Components

The major components of SpecialQuest Birth–Five are:

SpecialQuest Birth–Five State Leadership Teams
SpecialQuest Birth–Five will work with ten states to augment and implement cross-systems professional development plans for inclusion of young children with disabilities and their families, particularly those in Head Start, along with Child Care, Early Intervention/Part C, Early Childhood Special Education/619, family support, and other relevant programs. The states will partner with SpecialQuest graduate teams and utilize the SpecialQuest approach, materials, and resources in their professional development activities.

Ambassador Program and Graduate Activities
SpecialQuest Birth–Five Ambassadors are graduates of the Hilton/Early Head Start Training Program who work with SpecialQuest Birth–Five to build a nationwide network of leaders and advocates. They will contact and network with the SpecialQuest graduate teams (1997-2007) to mobilize them in sustaining and expanding inclusive practices for young children with disabilities and their families by using the SpecialQuest approach, materials, and resources in their communities and by interacting with the SpecialQuest community.

Family Leadership
SpecialQuest Birth–Five will embed family leadership as a theme in all aspects of the new grant activities and will be a crucial element of sustainability.

SpecialQuest Community of Practice – SpecialQuest Birth–Five will provide a SpecialQuest Community of Practice where community members will become a cohesive group of practitioners utilizing each other as resources and working together to enhance the quality of inclusion across the nation.

Materials Dissemination
SpecialQuest Birth–Five will link with dissemination networks at the local, state, and national levels to increase access to SpecialQuest materials (including SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library and Web-Based SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library) and promote sustainable use of the materials, resources, and practices through a variety of strategies.

Continuous Improvement and Evaluation
SpecialQuest Birth–Five will conduct ongoing formative and summative evaluation of program activities and outcomes.