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A new policy initiative. Infants and toddlers with handicapping conditions
Insights
Legislation like the Education for All Handicapped Children Act mandates parent involvement and multidisciplinary cooperation, aiming to improve services for children with special needs. However, these mandates can complicate policy implementation for professionals.
Area of Science:
- Education Policy
- Special Education Law
- Family Services
Background:
- Historical legislation focused on specific needs groups.
- Current laws mandate professional practice reforms.
- Previous reforms were desired but difficult to implement.
Purpose of the Study:
- Analyze the impact of recent legislation on professional practices.
- Examine challenges in implementing mandated reforms.
- Understand the dual effect of legislation in practice.
Main Methods:
- Review of key legislation (Public Law 94-142, Public Law 99-457).
- Analysis of mandated professional practices (parental involvement, multidisciplinary cooperation).
- Assessment of implementation challenges.
Main Results:
- Legislation like Public Law 94-142 and 99-457 mandates significant practice changes.
- Mandated reforms include parent participation and interdisciplinary teamwork.
- Implementation of these reforms presents practical difficulties for professionals.
Conclusions:
- Current laws aim to improve services through mandated professional changes.
- While beneficial, these mandates create implementation hurdles.
- Balancing mandated reforms with practical application is crucial for effective service delivery.
Abstract:
Past legislation related to children and families has been used to improve services to specific target groups of children and families in need (i.e., poor, handicapped, etc.) Current legislation, notably Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and Public Law 99-457 (Part H), Services for Infants and Toddlers with Handicapping Conditions, also includes elements of mandated reform of certain professional practices (i.e., inclusion of parents in planning and requirements for multidisciplinary cooperation). Such a mandate has the effect of putting into practice changes that many professionals have said were needed but were unable to achieve, but it also makes the implementation of these policies more difficult.