Paquete 4.2
Participant's Workbook

Reflection on Concerns and Vision

1. My concerns about the social/emotional development and behavior of the young children in my community are:

 

 

2. My vision for the social/emotional development and behavior of the young children in my community is:

 

 

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Challenges to Using Evidence-based Practices to Promote Children’s Social/Emotional Development and Address Challenging Behavior

Focus groups of early childhood training and technical assistance providers, direct service personnel, program leadership, and family members revealed challenges to using evidence-based practices to promote young children’s social/emotional development and address challenging behavior. The categories of challenges and corresponding examples are listed below.

Category of Challenge	Examples of Challenge
Lack of Knowledge/Skill	Limited awareness of evidence-based practices/resources by staff/consultants Need more effective preservice and inservice training for early childhood educators, staff, pediatricians, and mental health professionals in topics such as positive behavior support or developmentally appropriate practices Inconsistent beliefs about what works Referrals/expulsions could be avoided with more knowledge/skills Confusion over roles/responsibilities among programs, staff, consultants Need clarity of terms: mental health, challenging behavior, social/emotional development, intervention, prevention, promotion, etc. Lack of trained providers High turnover in staff Need parent materials and education opportunities Inappropriate use of medications Lack of a diagnostic, assessment, referral, intervention link Poor quality of programs results in challenging behavior Lack of understanding about link between literacy and social/emotional skills Insufficient administrative support for evidence-based practices (priorities, knowledge, infrastructure) of attention to social/emotional development in programs Lack of supervision (follow through, etc.) Supervisors need training/information in evidence-based practices and supervision skills Need better and more accessible professional development mechanisms Mental health providers often don’t have knowledge of young children Lack of understanding that social development needs to be taught Lack of resources for substitute teachers, etc. Inappropriate use of mental health consultants Effective teaming skills
Beliefs and Attitudes	Inappropriate expectations for young children; personal beliefs about children, families, behavior Stigma of labels Inconsistent beliefs about what works Referrals/expulsions could be avoided with more knowledge/skills Confusion over roles/responsibilities among programs, staff, consultants Inappropriate use of medications Need to partner more with parents Lack of administrative support for evidence-based practices (priorities, knowledge, infrastructure) Lack of attention to social/emotional development in programs Need long range commitment to improving practice and systems Kids and families are blamed Lack of understanding that social development needs to be taught Lack of resources for substitute teachers, etc. Inappropriate use of mental health consultants
Lack of Adequate Fiscal Resources and Procedures	Insufficient staff development resources Not enough money and time Insufficient resources in the community for children and families Ineffective reimbursement/payment procedures Lack of supervision (follow through, etc.) Supervisors need training/information Families in poverty and not enough resources and supports to them Restricted access to quality programs for families Lack of resources for substitute teachers, etc.
Lack of Collaboration within the Program, with Families, within the Community	Lack of collaboration in the community results in gaps and duplication Need single point of entry and a collaborative system for families Need long range commitment to improving practice and systems Better partnering/coordination between programs/agencies, staff and families, forms, procedures, etc. Staff needs to feel a part of decisions

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Leadership Strategies for Addressing Challenges to Using Evidence-based Practices to Promote Young Children’s Social/Emotional Development and Address Challenging Behaviors

You can use the following strategies to help overcome challenges that may prevent you from implementing an evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practices are important because they promote young children’s social/emotional development and address challenging behaviors.

Challenge: Lack of Knowledge and Skills
Strategies

• Identify resources on evidence-based strategies
• Develop staff development plans
• Supervision and mentoring (ongoing)
• Implement collaborative training and TA with staff families, consultants, trainers, and leadership
• Develop vision and commitment to using evidence-based practices and resources

Challenge: Beliefs and Attitudes
Strategies

• Conduct frequent, structured meetings to discuss beliefs and attitudes
• Enlist the support of someone proficient in facilitating discussions about beliefs
• Ensure that concerns are not tied to misunderstanding of terms (establish consensual terms)
• Recognize that beliefs are affected by information
• Provide resources and opportunities to talk with people who have implemented the practice
• Provide incentives and recognition for attempts at using evidence-based practices

Challenge: Inadequate Fiscal Resources and Procedures
Strategies

• See “Administrators’ Essentials”
  (http://www.dec-sped.org/pdf/recommendedpractices/adminessen.pdf)
• Resource-sharing with other programs to reduce duplication
• Establish community-wide collaboration to address resource and fiscal policy issues (see below)

