized expertise is needed

Professional Support for Primary Service Provider Approach

• American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

  • AOTA Practice Advisory on the Primary Provider Approach in Early Intervention

• American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)

  • Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Using a Primary Service Provider Approach to Teaming

• American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

  • ASHA Frequently Asked Questions: Frequently Asked Questions:  Qualified Providers in Early Intervention

• Division of Early Childhood (DEC)

  • DEC Recommended Practices

• Information from Professional Organizations (Combined)

  • Professional Organizations Citations

• Primary Service Provider (PSP) & Coaching Online Resources

  • Family, Infant, and Preschool Program (FIPP)

  • Virginia Early Intervention (EI) Professional Development Center

  • EI Excellence

Primary Provider Approach to Service Delivery

• Primary Service Provider and Teaming in Early Intervention Videos

  • A Primary Service Provider Approach to Teaming

  • Web Discussion: Using a Primary Service Provider Approach to EI Service Delivery Part 1

  • Web Discussion: Using a Primary Service Provider Approach to EI Services Delivery Part 2

Coaching in Early Intervention

• Coaching practices with families in Early Intervention Videos

  • Putting Coaching in Context: FIPP 50th Anniversary Webinar Series

• For Service Providers and Service Coordinators

  • Foundations for Coaching in Early Childhood: Partnering with Parents and Professionals (Length: 21 min) (From: Hartford Foundation for Public Giving)

    • Video describes the 5 key characteristics of coaching as outlined by Dathan Rush and M'Lisa Shelden, including:

      • What is Coaching?

      • Joint Planning

      • Observation

      • Action/Practice

      • Reflection

      • Feedback

• Coaching: Using Coaching Strategies to Engage with Families in an Early Intervention Context (Length: 33 minutes)

  • This is a video that provides information on how to implement the characteristics of the coaching interaction style with parents of children receiving early intervention services

• For Service Coordinators

  • DEC Service Coordination CoP - Coaching during Service Coordination: What Does It Look Like (Length: 60 min)

    • Recorded webinar that provides information on how and what coaching practices look like when used by care coordinators

For TEAM EI Colorado-specific information, please see the EI Colorado website.