Workforce Support for Early Intervention Providers: Centering Family Relationships and Caregiver Regulation

Abstract

Approximately 13% of infants and toddlers in the United States have a developmental delay that qualifies them for early intervention (EI) via Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. EI practice guidelines increasingly encourage providers to intervene directly with caregivers via coaching. The current study explored a new infrastructure for EI workforce support centered on caregiver coaching. Fifty EI providers participated in one or both of 2 series of virtual trainings (14 total sessions) offered in English and Spanish. Training content focused on caregiver-child relationships and caregiver regulation. Training format included didactic instruction, discussion, and role-play with feedback. Anonymous audience response data were collected via Zoom polls at the beginning and end of each training to assess perceived utility of training content, intent to use content, anticipated barriers, and learning preferences. Findings support the use of virtual learning communities and language-concordant professional development with active learning components. Findings also point to future opportunities within EI to explore ongoing need for and value of telehealth service delivery.