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Natural Allies: New Partners, New Possibilities

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs has recently awarded the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center of the University of North Carolina a grant to support states in preparing personnel to work with young children (0-5) in inclusive community settings. The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center's Web page includes:

• Abstract: details on the background of the Natural Allies project and anticipated outcomes
• State Teams: member lists, state plans and state-specific related projects and intitiatives
• Institute: session handouts
• Natural Resources: free or low cost resources
• SCPP Home: Systems Change in Personnel Preparation (information about the cluster of Frank Porter Graham projects, including Natural Allies)

Natural Allies: Working with Community Colleges to Prepare Personnel to Provide Quality Services for All Young Children in Natural Environments (known as Natural Allies), will work with state, faculty, family and community colleagues toward the following two outcomes:

• Enhancing the preparation of community college students to work with infants, toddlers and young children (0-5) of diverse abilities and their families in inclusive community settings; and
• Facilitating linkages and collaboration between early childhood and early intervention faculty, personnel, agencies and initiatives.

Texas has been selected as one of four Natural Allies states, along with Iowa, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. In January 2002, Natural Allies staff facilitated a meeting of family, faculty, community and state agency representatives, known as the Texas State Resource Planning Team (SRPT).

The Texas SRPT identified the following three additional areas in which change and improvement would be most important to pursue:

• Increased emphasis, in early childhood programs at community colleges, on content and issues related to working with young children with special needs or disabilities and their families;
• Increased emphasis, in early childhood programs at community colleges, on preparing students to work with all children (including those with special needs) and their families; and
• Linking community college course work and practical experiences to increased compensation for early childhood personnel.

Your participation in Natural Allies could significantly impact the high-quality opportunities for children with disabilities to learn and grow with their non-disabled peers in community settings in your specific community and in the state of Texas.

If you have questions regarding Natural Allies, please contact:

Betsy Sadler | Texas Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention
512.424.6788 | betsy.sadler@eci.state.tx.us

Cindy Savage | Texas Education Agency
512.463.9414 | csavage@tea.state.tx.us

Special Education Main Page

Texas Education Agency | Division of Special Education
1701 North Congress Avenue | Austin, Texas 78701-1494
Telephone: 512.463.9414 | Fax: 512.463.9560

Last Updated: November 1, 2002 | Created: February 15, 2002

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