Montana's IDEA Services for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness Project

Montana’s IDEA Services for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness Project (State Project)

Mission

Montana’s Office of Public Instruction (OPI), in collaboration with other key agencies and organizations, provides training and technical assistance services to Montana families and public and private agencies involved with early identification, early intervention, educational, transitional, vocational, and related services for children with deaf-blindness in order to achieve meaningful outcomes for children with deaf-blindness and their families.

Outcomes

families will derive the benefits associated with early and accurate identification of their child as requiring supports and intervention for dual sensory impairment;
families will have access to individualized supports that enable them to carry out educational and therapeutic activities with their child in the context of natural routines of daily life;
families will be provided with the necessary information and support to advocate for necessary services for their child at school;
families will have access to current information and training opportunities that focus on the needs of children and youth with deaf-blindness;
service providers will be more aware of and take greater advantage of the resources available to support students who are deaf-blind;
service providers will feel more capable of delivering appropriate services to children who are deaf-blind;
the specialized services required as a result of dual sensory impairments will become part of the services provided to children on a daily basis;
service providers will continue to develop their skills and will change their practices to reflect new developments in the field; and
teacher trainers will infuse information about the needs of students who are deaf-blind in the preservice training curriculum for teachers.

Project Description

The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI), in collaboration with other key agencies and organizations, proposes to provide training and technical assistance services to Montana families and public and private agencies involved with early identification, early intervention, educational, transitional, vocational, and related services for children with deaf-blindness as outlined in statute 34 CFR Parts §307.11(a)(2), §307.11(c)(2) and §307.11(c)(3) (Statutes prior to reauthorization in 1997 but in place in 1995). Montana provides direct early intervention and educational services for children with disabilities, including children who are deaf-blind, from birth through 21 years old. The Project's training and technical assistance services are designed to compliment the provision of Part C (formerly Part H) and Part B of IDEA services in Montana, enhance the services provided to children with deaf-blindness and their families, and increase the number of individuals in Montana who have expertise in services for individuals with deaf-blindness.

Importantly, the Project is devised to meet the needs and concerns identified by families, service providers and educators. The needs assessments information has been transformed into six major Project goals with the following components: (a) public awareness; (b) identification of children who are deaf-blind; ( c) provision of family services; (d) provision of technical assistance to service providers and educators; (e) community coordination and collaboration; and (f) project evaluation and management. By implementing objectives and activities in those goal areas, the Project will provide the following benefits for families, service providers and educators:

families will derive the benefits associated with early and accurate identification of their child as requiring supports and intervention for dual sensory impairment
families will have access to individualized supports that enable them to carry out educational and therapeutic activities with their child in the context of natural routines of daily life
families will be provided with the necessary information and support to advocate for necessary services for their child at school
families will have access to current information and training opportunities that focus on the needs of children and youth with deaf-blindness
service providers will be more aware of and take greater advantage of the resources available to support students who are deaf-blind
service providers will feel more capable of delivering appropriate services to children who are deaf-blind
the specialized services required as a result of dual sensory impairments will become part of the services provided to children on a daily basis
service providers will continue to develop their skills and will change their practices to reflect new developments in the field
teacher trainers will infuse information about the needs of students who are deaf-blind in the preservice training curriculum for teachers

It is anticipated that the Project will annually directly impact 45 families who have children with deaf-blindness, 250 early intervention service provider and education personnel, and 50 adult service providers involved with transitional services.

For more information contact Ted Maloney or Ellen Condon.

		The University of Montana Rural Institute 52 Corbin Hall Missoula, MT 59812 406-243-5467 Voice/TTY
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