The presence of an engaged service coordinator who understands the role and skillfully conducts the  many responsibilities of the position ensures a well-coordinated approach to EI service delivery. It is widely acknowledged in the EI field that families have the right to high-quality, individualized EI services; our field must commit to including service coordination in this acknowledgement by ensuring that the professionals who provide this service receive the attention, understanding, respect, and resources they need and deserve. (DEC and ITCA, 2020, p 10)

Wow. This quote is from the summary of the Service Coordination and Early Intervention – Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and IDEA Infant & Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA) Joint Position Statement which was recently released in December 2020. It’s a powerful message for our field that’s intended to help us leave behind the unfortunate idea of service coordinators as simply paper pushers. It signals to leaders, administrators, and team members, including families, that service coordinators (SCs) are vitally important professionals who play key roles in the delivery of quality early intervention (EI). It’s about time. I’m proud to have been a part of the development of this statement and eager to spread the word.

A Joint Call to Action

The statement was written, reviewed, and finalized as a collaboration between DEC and ITCA. It represents the voice and beliefs of EI professionals from multiple disciplines who are members of DEC and Part C coordinators across the country. Together, these groups came to the conclusion that we needed a strong Call to Action in support of service coordinators and specific information about the knowledge, skills, beliefs, expertise, roles, and responsibilities of professionals who provide service coordination to encourage consistency across our field.

What Can You Do?

Let’s break down the four recommendations in the Call to Action and consider how to move the dial forward.

#1: States and local programs should review and align current competencies to the indicators in the Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators (KSSC) document.

In an appendix, the KSSC outlines six knowledge and skill areas that are essential for service coordinators, including: infant and toddler development, family-centered practices, leadership and teaming, coordination of services, transition, and professionalism. Take some time to read it and compare it to guidance or competencies your program uses when hiring and training SCs. If you don’t have program-level competencies, consider adopting these.

#2: Leaders who hire, supervise, and mentor service coordinators must have a thorough understanding of the expertise and needs of these professionals. This understanding is essential to ensure that compensation aligns with the level of responsibility expected of service coordinators. Service coordinators also should have appropriate administrative support, reflective supervision, and resources to successfully manage the workload, navigate changes in policies and procedures, and, most importantly, partner with families.  

This recommendation focuses on leadership and administrative support, which traditionally varies greatly across EI programs. If you are a leader, be honest with yourself and reflect on what you understand. Can you specifically explain what the SCs in your program do and what they need? If you find holes in your knowledge or how your program functions, make a plan to address them starting today. A few ideas:

• Ask your SCs what they need and how your program can meet this recommendation, then work together to set goals.
• Schedule regular meetings with service coordinators to touch base, identify needs, and collaborate toward goals.
• Provide specific info about policy changes and what they mean. Invite input and be flexible when you can.
• Check in regularly about workloads.
• Be available for regular planned and unplanned reflective supervision.

#3: States and programs must consider multiple factors when determining workload size to ensure that service coordinators can manage the roles and responsibilities outlined in this joint position statement. The factors to consider include (1) the number of families served per service coordinator, (2) the varying levels of need experienced by families, (3) the model of service coordination implemented in the state/program, (4) the need for administrative support and supervision, and (5) the level of responsibility, educational background, and any specific expertise required of service coordinators in a given state or program.

This recommendation strongly encourages programs to use a multi-factorial view when determining workloads for service coordinators, rather than simply relying on “caseload” numbers which often fail to reflect the complexity and individualized nature of the work. If you are a leader, take a hard look at how your program operates, check in with your staff, and make adjustments to make the work more manageable. If you are a service coordinator, examine your workload and talk with your supervisor about what is going well and where you need support. Bring your creative ideas to the meeting and work together to tackle this recommendation. You might not be able to change the number of referrals coming in, but there are often smaller changes that can be made to improve the situation.

#4. Additional research is needed to identify recommended practices specific to service coordination, which could be guided by the KSSC document. Research also needs to address how these practices would be implemented with families and how service coordinators would be trained to use these practices during preservice and inservice training.

This might sound like a recommendation for academics, but academics need EI programs to work with to conduct research. Reach out to your local university to initiate conversations about research and service coordination. Encourage faculty to share the position statement with their students. Building partnerships with faculty not only benefits the students you may share during field placements, but could also have a positive impact on the field if you work together to learn more about best practices.  

I encourage you to take the time to read the full position statement and share it (or the Executive Summary) with at least two other people. Share it with your staff or with colleagues, other SCs, contractor agencies, leadership, families, and higher education faculty. Start thinking about how you can use it in your program or state.

Let’s answer the call for action by dedicating some intentional time and energy to our service coordinators. They deserve it.

How can you use the position statement in your program? Who will you share it with?

The post Call to Action! Service Coordination and Early Intervention – DEC/ITCA Position Statement appeared first on Early Intervention Strategies for Success.

Drew Dudley believes every person has changed someone’s life not by doing something extraordinary but rather through the everyday simple actions of being a leader. These actions can be so small a person may not even recall it in his or her memory. Mr. Dudley presents this inspiring Ted Talk on everyday leadership.

Take 6 minutes to hear his story:

“We have made leadership something bigger than us.”

Drew Dudley is right. If we relate leadership to only changing the world, maybe we need to redefine it. Drew Dudley worries “sometimes we spend so much time celebrating amazing things that hardly anybody can do, that we’ve convinced ourselves those are the only things worth celebrating.” The truth is there are moments that occur every day that define you as a true leader. Awareness and intention to understand the power of our own light can help us recognize what Mr. Dudley calls “lollipop moments.” Those moments are what makes us leaders.

