Cultivating and nurturing community teams as they plan for and implement the inclusion of young children with disabilities and other special needs in early care and education settings.
About the Project
The AOUT Project is coordinated by the WestEd Center for Prevention & Early Intervention under contract with the California Department of Education, Child Development Division using Quality Improvement-Child Care and Development Funds.
AOUT provides team building, problem-solving, and inclusion planning opportunities for community, agency and program teams as they plan for and implement inclusive practices in early care and education settings. The project presents a rich opportunity for teams to dialogue, reflect and problem solve as a way to emphasize relationship building, enhance collaboration skills and shape program practices to support inclusion through a parallel process of support from program administration to staff to parent to child.
Project Activities
January and March 2008: Teams meet in their own communities to conduct a needs assessment and begin inclusion planning with support from a trained facilitator.
April 21-22, 2008: Teams attend a two-day institute at the Doubletree Hotel Anaheim/Orange County, and participate in interactive sessions, networking, and facilitated team meetings culminating in the completion of a Community Inclusion Plan.
Forming a Team
Each team member plays an essential role – directly or indirectly – in supporting the inclusion of young children. Ideally, teams will include between 6-10 members, such as teachers, caregivers, parents, administrators, specialists, local child care planning council members, special educators, Regional Center and First 5 representatives.
The application deadline is October 31, 2007. Space is limited to ten teams. You are urged to apply early!
Each application will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
• Team composition: The team is representative of the different roles necessary to successfully collaborate and implement the community inclusion plan
• Community benefit: The quality of fit between the team’s strengths, needs, and goals, the project's philosophy, and team’s motivation
• Geographic representation: Teams are representative of California's diverse communities
Teams will be notified of their application status by mail or e-mail by November 30, 2007.
A registration fee of $150 per team member includes pre-institute training and technical assistance, facilitated on-site meetings, resource materials, hotel accommodations and continental breakfast and lunch on both days of the Institute. The fee offsets the cost of hotel accommodations on Monday night, April 21 (based on double-occupancy). Registration fees will be collected once teams are selected. Please do not submit fees with your team application.
Download the application and
frequently asked questions (PDF).
Download how to put together a team for AOUT (PDF).
For more information,contact
Sue Bollig at 916.492.4009
mbollig@wested.org.
