The South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Network (South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Council, South Carolina Protection and Advocacy For People With Disabilities, Inc., and the South Carolina University Affiliated Program) is responsible for planning and carrying out programs that promote self-sufficiency and protect the rights of the nearly 61,102 South Carolinians with developmental disabilities. The main goal of the Developmental Disabilities Network is to work in partnership with State governments, local communities and the private sector to enhance the quality of life of individuals with developmental disabilities of all ages, so that they and their families can experience productive, independent and totally integrated lives into the fabric of society.

The South Carolina Head Start Association represents all Head Start and Early Head Start Programs in the state that provide comprehensive early childhood services to 11,022 zero to five year-old children and their families. Each program is required to make at least 10 percent of its enrollment opportunities available to children with disabilities. To provide services to preschool children with disabilities, Head Start and Early Head Start programs collaborate with other agencies to insure that these children receive services that meet their individual needs and promote their inclusion in the fall Head Start program.

The Region IV Quality Improvement Center for Disability Services (QICDS) is a regionally based system whose purpose is to provide training and technical assistance to local Head Start programs. The QICDS will work with Head Start grantees to: 1) enable them to provide effective early childhood education programs that model an inclusive and collaborative approach to disabilities services; 2) enhance the quality of life and maximize the potential of Head Start and Early Head Start children and their families; 3) identify and effectively access a wide variety of resources available to support quality disabilities services; 4) integrate all available component resources to enhance and reinforce a comprehensive approach to families and children; and, 5) establish and maintain linkages with the child care community to assure effective partnerships among providers of services to children with disabilities and their families. The QICDS will coordinate activities with the Head Start Training and Resource Specialists (HSTARS) funded to provide training and technical assistance to grantees in their clusters. The HSTARS are located in two programs throughout the State of South Carolina and are available to local programs as resources for assistance in the disabilities services area.

The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate the inclusion of children with significant disabilities such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, hearing impairment, vision impairment, physical or mobility disabilities, serious chronic illness or terminal illness, serious emotional and behavioral disorders or brain injury in the Head Start program. The Head Start Performance

Standards, (45 CFR 1308) state that no children with disabilities be denied placement because of the level or type of disability. For Head Start to be an effective partner in providing an educational placement for children with more significant disabilities, programs need information on planning and delivering appropriate services to meet the special needs of these children and their families. Through this partnership with the South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Network, South Carolina Head Start programs will have access to additional resources, training and technical assistance to meet this goal.

The Head Start program has been serving children with disabilities in its comprehensive early childhood program since its inception. In 1973 the program began to require that at least 10 percent of its enrollment opportunities be made available to children with disabilities. In the 1997-98 program year 14.2% of children enrolled in the Head Start program had a professionally diagnosed disability requiring special education and/or related services. Two-thirds of these children had their special education needs met through collaborative arrangements between Head Start and another community program, most often with the public school system.

To serve children with more significant disabilities such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, hearing impairment, vision impairment, physical or mobility disabilities, serious chronic illness or terminal illness, serious emotional and behavioral disorders or brain injury in the Head Start program, and to ensure that these children's rights to free and appropriate public education (under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)) are protected, requires extensive collaboration with local Boards of Education and programs such as those sponsored by the South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Network. These programs can help Head Start grantees acquire the information; training and services that are often needed to meet the goals in a child's individualized educational program (IEP) or Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP).

Barriers that may prevent placement in the Head Start program for children with more significant disabilities must be identified and removed so that these children and their families can benefit from the comprehensive services Head Start can offer. Head Start is recognized as one of the primary opportunities for young children with disabilities to receive an educational experience in the least restrictive environment. Special efforts are needed to assure that this opportunity also exists for children with more significant disabilities.

The immediate objective of this agreement is for the South Carolina Head Start Association, the South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Network, (the Developmental Disabilities Council, the Protection and Advocacy System, and the University Affiliated Program), and the Head Start Quality Improvement Center for Disability Services (QICDS) to discuss, and develop plans for joint objective initiatives that improve coordination and collaboration. The purpose will be to improve services to children with the most substantial disabilities, promote the integration of these children into the mainstream of society, and promote a better understanding of programs serving children with disabilities.

The South Carolina Head Start programs, the South Carolina Developmental Disabilities Network and the Quality Improvement Center for Disability Services (QICDS) will convene a work group consisting of members of each body to identify strategies for increasing collaboration between Head Start programs and agencies working with children with developmental disabilities and their families.

Quality Improvement Center for Disability Services (QICDS)

• Provide training and technical assistance to Head Start grantees onsite, at cluster technical assistance meetings, and at state, regional and national conferences
• Provide phone technical assistance and referral to other technical assistance providers
• Provide resource materials
• Facilitate interagency collaboration between Head Start and agencies that serve
• children with substantial disabilities ages birth to five
• Participate in the development of State and Local Interagency Agreements
• Conduct an annual needs assessment
• Assist Head Start Training Resource Cluster programs