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Winter 2005 Volume 11, Issue 4 / Volume 12, Issue 1

Official Newsletter of the Illinois Subdivision of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Farewell to an Early Childhood Pioneer: Merle Karnes, 1916-2005

Merle B. Karnes passed away on February 3, 2005 . Merle was a leader in the fields of special education and early childhood education. She played a leading role in the emergence and formation of Head Start, and with a handful of other early researchers and practitioners, established the field of Early Childhood Special Education. Merle saw a need for an organization targeting young children with special needs and their families—and worked to get DEC off the ground. Merle was an active DEC member, and served as one of the organization’s first Presidents. She also advocated for a journal that would give this new organization a voice, and became the first editor of the Division’s new journal, now named the Journal of Early Intervention.

Merle came to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1950 to work with Dr. Sam Kirk, another early pioneer. Merle served as the Director of the “Preschool Program for the Mentally Handicapped” for three years, working closely with Dr. Kirk to develop the methods and approaches that she would carry forward into so many later projects. In 1953, she moved into an administrative position in the Champaign schools, where for 12 years she served as the Director of Special Services.

In 1965 Merle was recruited back to academia at the University of Illinois . In this position she developed numerous innovative programs targeting young children from low-income families. Beginning in fall 1965, supported by funds from the Bureau of Research, U.S. Office of Education, Merle began a series of studies investigating the effectiveness of interventions for young children from low-income homes. Her ameliorative program was found to effectively enhance the educational outcomes for young children. This program was cited as one of 8 innovative programs in the US in the late 1960s, and provided a national model for many other programs. Her work in this area was truly visionary and was influential in the approaches adopted for the new national Head Start program.

During her 55 years in education Merle positively impacted the lives of many, many young children and their families, and helped bridge the gap between research and practice with her commitment to this endeavor. Merle published numerous curricula, monographs/books/chapters, and articles. She was an adviser to numerous graduate students and served on many doctoral committees. She taught classes, coordinated projects to prepare teachers, and was a frequent presenter at local, state and national conferences. In 1970 the American Psychological Association’s Division of Counseling Psychology gave Merle a special award for having conducted “research most likely to influence practice.”

In honor of Merle's service to DEC, several years ago the organization created an annual award to honor Merle’s accomplishments and to set her contributions to DEC as a standard for future recipients of this award. Each year, DEC remembers Merle's many contributions as it gives this award to a new recipient who is making significant contributions to the field. Merle truly leaves a legacy and a high standard of excellence. In her memory, special events are planned for the DEC conference this coming October, and the journal that she started, the Journal of Early Intervention, will dedicate an upcoming issue to her. Additionally, the DEC Executive Board will bring a resolution honoring Merle to the Representative Assembly at the Council for Exceptional Children’s conference in April.

In an interview in 1995, Merle stated, “I always thought I wanted to contribute something. I wanted to be a contributor in some small way…I wanted to do my best to justify my existence." Merle led an extremely productive life and her contributions will not be forgotten. She will be deeply missed by her colleagues and those in the field of early childhood special education. Merle was a pioneer, a visionary, a mentor, and a friend to many of us who had the honor of working with her. Thank you, Merle. We will miss you.

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Congratulations!

by Micki Ostrosky and Jeffri Brookfield

At the International DEC conference in Chicago (December 2004) Mary Louise Hemmeter, Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was awarded the Merle B. Karnes Award for Service to the Division (DEC). This award recognizes “a DEC member who has made significant contributions to the Division in the area of leadership, service, research, advocacy, or publications.”

Dr. Hemmeter has been a member of DEC and a consistent presenter at DEC’s annual conference for close to 20 years. She has served as Vice President, President-Elect, President, and Past-President, providing leadership to the Division during strategic planning, the development of Young Exceptional Children, and the growth of numerous “DEC products.” She is a co-author on several DEC products such as DEC Recommended practices program assessment tool: A guide for improving programs for young children with special needs (Hemmeter, Joseph, Smith & Sandall, 2001) and DEC recommended practices in early intervention/early childhood special education (2nd edition) (Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean, 2005). She consistently serves on DEC committees and has represented the Division for years in collaborative efforts with NAEYC, Head Start, CEC, etc.

