Readability levels of individualized family service plans.

This descriptive study examined the readability levels of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs). The readability of 85 de-identified IFSP documents developed by seven agencies that serve families and children enrolled in a county early intervention program was analyzed using Flesch Kincaid grade levels and Flesch reading ease scores. The average Flesch Kincaid grade level of the entire IFSP documents was 8.0, indicating that the text was written at the 8th grade reading level. The Flesch reading ease mean score for all of the IFSP documents was 58.6, indicating that the text was written at a moderate level of ease to read. The highest Flesch Kincaid grade level scores and lowest reading ease scores were found in sections that require descriptive documentation of IFSP activities and ideas, justification for services provided outside of the natural environment, the way in which outcomes would be met, and a description of the activities provided in the natural environment. The lowest Flesch Kincaid grade level and the highest reading ease level were found in the section involving gross motor development. There were no agencies that prepared IFSP documents at or below the recommended 5th grade reading level. The findings from this study indicated that on average the entire IFSP documents and most sections of the documents were written above a 5th grade reading level. Overall there were no agencies that wrote the IFSP documents at or below the recommended 5th grade reading level. Analysis of readability levels when preparing IFSP documents is recommended to optimize accessibility and usability.

The pipeline training program in maternal and child health: interdisciplinary preparation of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups.

The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training program provided financial support and specialized training to occupational therapy (OT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in maternal and child health. The project assisted undergraduate trainees to matriculate into graduate programs in their respective fields and facilitated application into long-term maternal and child health training programs. Sixteen trainees (8 OT and 8 SLP) participated in an undergraduate training program with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaming, family mentoring, leadership development, public health and population-based research. Instruction occurred in community and classroom settings through didactic instruction and small group discussions. Fifteen of the trainees applied to and were accepted in graduate programs in their respective fields. Two trainees applied to a long-term MCH training program. Students reported increased knowledge about programs that serve women and children, the effects of poverty on health, interdisciplinary teaming and the daily routines of families who have a child with a special health care need. The MCH PASS program provided a unique opportunity for undergraduate students in OT and SLP to learn about public health with an emphasis on maternal and child health. The specialized preparation enabled students to understand better the health concerns of underserved families whose children have special health care needs.

A Tablet-PC application for the individual family service plan (IFSP).

Approximately 2% of children from birth through 2 years of age were identified as having disabilities in 2000. To provide effective intervention services to each child is important. Children with disabilities from birth to 3 years of age who receive early intervention services have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). In some community early intervention programs, IFSP data are collected and stored in paper-based format, making it difficult to retrieve information in an efficient manner. Information technology strategies could address these problems, thus enhancing the efficiency of the information management. This paper discusses a user requirement analysis, design and development of a Tablet-PC computer application for collecting IFSP data for young children in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An early prototype for the Tablet-PC computer application for the IFSP was successfully developed and a preliminarily evaluation was conducted at two early intervention programs.

ECIDS: standardizing the data for Birth to 3 programs.

There is a compelling need for standardized coding schemes to represent data collected for children receiving services through Milwaukee County early intervention (Birth to 3) programs. We are standardizing Birth to 3 data in our ongoing development of the Early Childhood Integrated Database System. Our efforts balance the need for individualized service plans with the need for aggregate analysis.