11/15/10 - Home visiting program launched in 10 southeastern Tennessee counties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Nov. 15, 2010
Contact: Jan Hollingsworth
jan.hollingsworth@siskin.org
423.648.1730, office

Siskin Children’s Institute launches new home visiting program in
10 southeastern Tennessee counties

Early interventionists help families promote development in their young children with disabilities

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Early interventionists from Siskin Children’s Institute now provide information, support and guidance to families who have a child between birth and age 3 with special needs living in 10 southeastern Tennessee counties, and they do it in the familiar setting of a family’s home. The program currently serves 150 families and will offer help to more than 210 as the program reaches full capacity.

The Institute recently launched its Home- and Community-Based Early Intervention (HCBEI) program, an initiative of the Institute’s Center for Child and Family Research. The new program is funded through a contract with Tennessee's Early Intervention System (TEIS), a part of the state’s Department of Education. Families enter the HCBEI program through TEIS referral. The program serves families in the Southeast TEIS District counties of Bledsoe, Bradley, Grundy, Hamilton, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie.

More than 126,000 Tennessee children younger than age 3 have a disability. Access to early intervention is crucial to their reaching developmental milestones that set the stage for success in life. Early childhood programs improve overall health, cognitive ability, school readiness and quality of life for these children. The U.S. Department of Education’s 24^th annual report to Congress notes that “children with disabilities who receive early intervention services show significant developmental progress a year later.” The report also notes that families of children who receive early intervention demonstrate increased confidence in their ability to parent their children with special needs.

Traditionally, early intervention programs consisted of an interventionist working solely with the child. The HCBEI program takes a more effective, family-centered approach, an approach based on the evidence-based research of Robin McWilliam, Ph.D., an international expert in early intervention. “The key to success in early intervention is seeing the family as partners,” said McWilliam, director of the Siskin Center for Child and Family Research. “Home visits offer support to the adults in a child’s life so they can provide intervention to the child all day, every day—not just when the early interventionist is present.”

The HCBEI program is a collaboration involving a child’s parents, child care providers, therapists and others. “Our goal is to empower parents to take advantage of all of those little teachable moments that occur within a young child’s daily routines,” said Amy Jenkins, coordinator of the HBCEI program. “This, in turn, helps the child make developmental progress and assists the parents in having more confidence as their child’s primary teacher.” 

The HCBEI program includes Jenkins as program coordinator and 12 full-time early interventionists as well as McWilliam and his research team at Siskin Children's Institute. For more information about the HCBEI program and how it benefits children in southeastern Tennessee, visit www.siskin.org/homevisiting.

About Siskin Children’s Institute
Siskin Children's Institute makes life better for children with special needs and their families. The non-profit organization achieves its mission locally and nationally through four initiatives: education, outreach, health care and research. The Institute provides early childhood education where children with and without disabilities learn together; family support and professional development programs; developmental behavioral pediatric health care; and innovative research in early childhood development and special education. For more information about Siskin Children's Institute, visit www.siskin.org.

About Tennessee’s Early Intervention System
Tennessee's Early Intervention System (TEIS) is a voluntary educational program for families with children ages birth through age 2 with disabilities or developmental delays. For more information about TEIS, visit www.TN.Gov/education/teis.