Dr. HemmeterDr. Hemmeter has made significant contributions to DEC and to the field of ECSE. She has improved the lives of countless young children with special needs and their families through her service, scholarship, and teaching. Dr. Hemmeter is a well-respected scholar, researcher, mentor, and teacher. She is truly a deserving candidate for DEC’s prestigious Merle B. Karnes Award for Service to the Division. Congratulations Dr. Hemmeter!!!

Christine Salisbury, Director of the Child and Family Development Center and Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago was presented DEC’s Mary McEvoy Service to the Field Award. This award recognizes an individual who “has made significant contributions…which has improved the lives of young children with special needs, their families or those that work on their behalf.”

Dr. Salisbury is nationally recognized as a leading proponent of inclusive educational practices. She became involved in the movement to fully include individuals with disabilities, in all aspects of our society, long before the concept had even minimal public support. She has been instrumental in effecting and institutionalizing inclusive practices in school districts in more than a dozen states. She has researched extensively systems change, identified barriers and facilitators to implementing inclusive practices, and has been a major influence in policy change at the local, state, and national level.

Dr. Salisbury served as associate editor of the Journal of Early Intervention, and has been on the editorial boards of a number of equally highly regarded journals, including Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, and the Early Childhood Research Quarterly, and served consistently as a guest reviewer for a half a dozen other publications for more than 15 years. Dr. Salisbury, a past president of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, has served in various capacities on the executive board or special committees of that organization since 1987.

Dr. Salisbury is currently applying the lessons learned from her work and those of others in establishing a high-quality, urban early intervention program in Chicago . Her guidepost for her work has always been, and continues to be, “explore questions of importance to those who live it”—be they family members, practitioners, or administrators.

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Early Intervention Update

by Ted Burke

The Early Intervention (EI) Training Program provides core trainings required for providers to receive an initial credential. This includes Systems Overview, Service Coordination, Parent Liaison, and Evaluation and Assessment. The EI Training Program also offers workshops, videos and other opportunities to help service providers enhance their expertise in serving young children and their families, as well as fulfill on-going training needs for maintaining an EI credential.

The initial stage of the Illinois Early Intervention Mentor Program is up and running, and the feedback has been incredibly positive. Our pool of mentors is a small and dedicated group of seasoned clinicians representing a variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. We have paired these mentors up with learning partners in one-on-one relationships as well as small groups of learning partners working with one mentor.

Our current mentor pool has expertise to share on the following topics: sensory integration; oral motor/feeding; assessment; behavior; working with families; infant massage; developmental intervention; children with autism; children with hearing impairments; children with speech delays/disorders; children with motor impairments; and service coordination. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or learning partner please contact Amy Cocorikis in our office at 708-444-8460 ext. 23.

The Early Intervention Central Billing Office (EI-CBO) has launched a new web site at http://www.eicbo.info. The purpose of this web site is to facilitate information sharing with Early Intervention providers, Early Intervention program participants and their parents or guardians, and Child and Family Connection agencies. Much of the information provided is in response to the types and number of calls received by the EI-CBO and the Cornerstone Call Center related to the Early Intervention program. The site provides information on: Claim Turnaround (updated daily), HIPAA, Insurance & Billing, Who to contact for specific issues, CFC Listings, and Family Fees.

A Download center is also available on the site, where various forms can be downloaded in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

In order to speed up the approval process for providers wishing to obtain EI credit for a workshop that has not been pre-approved by the EI Training Program we have developed a new EI Training Activity Credit Request Form. This form is to be used by all participants wishing to obtain credit for a workshop that does not already have EI Credit granted for the workshop. Please check the certificate you receive from the workshop to make sure it has not already been approved for Illinois Early Intervention contact hours. If it has, you do not need to get any additional approval from the Illinois EI Training Program.

If credit for EI contact hours has not been granted, but you believe that the content of the workshop focused on one or more of the four core knowledge areas of Early Intervention you may request credit by completing the EI Training Activity Credit Request Form.

We will no longer issue certificates for these activities. Documentation will be provided after we review your form and it is returned to you with the Illinois EI Training Program Seal of Approval stamped in the lower right hand corner. Forms can be downloaded from our website at http://www.illinoiseitraining.org.

