RE: Question 1: Pre-school support

While screening and assessment are vital elements of the School Readiness recommendations, equally important is the emphasis on increasing the capacity of early childhood programs to meet a broad range of needs of children.  Too often, it has been assumed that services to a child with disabilities would be handled by some outside expert often in a location away from the child's typcially developing peers.  The recommendations emphasize the need for both pre-service and in-service support to staff to increase their competencies in meeting the individual needs of children.  It also proposes a collaborative approach with all of the many resources for children working together to create a clearer, less fragmented system for children, families and staff.  We must find better ways for for our specialized resources to be integrated into our ongoing early childhood programs.