Birth to 3--Description

Wisconsin’s Birth to 3 Resources for Training and Technical Assistance

The Birth to 3 Program is Wisconsin’s early intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. A federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), provides a framework for a comprehensive program that coordinates developmental, health and social services within the community. The Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) oversees the Birth to 3 Program in Wisconsin and has developed legislation (HFS 90) that specify the program requirements.

DHFS contracts with two, statewide projects - The Wisconsin Personnel Development Project and Birth to 3 RESource for assistance to implementing Wisconsin’s Birth to 3 Program. Staff of these two projects partner with the DHFS staff from the Birth to 3 Program and the Area Administrative Offices to offer a variety of training and technical assistance resources to county Birth to 3 Programs.

Other major partners include Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, DHFS Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs Public Health, Wisconsin Medical Assistance Program , Wisconsin First Step, Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative, Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners, Head Start, and Wisconsin Sound Beginnings.

Mission
Provide training and technical assistance to county Birth to 3 programs and their local partners to support the implementation of the Wisconsin Birth to 3 Program so that families have access to appropriate early intervention services.

Guiding Principles
System Building
Support
Relationships
Ecological
Leadership
Family-Centered
Strengths-Based

About Our Work
The following diagram illustrates how these three partners, DHFS Birth to 3 Program, RESource and WPDP provide resources to Wisconsin’s early intervention system in a planed and collaborative fashion. Some functions are unique to each of the entities, while many are shared among the three statewide resources.

Birth to 3 RESource, provides a dedicated staff person for each of the five DHFS regions. Resource facilitators work closely with the State Birth to 3 staff, WPDP, regional DHFS personnel, and the Assistant Area Administrators (AAA) to provide supportive training and technical assistance in collaboration with local county programs and their community partners. The primary contacts for RESource are county program leaders and the Birth to 3 program staff.
The primary goals of RESource include:

Building strong, ongoing relationships with Birth to 3 staff at the state and local level in order to understand the unique assets, issues and concerns for programs;
supporting continuous quality improvement of Birth to 3 programs through participation in the Birth to 3 program systematic review, development of Programs In Partnership (PIP) plan and the facilitation of appropriate training and technical assistance; and
facilitating community and statewide collaboration and the development of learning networks among leaders of programs serving families and young children.

The Wisconsin Personnel Development Project’s (WPDP) role is to assist the Department of Health and Family Services in meeting the state’s needs for a well-qualified early intervention workforce and providing parent perspectives throughout statewide Birth to 3 activities. WPDP provides the infrastructure for a wide variety of educational opportunities for parents, service providers from all disciplines, and program leadership through a multifaceted program. Training activities are planned and carried out in partnership with RESource, and State Birth to 3 staff, with guidance and input from county early intervention programs. Activities include: statewide and regional workshops, materials development and dissemination, the development and maintenance of a training and technical assistance website-including interactive learning options, a video lending library, publication of Birth to 6 EVENTS, collaborative planning with other programs/agencies, and active participation on statewide workgroups. Additionally, Parents as Leaders (PALs) (HTML version), offered annually, supports a group of 25 parents who commit to a five-weekend training and networking series.



Description Staff Contact Us Links
	Wisconsin’s Birth to 3 Resources for Training and Technical Assistance The Birth to 3 Program is Wisconsin’s early intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. A federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), provides a framework for a comprehensive program that coordinates developmental, health and social services within the community. The Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) oversees the Birth to 3 Program in Wisconsin and has developed legislation (HFS 90) that specify the program requirements. DHFS contracts with two, statewide projects - The Wisconsin Personnel Development Project and Birth to 3 RESource for assistance to implementing Wisconsin’s Birth to 3 Program. Staff of these two projects partner with the DHFS staff from the Birth to 3 Program and the Area Administrative Offices to offer a variety of training and technical assistance resources to county Birth to 3 Programs. Other major partners include Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, DHFS Program for Children with Special Health Care Needs Public Health, Wisconsin Medical Assistance Program , Wisconsin First Step, Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative, Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners, Head Start, and Wisconsin Sound Beginnings. Mission Provide training and technical assistance to county Birth to 3 programs and their local partners to support the implementation of the Wisconsin Birth to 3 Program so that families have access to appropriate early intervention services. Guiding Principles System Building Support Relationships Ecological Leadership Family-Centered Strengths-Based About Our Work The following diagram illustrates how these three partners, DHFS Birth to 3 Program, RESource and WPDP provide resources to Wisconsin’s early intervention system in a planed and collaborative fashion. Some functions are unique to each of the entities, while many are shared among the three statewide resources. Birth to 3 RESource, provides a dedicated staff person for each of the five DHFS regions. Resource facilitators work closely with the State Birth to 3 staff, WPDP, regional DHFS personnel, and the Assistant Area Administrators (AAA) to provide supportive training and technical assistance in collaboration with local county programs and their community partners. The primary contacts for RESource are county program leaders and the Birth to 3 program staff. The primary goals of RESource include: Building strong, ongoing relationships with Birth to 3 staff at the state and local level in order to understand the unique assets, issues and concerns for programs; supporting continuous quality improvement of Birth to 3 programs through participation in the Birth to 3 program systematic review, development of Programs In Partnership (PIP) plan and the facilitation of appropriate training and technical assistance; and facilitating community and statewide collaboration and the development of learning networks among leaders of programs serving families and young children. The Wisconsin Personnel Development Project’s (WPDP) role is to assist the Department of Health and Family Services in meeting the state’s needs for a well-qualified early intervention workforce and providing parent perspectives throughout statewide Birth to 3 activities. WPDP provides the infrastructure for a wide variety of educational opportunities for parents, service providers from all disciplines, and program leadership through a multifaceted program. Training activities are planned and carried out in partnership with RESource, and State Birth to 3 staff, with guidance and input from county early intervention programs. Activities include: statewide and regional workshops, materials development and dissemination, the development and maintenance of a training and technical assistance website-including interactive learning options, a video lending library, publication of Birth to 6 EVENTS, collaborative planning with other programs/agencies, and active participation on statewide workgroups. Additionally, Parents as Leaders (PALs) (HTML version), offered annually, supports a group of 25 parents who commit to a five-weekend training and networking series.
Last updated on April 13, 2009 by sanders@waisman.wisc.edu