Speaking of our website, since its inception, in July 2002, it has undergone several changes and continues to evolve to become your ‘one-stop’ crossroads of Early Intervention information. We encourage online registration when possible. Not only is this the most efficient method of registration, but setting up a registration account through the website allows you the benefit of periodic EI Training Updates providing the most current training opportunities available through the Illinois Early Intervention Training Program. It’s been said before and we cannot say it enough, Website Users Have the Edge in Illinois Early Intervention.Return to top

Early Childhood Block Grant RFP Released

by Pamela Reising-Rechner

Two Early Childhood Block Grant FY 2006 Request for Proposals (RFP) for new funds have been released. For FY 06, the Early Childhood Block Grant for new funds has been separated into two RFPs, one for ages 3 to 5 years and one for birth to age 3 years.

The Early Childhood Block Grant for Ages 3 to 5 Years:  New Learning Partners—06 includes the Prekindergarten Program for Children at Risk of Academic Failure initiative and the Model Early Childhood Parental Training (3 to 5) initiative.

The Early Childhood Block Grant for Birth to Age 3 Years:  Early Learning Partners—06 includes the Prevention Initiative for Programs Offering Coordinated Services to At Risk Children and Their Families initiative and the Model Early Childhood Parental Training (Birth to 3 years) initiative.

Public school districts, university laboratory schools approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), charter schools, area vocational centers, and other entities are eligible to submit a proposal. Applicants other than public school districts must provide evidence of existing competencies to provide early childhood education programs.

The RFPs are available online at http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/html/block_grant.htm Editor's note: See also:http://www.isbe.net/grants/. The RFPs can also be obtained by contacting the Early Childhood Division at 217/524-4835. ECBG Bidders’ conferences will be held for both RFPs. Attendance at a bidders’ conference is recommended but is not required. Security procedures require photo identification for entry at each location. The conferences will be held in Springfield on March 10, 2005 from 10:00 am-12:00pm at the IEA-Professional Development Center (3440 Liberty Drive, Board Room) and in Chicago on March 17, 2005 from 10:00 am-12:00 pm at the James Thompson Center (100 West Randolph, Concourse Auditorium).

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Early Childhood Block Grant Continuation Applications Go Electronic

Continuing applications for the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) will be offered through the Electronic Grant Management System (eGMS) for school year 2005-2006 (FY06). All Early Childhood Block Grant programs funded in FY05 will apply online for their FY06 continuation grant funds. Two ECBG continuation grant applications will be available – a birth to three application and a three to five application.

Applicants will complete both applications if they are authorized to offer programs for birth to three and three to five .  Applicants will be notified of the availability of the Early Childhood Block Continuation Grants via the Superintendent’s Message and information will be posted on the ECBG webpage:

http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/html/block_grant.htmEditor's Note: this url is no longer active.

The grant applications are expected to become available during the second half of March.

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Exciting New Program: ELSA

Elmhurst College is proud to announce ELSA: Elmhurst Life Skills Academy. ELSA is an innovative new program offered jointly by our Department of Education and School for Advance Learning. The program responds directly to the rising need among young adults with disabilities for post-secondary education and life skills training.

A four-year life skills program, ELSA provides students with instruction and support in academics, work experience (both on and off campus), and social and recreational activities. ELSA students commute to our beautiful suburban campus, and are taught by our full time faculty and by both graduate and upper division undergraduate students. Upon completion of the program, ELSA students will receive a certificate from the Academy.

For additional information please contact:

Nancy Cheeseman, M.A., L.P.C.; Program Coordinator at 630-617-3752

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Preparing Relationship-based Early Intervention Personnel: PREP Project

by Mary-alayne Hughes

The Early Childhood/Infancy program in the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been awarded federal funding to support students interested in attaining a master's degree in early childhood special education, with an emphasis on working with infants/toddlers with disabilities and their families. This is a 2-year program of study for full-time students; some students also work toward this degree on a part-time basis.

Completion of the master's program will provide the student with the coursework and practicum experiences necessary to apply for the Illinois Early Intervention Developmental Therapist credential. Future employment opportunities for individuals holding this credential include: a) early interventionist in a social service agency that serves infants/toddlers with disabilities, b) self-employed service provider in early intervention, c) child care provider or early interventionist in an integrated child care setting.

Funding [traineeship stipend (approximately $666/month) plus tuition waiver and waiver of some fees] will be available through the PREP Project to 10 students per year, beginning Spring 2005 through 2009. Funding is limited and will be awarded on a competitive basis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact one of the following individuals:

Amy Santos, ECSE Program Coordinator, rsantos@uiuc.edu
Mary-alayne Hughes, PREP Project Director, mahughes@uiuc.edu
Michaelene Ostrosky, ostrosky@uiuc.edu
Mary Louise Hemmeter, mlhemm@uiuc.edu

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Special Education
1310 S. Sixth St .
Champaign , IL 61821
(217) 333-0260

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Interested in Advanced Study in Early Childhood Special Education?

by Therese Wehman

If you have been thinking of furthering your education, check out the Masters Degree Program in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) at Elmhurst College .  This Masters in ECSE is an innovative, interdisciplinary, collaborative program designed to prepare professionals to meet the increasing needs in the rapidly emerging field of early childhood special education.

