Download Acrobat ReaderTraining & Technical Assistance
Updated July 27, 2010The organizations in this area of the website provide technical assistance and/or training that may be useful to families, childcare providers, or preschools who are developing orsupporting an inclusive setting for children. State and national organizations are listed here. For local training and technical assistance check with your local child care resource and referral agency available in the County Activities section or your local Early Start family resource center.
Beginning Together was created in collaboration with the California Department of Education, Child Development Division (CDD) and WestEd, Center for Child and Family Studies as an inclusion support to the Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers (PITC).
The purpose of Beginning Together is to ensure that children with special needs are incorporated, and appropriate inclusive practices are promoted, in the training and technical assistance provided by the existing cadre of CDE/WestEd certified trainers in the PITC. This is accomplished through a "training of trainers" institute, regional outreach activities, revision/development of written materials, support to institute graduates, and support of inclusive practices in other PITC activities, such as the demonstration programs.
California Early Childhood Education Mentor Program is the largest mentoring program for child care professionals in the US. This program has provided advanced training for experienced child care workers who wish to become mentors to new practitioners.
California School Age Consortium “promotes high qualify after school care for every child.” They offer training, resources, advocacy and information.
California Preschool Instructional Networks (CPIN) provides professional development and technical assistance to preschool teachers and administrators to ensure that preschool children are ready for school.
WestEd Center for Prevention & Early Intervention (CPEI) WestEd’s Center for Prevention and Early Intervention in Sacramento, provides statewide high quality training, technical assistance and resource development, dissemination, and support to state agencies and community programs that administer or provide prevention and early intervention services. The state agencies have included the California Departments of Education, Developmental Services, Health Services, Social Services, Mental Health, and Alcohol and Drug Programs.
The Center for Prevention and Early Intervention is recognized as California’s premier source of training, technical assistance and resource development and provision supporting early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and at-risk conditions and their families.
Child Development Training Consortium provides services, training, technical assistance and resources to students and professionals working with and for children. They collaborate with a consortium of 96 community colleges to offerappropriate coursework and to provide a Schedule of Non-traditional Classes and Trainings and technical assistance and training to CARES participants.
Communication Technology Education Center (CTEC) , developed and managed by the Supported Life Institute, provides services in Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC), which is the use of personalized methods or devices to increase a person's ability to communicate. They offer direct services to infant and adults with complex communication needs and training and consultation to school staff for preschool to grade 12 students in Sacramento, Yolo, Alpine, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sierra, Sutter and Yuba Counties.
Desired Results Training and Technical Assistance Project is brought to you by the California Department of Education, Child Development Division in collaboration with the Center for Child and Family Studies at WestEd.
Desired Results access Project assists the California Department of Education, Special Education Division (SED), in implementing the DRDP Assessment System to measure the progress of California's preschool-age children with IEPs. The Desired Results access Project web site offers information and resources to assist special educators, administrators, and families in participating in the Desired Results assessment system. You can view and download the two Desired Results assessment tools used with preschool-age children with IEPs: the PS DRDP-R (including instructions for use with children with IEPs) and the DRDP access.
Early Start Neighborhood Training and Technical Assistance Network This environment provides a virtual community for Early Start professionals and partners seeking training, technical assistance and resources on early intervention Part C requirements, implementation, and evidence-based practices.
Infant Development Association (IDA) is a multidisciplinary organization of parents and professionals committed to ensuring optimal developmental outcomes for infants with special needs and their families. The organization brings together professionals from the public and private sector to work collaboratively across disciplines to encourage Best Practices in the field of Early Intervention.One of the goals of IDA is to provide educational opportunities for your professional and personal development. IDA provides a variety of training formats: workshops, professional networking gatherings, and multi-day conferences. Check the site frequently as new events are planned.
KIT National Training Center on Inclusion (NTCI) was established to support the overall mission of Kids Included Together through training, technical assistance and resources of the highest quality for staff in out of school time programs at all levels of experience and interest. KIT's National Training Center on Inclusion utilizes a combination of the latest technology coupled with live presentations by dynamic and experienced trainers and practitioners to support providers like you in welcoming children with disabilities.
Least Restrictive Environment Resources Project provides resources for use by districts and sites to improve service to all students. Includes information on teacher training, mentoring and leadership sites.
Santa Clara County Office of Education Inclusion Collaborative leads the effort to provide every Santa Clara County Child with a quality learning environment. Its focus is the successful inclusion of children with special needs in child care, preschool programs and the community through education, advocacy and awareness. The Inclusion Collaborative offers downloadable documents, training Power Points, and an inclusion support Warm Line that responds to questions by telephone (408) 453-6651or by email inclusionsupport@sccoe.org.
Special Education Early Childhood Administrator’s Project (SEECAP) offers professional development opportunities to address the unique issues of providing leadership to early childhood and early childhood special education from general education, special education, state and private preschool, Head Start, Early Head Start and early care and education.
Supported Life Institute
The mission of the Supported Life Institute is to offer educational and training opportunities to assist individuals and organizations in the work of improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. The Supported Life Conference has been held annually since 1987 and has grown to be the best-attended conference in the field of developmental disabilities on the West Coast, with 1250 to 1500 professionals, teachers, people with disabilities and family members sharing information, learning, and gaining encouragement from our focus on state-of-the-art efforts to create fully inclusive communities.
The annual Inclusion Celebration, the first event of the Supported Life Conference, celebrates the progress being made in California in building inclusive schools, communities and workplaces. At this celebration, the people behind these changes are honored — people with disabilities, families, educators, service providers, employers and neighbors — who extend themselves to make belief in inclusion and belonging reality.
Supporting Early Education Delivery Systems (SEEDS) is for administrators, staff and families involved in early childhood special education programs in Local Education Agencies. They provide technical assistance and training on varied early care and education topics including inclusion. Services may include individual onsite, online or telephone consultation and arrangement of consultation at SEEDS visitation sites that include model inclusive programs.
Teaching Pyramid Training and Technical Assistance Model
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is a national center focused on strengthening the capacity of child care and Head Start programs to improve the social and emotional outcomes of young children. The Center has developed and disseminated evidence-based, user-friendly information to help early childhood educators meet the needs of the growing number of children with challenging behaviors and mental health challenges in child care and Head Start programs. The Teaching Pyramid Model is a systematic framework developed by CSEFEL that incorporates Early Childhood Positive Behavior Support (EC-PBS) through promoting social-emotional development, providing support for children’s appropriate behavior, preventing challenging behavior, and addressing problematic behavior. (Please see the accompanying article from the July 2003 issue of Young Children for a complete description of this model.)
Through a partnership with CSEFEL, WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies, San Marcos Office (WestEd San Marcos) is able to offer the comprehensive, program-wide Teaching Pyramid Model to organizations in California.
National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center: Natural Environments and Inclusion website is designed for the administrators of state agencies responsible for services to young children and their families, including child care, Head Start, education, and early intervention. It has compiled information for administrators who are challenged with developing policies and programs that lead to inclusive comprehensive and coordinated services for all young children, ages birth to 8 years, and their families.
National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) is working with states to create a system of high quality, cross-agency, accessible professional development for early childhood personnel. While NPDCI will serve as a resource to all states, the center will select eight states for more intense collaboration.
Western Regional Resource Center
The Western Regional Resource Center is part of a network of technical assistance agencies funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The center is a program in the University of Oregon Center For Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the College of Education. It offers consultation, technical assistance, training, product development and information services that provide the states access to current special education policy, technology and best practices research. It also assists state agencies in developing collaborative and networking relationships with stakeholders, other states, and other technical assistance providers across regional boundaries.
