Child and Parent Characteristics Affecting the Authorization and Expenditure of Funds for Early Intervention Services

This article examines parent and child characteristics that are associated with utilization of funds authorized under Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Child age and the presence of parent service needs are among the variables that influence how much early intervention service is available for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities, as authorized by the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP). Higher levels of child need were associated with a larger number of services authorized, and greater amounts of unspent funds. It appears that children of high needs parents are less likely to use additional services their children need. These findings are interpreted to suggest that family and child characteristics that promote larger authorizations for Part C services may also limit their ability to utilize all of the services identified in the IFSP. In addition, this study found that contrary to expectations, the home environment was not superior to specialty and clinic settings on parent involvement in early intervention activities.

Evidence-based practices in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities: an international consensus approach

As evidence-based practices become increasingly advocated for and used in the human services field it is important to integrate issues raised by three perspectives on evidence: empirical-analytical, phenomenological-existential, and post-structural. This article presents and discusses an evidence-based conceptual model and measurement framework that integrates these three perspectives and results in: multiple perspectives on evidence-based practices that involve the individual, the organization, and society; and multiple interpretation guidelines related to the quality, robustness, and relevance of the evidence. The article concludes with a discussion of five issues that need to be addressed in the future conceptualization, measurement and application of evidence-based practices. These five are the need to: expand the concepts of internal and external validity, approach evidence-based practices from a systems perspective, integrate the various perspectives regarding evidence-based practices, develop and evaluate evidence-based practices within the context of best practices, and develop a set of guidelines related to the translation of evidence into practice.