Effects of Service Coordinator Variables on Individualized Family Service Plans

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of service coordinator variables on evidence of recommended practice in a sample of 120 Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs). Service coordinator variables were months of experience, college major, level of degree, first service delivery model practiced, and attendance at training. The IFSPs were rated on 12 indicators of recommended practice using the IFSP Rating Scale (Mc William & Jung, 2001). Service coordinators' months of experience and attendance in training had the strongest relationships with IFSP quality indicators. Results and implications for further research are discussed.

Effects of an In-Service Training Program Using the Routines-Based Interview

“…Low quality is most noticeable in levels of specificity, functionality, and a focus on natural routines and environments (Bailey, Winton, Rouse, & Turnbull, 1990;Boavida, Aguiar, McWilliam, & Pimentel, 2010;Campelo & Nunes, 2008;Goodman & Bond, 1993;Grisham-Brown & Hemmeter, 1998;Jung & Baird, 2003;McWilliam et al, 1998;Pretti-Frontczak & Bricker, 2000; Sanches-Ferreira, Lopesdos-Santos, Alves, Santos, & Silveira-Maia, 2013;Yell & Stecker, 2003). The following examples illustrate goals and objectives of very low quality found in IEPs and IFSPs (Boavida, Aguiar, McWilliam, & Pimentel, 2010): (1) "enhance communication" , "fine motor development", "direct attention" or "follows a simple command" (vague and general);…”

Evaluating construct validity and internal consistency of early childhood individualized family service plans

“…Although estimates of inter-rater agreement, internal consistency, and component structure in previous studies through CTT support the notion that quality of IFSPs can be reliably measured using the IFSP Rating Scale (Jung, 2010;Jung & Baird, 2003;Jung & McWilliam, 2005), application of the Rasch measurement model to the scale can guide refinement of the rating scale and provide additional evidence of construct validity. The Rasch model, introduced by Georg Rasch (1960); Georg , yields a comprehensive picture of the construct being measured and the concurrent responses, as the amount of a given latent trait in a person and the amount of that same latent trait reflected in various items can be estimated independently yet still compared explicitly.…”

“…The Rasch model accounts for these anomalies and provides a more informative score (Andrich & Luo, 2003). In this confirmatory study, the investigators apply the partial credit Rasch measurement model to the IFSP Rating Scale (McWilliam & Jung, 2001) using the 120 IFSPs previously analyzed by Jung and Baird (2003) and Jung and McWilliam (2005) to evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of instrument.…”

Práticas de intervenção precoce baseadas nas rotinas: Um projecto de formação e investigação

“…Os objectivos funcionais para a criança são os que se destinam às necessidades de participação ou envolvimento, independência e relações sociais. É preciso garantir que, efectivamente, as prioridades da família se reflectem no PIAF -sabemos que muitos PIAF's continuam essencialmente focados na criança (Jung & Baird, 2003). Os objectivos precisam de ser, a um tempo, abrangentes que baste e suficientemente específicos; as estratégias, inequivocamente contingentes com o problema identificado.…”