Challenge: Need for Collaboration with Programs, Families, and Communities
Strategies

• Implement Collaborative Planning Model (Smith, 2003). Use stakeholder teams to make program decisions—include staff, families, etc.
• Engage in collaborative planning with the community
• Develop a community-wide system of care for young children and their families
• Action Planning Form

Action Planning Form

Team Members: Sarah, John, Mary and Brenda
Challenge to be addressed: Confusion re: Meaning of “evidence-based practice”

Objective/ Strategy	Action Steps to be Taken	Date to be completed& Persons Responsible	Resources& Supports Needed	Date Accomplished	Impact
1a. Establish a definition	1a. Definition used by The Center for Evidence-based Practice used to establish our definitions: Level and type of evidence to support a practice (considerations: research data, published in peer-reviewed journal, etc.)	3/03- Sarah will coordinate	Sample Definitions	3/03	Program has a definition and focus for staff development options; need to meet with trainers and consultants to share definition and resources
1b. Identify resources that meet definition	NAEYC Accreditation criteria, DEC Recommended Practices, CSEFEL (www.csefel.uiuc.edu), Center for Evidence-based Practices (www.challengingbehavior.org)	4/03- John will coordinate	Time to explore resources	4/03

Group Meeting Record: Notes

Date: 2/10/03 Status: team meeting, reviewed concept of “evidence-based practice,” reviewed materials
Date: 2/25/03 Status: team meeting, decided on a definition and next steps for resources
Date: 3/15/03 Status: team meeting, reviewed resources and other places to look
Date:  4/5/03  Status: team meeting, prepared a packet on the definition and resources to share

Action Planning

Identifying Challenges

• Follow steps of Collaborative Planning Model (commitment, team, vision, etc.).
• Develop Team Definitions and Philosophy (Evidence-based, Promotion, Prevention, Intervention, etc.).
• Brainstorm the statement: “We’d like to use evidence-based practices to promote social/emotional development and address challenging behavior, but…
• List the challenges that emerge from brainstorming
• Transfer to Action Planning form as appropriate
• If a challenge is believed to be a written policy or procedure…GET A COPY! Don’t believe it ‘til
• you see it! Many perceived policy barriers are in fact misinterpretation of the policy!

Identifying Strategies

• Establish criteria for trying possible strategies (ease, timelines, durability, etc.).
• For each challenge, brainstorm this statement: “We could remedy this challenge by….”
• Select strategies from the brainstorming.
• Transfer to Action Planning Form as appropriate.

Other Steps

• List the steps to be taken to achieve the strategy(ies).
• Estimate the dates the steps and strategy will be accomplished and who will coordinate the work or strategy.
• List resources needed to carry out the steps and strategy (e.g., coordination, training, materials, etc.).
• List the date the strategy was accomplished/put into place.
• Describe the impact of the strategy (Did it overcome the challenge? Other?).

Action Planning Form

Team Members:
Challenge to be addressed:

Objective/ Strategy	Action Steps to be Taken	Date to be completed& Persons Responsible	Resources& Supports Needed	Date Accomplished	Impact

Group Meeting Record: Notes

Date:             Status:                                  
Date:            Status:                                  
Date:             Status:                                  
Date:             Status:                                  

I. Draft an action plan that would address two challenges (one administrative, one skill development/supervisory).

• Challenge:
• Strategies:
• Team Members:
• Action Plan (use blank form in this packet)

II. Write steps for establishing a community collaborative planning team for developing a system of care to support young children’s social/emotional development and addressing challenging behavior.

• Steps:
• Team Members:
• Purpose:
• How to get started:
• Etc.

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Este material fue desarrollado por el Centro sobre los Fundamentos Sociales y Emocionales del Aprendizaje Temprano (Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning) con fondos federales del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE.UU., la Administración para Niños y Familias (Administration for Children and Families) (Acuerdo Cooperativo N. PHS 90YD0119). El contenido de esta publicación no necesariamente refleja los puntos de vista ni las políticas del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE.UU., ni la mención de nombres comerciales, productos comerciales ni organizaciones implica ningún endoso del Gobierno de los EE.UU. Se puede reproducir este material para propósitos de capacitación e información.

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