“A lollipop moment is a moment someone said something and did something that made your life fundamentally better.”

Take a moment to pause and reflect on this statement. Who has impacted your life by simply saying or doing something? How have you impacted others?

It’s possible we do not always realize the power of our own words and actions in everyday moments. One day, I remember I was leaving the soccer field. A mother approached me and asked if I remembered her. She looked very familiar and then I recalled working with the family in early intervention. This mother gave me an update on her child and thanked me for supporting them. She told me she often thinks of the impact I made on them by providing the foundation for her, her husband and grandparents to help her son continue to grow in his journey. Wow! I was speechless. I did not realize the power of my influence on this family.

These are moments we have all experienced and never realized it……..a lollipop moment. This mother just found an opportunity to thank me for it.

Drew Dudley challenges us to “redefine leadership about lollipop moments. How many we create? How many we acknowledge? How many of them we pay forward? How many we say thank you for?” I am accepting this challenge and will remain aware of the opportunities to create lollipop moments with families. I will acknowledge the power I hold as a leader. I will model characteristics of a great leader daily during my visits and when working with my team members. I will thank others when they say or do something that impacts change in my life.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. -Marianne Williamson

Please feel free to share your own lollipop moment when someone has impacted your life or thanked you for impacting their life.

What were your first thoughts after watching this video?

The post Everyday Leadership: Redefining Leadership in Lollipop Moments appeared first on Early Intervention Strategies for Success.

There are many frameworks for leadership but one of my favorite is The FISH! Philosophy. It is a proven way to find joy and energy in our work. The FISH! Philosophy is inspired by a group of fishmongers from Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market. This team is a shining example of how you can create a culture and workplace that encourages people to flourish. Being a fishmonger is obviously hard work, despite the cold and harsh conditions, they have found a way to harness a positive attitude and have fun at work. Here is their story (cited from http://www.fishphilosophy.com/ The FISH! Philosophy® ChartHouse Learning Corporation):

Documentary filmmaker John Christensen was shopping in Seattle when he heard cheering in the distance. Curious, he followed the sound and encountered a crowd surrounding a small fish market—World Famous Pike Place Fish, to be exact. Suddenly a fishmonger fired a slippery salmon to a coworker, who made a spectacular one-handed catch as the crowd applauded. He invited a delighted customer to catch a fish.
The positive energy was electric.
The fishmongers greeted strangers like old friends. Despite the noise and bustle, when a fishmonger focused on serving a customer, it was as if they were the only two people in the world. Everyone was smiling—and buying lots of fish. John noticed that selling fish looked cold and exhausting, yet these fishmongers attacked their work with energy and engagement. He wondered, “How do they do it?”
“I want what these guys have.”
John brought a camera crew back to the market and spent several days with the fishmongers. When he and his team analyzed the footage, they identified four simple practices the fishmongers brought to their work that anyone could use to be successful.

How Does This Apply to Early Intervention?

As leaders in early intervention, we need to build effective teams. When a team lives these four simple practices, it builds trust, teamwork, appreciation and accountability—the foundation every team needs to excel:

1. Be There
Be emotionally present for people. It’s a powerful message of respect that improves communication and strengthens relationships.

• When coaching caregivers and teaming with your colleagues, to “be there” is to be fully engaged in the moment, inviting opportunities and sharing the experience together.

2. Play
Tap into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun. Play is the spirit that drives the curious mind, as in “Let’s play with that idea!” You can bring this mindset to everything you do in your work with families and colleagues.

• Play is not a specific game or activity. It is a state of mind that brings new energy to the tasks at hand and sparks creative solutions. Bring play into coaching and watch how innovative caregivers become in coming up with their own ideas and solutions.

3. Make Their Day
Find simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way. It’s about contributing to someone else’s life—not because you want something, but because that’s the person you want to be.

• If you find your energy lapsing, find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support and a good ear- and make their day.
• Hold a door, say “thank you”, ask about a person’s family or simply tell someone how much you appreciate them.
• Use stories and memories to engage people.
• Take a genuine interest in the unique gifts of others.
• Make the effort to brighten someone’s day. Be the person you want to be.

4. Choose Your Attitude
Take responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you. Your choice affects others. Ask yourself: “Is my attitude helping my team or my clients? Is it helping me to be the person I want to be?

• There is always a choice about the way you do your work even if there is not a choice about the work itself.
• Be aware of what your attitude is and how it affects you and others.
• Once you are aware of the impact your attitude has on others, you may view your attitude differently, even if the situation or person that prompted the attitude hasn’t changed.

The FISH! Philosophy helps colleagues to create a Be There culture where people feel heard and supported. It reminds everyone to Make Their Day, so they can show colleagues and clients they are valued. It frees them to Play with new ideas and be themselves in a safe environment. And it helps people to be aware of their impact on others, understanding that to create the kind of day that leaves you fulfilled you have the power to Choose Your Attitude. Whether you are a service coordinator, a provider or a manager, leadership starts with YOU!

Anne Brager is a Technical Assistance Consultant with the Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia. She can be reached at anne.brager@dbhds.virginia.gov.

The post Leading from the Middle: The FISH! Philosophy appeared first on Early Intervention Strategies for Success.