eNotes
August 19, 2024Updates from the ECTA Center
Stages of Implementation: State Process Guide
This recently revised Stages of Implementation: State Process Guide is for states implementing a change or innovation to improve services and outcomes for all children. Innovations take considerable work. Therefore, implementing them equitably requires careful attention to infrastructure, partner input, data, and system capacity. The tool uses a four-staged approach to guide a state team through the implementation process.
- Stage 1: Exploration and Planning
- Stage 2: Installation
- Stage 3: Initial Implementation
- Stage 4: Full Implementation, Scale-Up, and Sustainability
News from the Field
Joint Dear Colleague Letter on Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) and Part C Programs
A Joint Dear Colleague Letter on Early Hearing Detection and Intervention and Part C Programs (Aug. 5, 2024) encourages State Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs and Part C Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C early intervention programs to develop coordinated systems of care. These systems will include data sharing, tracking, and surveillance to:
- Support early identification of hearing loss and timely access to early intervention services.
- Foster optimal outcomes for deaf or hard of hearing infants and toddlers and their families.
Collaborating agencies that issued the letter are Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and Prevention.
Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Actions to Keep Children and Families Safely Together and Supported
The White House recently hosted a meeting on transforming child welfare and issued this FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Actions to Keep Children and Families Safely Together and Supported. New policy was also announced to prevent family separation due to poverty. Over four million families are referred to child protective services each year. Although child welfare systems are prepared to step in when a child’s safety is at risk, oftentimes intervention happens simply because families are impoverished. In the long run, these families could be best helped by helping meet their economic and service needs. New policies will focus on these four key areas:
- Separating poverty and neglect
- Prevention services
- Prioritizing kin and youth needs
- Innovations and research
Research
Late Bedtimes and Not Enough Sleep Can Harm Developing Brains - and Poorer Kids are More at Risk
Shorter sleep and later bedtimes are linked to potentially harmful functional changes to parts of the brain important for coping with stress and controlling negative emotions. This is according to recently published research by a group of neuroscientists who are passionate about reducing socioeconomic disparities in child development. Not getting enough sleep increases the risk of developing mental health problems and interferes with academic achievement. Reduced sleep may make it harder for children to cope with stress and manage their emotions. During childhood, the brain develops at a fast pace. Because of this, childhood experiences can have effects on brain function that last a lifetime.