The Masters Program requires 37 semester hours and adheres to the cohort model to fulfill course requirements, strengthen cohesion and student-centered practices.

For more information about this program contact:

Dr. Therese Wehman, Program Coordinator
(630) 617-3231
e-mail theresew@elmhurst.edu
Elmhurst College
190 Prospect Ave.
Elmhurst , IL   60126-3296

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Nominations for the Jeanette A. McCollum Service to the Field Award

During the 2005 Sharing A Vision Conference to be held October 19-21, 2005, the Illinois Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children will present the Jeanette A. McCollum Service to the Field Award to an early childhood professional, family member, student, or community member who meets the high standards of professional practice set by Dr. Jeanette A. McCollum, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nominations are being sought for the 2005 award. If you would like to nominate someone who has made a significant contribution on a state, regional, or local level to improving the lives of young children with special needs and/or their families please send a letter of nomination to:

Beth Delaney, IDEC Past President
Executive Director
Chicago Charter School Foundation
228 S. Wabash, Suite 600
Chicago , IL 60604
312-455-7890
Email: bpurvis@ccsfonline.org

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News from IL AEYC & Chicago Metro AEYC

by Mary Wonderlink

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ISBE Guidance Regarding Blending Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Special Education Services

by Pamela Reising-Rechner

What certification must teachers have in a blended classroom?

The teacher in a blended program should be certified with a Type 02 or 04 plus preschool handicapped approval. If a teacher holds the Type 02 or 04 early childhood certificate without preschool handicapped approval, children with IEPs may be placed in his/her classroom but must receive special education services from an appropriately certified service provider, i.e., speech services, consultation from an early childhood special education teacher, etc. This scenario is not considered a “blended” classroom but would be comparable to placing a child in a community preschool classroom.

What should be the ratio of children without disabilities to children with disabilities in a blended classroom?

Districts that chose to blend their prekindergarten and early childhood special education classrooms must adhere to the ratio of 70% children without disabilities to 30% children with disabilities. Therefore, a classroom of 20 children would not have more than 6 children with IEPs, including children who have IEPs for speech and language services.

What is the maximum class size and staff/child ratio for a blended classroom?

Prekindergarten classrooms may not exceed 20 children with a certified teacher and aide. The staff/child ratio should not exceed 1 staff member to 10 children. Additional classroom aides may be necessary based on the needs of the children with disabilities.

Please consider the following general guidelines:

Special education funding is used for all special education related services (speech, OT, PT, classroom aide), supplies and equipment, and a portion of the teacher’s and aide’s salary prorated according to the number of children with disabilities on the teacher’s caseload.Return to top

Updates and Thank You from DEC

by Lynette Chandler

The National Division for Early Childhood would like to thank everyone who served on the Local Arrangements Committee for making our 2004 conference in Chicago one of the most successful conferences in years. Your hard work and dedication not only created a successful conferences, but many of the "extras" you provided are likely to become accepted practice in future conferences. This includes the wonderful table settings made by Chicago Charter Schools students, the gift baskets in the exhibit hall, the Career Fair, and the Second City entertainment to support the David Sexton Fund.

DEC hopes that you will save the date for the next 2005 DEC conference in Portland , Oregon on October 13-16. Check out highlights of the next conference, register on line, download copies of DEC position statements, examine DEC's 5-year strategic plan and new mission statement, vote for new members of the Executive Board and more at http://www.dec-sped.org.

If you have questions about the 2005 conference contact Lynette Chandler at lchandler@niu.edu or Tweety Yates at t-felner@uiuc.edu.

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Upcoming Events

21 st Annual DEC
International Conference on Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families

DEC

October 13-16, 2005

Portland, OR

Visit the DEC website for conference updates:
http://www.dec-sped.org

The 9th Illinois
Statewide Collaborative
Early Childhood Conference

SAV

October 19-21, 2005

Oak Brook, IL

For more information visit:
http://sharingavision.org/