Phase I: Initial State Level Work

Phase I: Initial State Level Work

Continue to Phase II: Initial Site Work

1. State applications are made available

The NPDC developed a process to assist potential states in deciding if an application for a two-year partnership with NPDC was feasible.

The application packet, which is posted on the NPDC website nine months before the application is due, includes a comprehensive list of professional development and other responsibilities that are entailed in the partnership. Descriptions of the training, technical assistance/coaching, and financial resources that the NPDC will provide, as well as the states’ requirements to commit resources - including a state liaison, time of other state leaders and stakeholders, and financial resources associated with NPDC activities - are described. All states form a collaborative leadership team that includes a Department of Education Part B representative, Part C office representative, and a representative of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Representatives from other groups including parents, advocacy organizations, parent training centers, higher education faculty, and health care professionals may serve as members of the state’s leadership team. This team decides if the state has the infrastructure needed to meet the participation requirements of partnership with the NPDC. The leadership team then develops the application. A copy of the NPDC’s state application guideline is provided as a resource.

Purpose:

To recruit states to serve as partners to the NPDC

Procedure:

Staff member assigned as primary contact for questions from states

Resources:

State Application Process

2. Partner states are identified

Upon receipt, each application is reviewed by a team external to the NPDC and rated along criteria developed by the center.

These ratings and comments are reviewed by the principal investigators of the NPDC, and three highly rated applications are selected and invited to work with the NPDC for two years. Each state is paired with one of the three partnering university sites (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Wisconsin- Madison; University of California-Davis) that make up the NPDC. A copy of the application reviewer scoring form is provided in the resources section.

Purpose:

To identify which states from the applicant pool to invite to partner with the NPDC

Procedure:

Outside review panel

Resources:

State Application Review Form

3. University host makes initial contacts with state liaison

An important initial step is that contact is made with the selected state’s liaison by NPDC staff members.

During this and subsequent phone calls, the two-year flow of activities is discussed (a copy of the flow diagram is provided in the resource section). Initially, details of the partnership are developed and a date and place for the Interagency Autism Planning Group meeting is discussed. The state liaison is the coordinating person for this meeting and as such will plan the logistics of the meeting with the Leadership Team and invite stakeholders within the state to participate. Invitation letters are sent out to a list of attendees. The agenda for this meeting is co-developed by the NPDC and the state liaison or Leadership Team. The NPDC is responsible for facilitating the meeting.

mop chevron Purpose:

To introduce staff, describe project, set initial timetable for work between the state and NPDC

Procedure:

Telephone contact with state liaison

Resources:

Flow Diagram of Two year NPDC Activities

4. State-wide stakeholders are assembled for Interagency Autism

A state’s Interagency Autism Planning Group (IAPG), whose primary task is to identify how the requirements of the NPDC will be meaningfully integrated into the existing infrastructure and activities of each state, is critical to shaping the NPDC partnership. Initial IAPG meetings occur within six months of the state’s acceptance of the offer to participate.

In some states this IAPG has been integrated or grown out of an already existing group. In other states, the IAPG has created the opportunity to bring together a group of key stakeholders for the first time around their common interests in improving their state’s capacity for serving children with ASD and their families. Typically, members of the state leadership team, members of the state’s training and technical assistance autism network, and representatives from local school districts are included. Parents and individuals with ASD contribute to the IAPG work.

In most states, the NPDC convenes the IAPG for a one or two-day, face-to-face meeting to create a strategic plan, solidify members of the autism training team, and identify priorities for the selection of model sites if they have not already been selected. The strategic plan becomes the work plan for how the NPDC and the state will engage over the two year partnership. The plan details how the NPDC activities will be implemented within each state, including timelines and who will work on the planned activities. While each state started this process in their written application, the IAPG meeting provides a forum for bringing participants to a common understanding of the commitments entailed in an NPDC partnership. These discussions often result in the identification of many strengths, but also gaps.

An important consideration within each strategic plan is the sustainability of activities that are undertaken through the NPDC partnership. Some states have a clear idea of how the NPDC will contribute to the professional development system in their state while others let that emerge. States establish priorities to strengthen their autism training and technical assistance networks that may include (1) embedding evidence-based practices into the state’s ongoing professional development, including summer institutes; (2) developing more networking opportunities among training and technical assistance providers; (3) using more coaching and consultation processes; and (4) increasing partnerships between training and technical assistance providers and higher education faculty.

Strategies for ongoing communication to help a state stay on target with the IAPG commitments in the strategic plan include periodic meetings, tele- and web- conferences, and e-mail updates between the NPDC and state leadership staff. Each state’s initial strategic plan is reviewed by the IAPG in one year and may be modified.

Copies of the following are included in Resources: PowerPoint presentation: Overview of the NPDC; a sample IAPG agenda, and a sample strategic plan. These samples are for illustrative purposes and only represent one state’s approach. The sample IAPG agenda and sate strategic plan vary among states.

mop chevron Purpose:

To plan IAPG meeting, IAPG participates in developing strategic plan

Procedure:

State liaison identifies stakeholders and plans meeting;

NPDC staff assist with agenda creation and facilitation of meeting

Resources:

5. Model sites within state are identified

Potential sites within states are confirmed either during the IAPG meeting or afterwards. Two to four sites are selected to serve as demonstration sites of the NPDC model during the first year of work.

One goal for these sites is to select and implement evidence-based practices (EBP) based on the needs of children and youth with ASD, implement these practices with fidelity, and monitor progress, all within a quality program. Model sites are developed during the first year of work with the NPDC. They become resources within states that implement EBP for children and youth with ASD within quality programs and can serve as locations for others to visit to learn about the strategies that have been used in inclusive and self-contained environments.. All this begins by selecting sites, putting technical assistance and coaching structures in place, and completing an initial program of professional development.

Minimum criteria are established for model sites. Each model site must have administrative support from the school’s principal and district superintendent and must have a team of 4-6 practitioners and teachers who work with students with ASD. In addition, model site team members must:

be willing to receive and act upon monthly on-site coaching,
join in regular telephone conferences to focus on changes being implemented,
be willing to be learning sites and be observed by visitors,
collect data on student, teacher, and family outcomes,
complete an array of professional development activities (online course, summer institute, EBP modules), and
implement evidence-based practices that address priority goals of at least three students with ASD in self-contained and/or inclusive educational programs.

A document that outlines many of the expectations for model sites is shared and discussed with administrative and team members prior to signing a team/site agreement. By clearly defining these expectations, potential sites are informed about the specifics of their roles and responsibilities before agreeing to become a model site. These guidelines have become a useful resource in each state as model sites are identified. Copies of both documents are available as resources.

Purpose:

To get commitment from at least three schools within the state, for teams to partner with the NPDC for one academic year

Procedure:

Each team includes a coach, plus other team members with direct student contact (e.g., teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals, psychology)

Administrators and parents have been included on teams

Resources: