OSEP Early Childhood IDEA Centers and the network of Parent Centers
Updated January 31, 2025, 12:18 PMOSEP Technical Assistance Network
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) funds a technical assistance (TA) network to support the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by State Educational Agencies, Part C Lead Agencies, institutions of higher education, Local Educational Agencies, local agencies, programs, and schools. The centers provide TA to ensure the needs of ALL infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families are met.
OSEP administers discretionary grants funded under IDEA to improve results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 across six areas:
- Technical Assistance and Dissemination;
- Parent Training and Information Centers;
- Educational Technology and Accessible Media and Materials Centers;
- Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities;
- Technical Assistance on State Data Collection; and
- State Personnel Development Grants.
These grants support States and local programs to lead systems change and provide comprehensive and high-quality IDEA services.
OSEP Early Childhood Technical Assistance Centers
These national TA Centers to support state Part C and Part B, Section 619 agencies to assist states, administrators, programs, and families in enhancing outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families.
| Center | Goal | Content Focus |
|---|---|---|
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The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) assists states to collect, report, and analyze high-quality Part C and Part B Section 619 data by helping states build a strong data infrastructure and develop leaders to build a data culture with active partner engagement. Also, support states to use data for program improvement and compliance accountability to improve results for children and families. dasycenter.org DaSy State Liaisons |
Data leadership, data culture, data quality, data system design, data governance, privacy and confidentiality, data linkages including data sharing agreements |
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The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) provides technical assistance and resources to assist state administrators, higher education faculty, practitioners, and families to develop and implement components of a comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD) to improve the quantity, quality, and effectiveness of the early childhood intervention workforce for infants and young children with disabilities and their families. ecpcta.org |
Components of a CSPD: recruitment, personnel standards, preservice preparation, ongoing inservice training, evaluation and leadership, coordination and sustainability |
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The Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center (ECIPC) technical assistance to develop a framework to enhance early childhood intervention personnel preparation programs of study to improve outcomes for all infants and young children with disabilities and increase the number of early childhood intervention personnel and faculty. |
ECI Higher Education Faculty and Programs of Study, state and national personnel standards; State Part C and 619 coordinators partnerships with IHEs to address personnel shortages and recruitment of staff and scholars. |
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The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center supports state IDEA Part C and Part B, Section 619 programs in developing high-quality, effective, and sustainable state and local systems, that support access and full participation for each and every young child with a disability, and their family. ectacenter.org ECTA State Contacts |
State systems improvement, early childhood inclusion, system capacity to implement evidence-based practices, child and family outcomes measurement |
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The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) provides technical assistance, training materials, data tools, and resources for the implementation of the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Pyramid Model) within early intervention and early education programs to promote positive social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. challengingbehavior.org |
Social emotional outcomes, inclusion, trauma-informed and culturally and linguistically responsive practices, state implementation and scale-up, and eliminating exclusionary discipline practices |
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The Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR) assists state educational agency and lead agency staff in improving the collection, reporting, analysis and use of IDEA Part B and Part C fiscal data. CIFR expands state knowledge, capacity, and infrastructure through the development of policies and procedures, resources, training systems, and cross-agency relationships. cifr.wested.org CIFR State TA Liaisons |
Indirect cost/cost allocation plan information and use of funds requirements under Part C of IDEA, maintenance of state financial support (MFS), allocation of IDEA Part B subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), LEA maintenance of effort (MOE) and coordinated early intervening services (CEIS) under Part B of IDEA |
Parent Centers Serving Families of Children with Disabilities
There are nearly 100 Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) in the United States and territories. These centers perform a variety of direct services for children and youth with disabilities, families, professionals, and other organizations that support them. Some of the parent centers' activities include:
- Working with families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth–26
- Helping parents participate effectively in their children's education and development
- Partnering with professionals and policy makers to improve outcomes for all children with disabilities
Parent Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs)
The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) is the national central hub of information and products created for the network of parent centers serving families of children with disabilities.
CPIR also houses the Native American and Military Families Resource Collections.
Four Regional Parent Technical Assistance Centers (RPTACs) help the OSEP-funded network of Parent Centers address administrative/management challenges and increase their capacities to provide information and training to families of children with disabilities.
Ongoing Learning Opportunities
Did you know there are ongoing learning opportunities that you might want to join? They cover a variety of topics including child and family outcomes measurement, early childhood inclusion, and more! To learn about the various groups and how to participate, visit:
- DaSy Center Learning Communities
- ECTA Learning Communities
- Webinars and other events of interest can be found on the Cross-Center calendar.