Below you will find a variety resources primarily related to child outcomes along with some resources related to family outcomes. Included are links to national resources, online training modules, and tools to support teams with outcomes measurement.
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Illinois Resources
Child Outcomes: Measure the Benefits of Early Intervention (Spanish Version) The Illinois EI Clearinghouse put together a brief overview of the benefits of measuring child outcomes. This page is great to share with families!
*NEW* Illinois Family Outcomes Survey Infographic (pdf) Developed in September 2020, this infographic explains the importance of the survey, the role of providers and service coordinators, and recent updates to survey delivery methodology.
Illinois Family Outcomes Survey (pdf) Illinois is using a revised version of the original ECO Family Outcomes Survey. Illinois stakeholders were involved in the revision and piloting of the new version.
Outcomes: Measuring the Success of Early Intervention for IFSP (PDF) Resultados: la medición del éxito de la intervención temprana a IFSP (PDF) To help prepare for individualized family services plan (IFSP) meetings, this handout gives an overview of child, family and functional outcomes as well as explaining your role in the process and how the outcome measurements are used.
Outcomes: Measuring the Success of Early Intervention for Intake (PDF) Resultados: la medición del éxito de la intervención temprana al Consumo (PDF)To help during intake, this handout gives an overview of child, family and functional outcomes as well as explaining the family's role in the process and how the outcome measurements are used.
Formerly the Early Childhood Outcome (ECO) Center, the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) Outcomes Measurement section provides national leadership in assisting states with the implementation of high-quality outcome systems for early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) programs. Their website provides up-to-date information and resources for state and local administrators, technical assistance providers, teachers, and other direct service providers, and families. The following is a sample of resources available:
Breadth of the 3 Child Outcomes
This page includes a summary of 3 child outcomes definitions, national data analysis, and state approaches to child outcomes measurement. Additionally, the ECTA and Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) recently released a Child Outcomes infographic (pdf) that displays the three child outcomes measured by early intervention and early childhood special education systems that span across developmental domains. The infographic is also available in Spanish and is a great resource to share during intake or IFSP meetings.
Child Outcomes Summary Process This page has many resources related to the COS process including training resources, the COS Form and instructions.
Child Outcomes Step by Step (video) This video describes and illustrates the three child outcomes adopted by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and reported on by all state early intervention (Part C) and preschool special education (Part B/619) programs as part of their Annual Performance Report (APR). The video explains functioning necessary for each child to be an active and successful participant at home, in the community, and in other places like a child care program or preschool.
COS-TC Quality Practices Checklist and Descriptions: Built around a set of quality practices, the Child Outcome Summary -Team Collaboration (COS-TC) checklist provides a mechanism for those who implement, supervise, or train on the COS process to identify, observe, and assess recommended team collaboration. It includes a description of each of the quality practices, what it is, and two examples of ways to introduce the different COS discussion points with team members. Related resources: Guidance on Using the COS-TC Checklist and COS-TC Quality Practices Checklist
Completing the COSF (PDF - May 2009, updated 11/2017) These instructions provide general guidelines for completing the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF).
Child Outcome Summary Form (COSF) Rating Scale Descriptor Statements (PDF - February 2010) This tool includes the child outcomes ratings with culminating statements of IFSP present levels of development descriptions in the respective outcome areas. A color-coded key with a "bucket list" is included as a visual aid to help teams consider how the child's array of age-expected, immediate foundational, and foundational skills are impacting the ratings that are selected for each child outcome.
Decision Tree for Summary Rating Decisions (without numbers) (PDF, 2017) Designed to support the IFSP team’s discussion and consensus on a child’s outcomes rating.
Decision Tree for Child Outcomes Rating Discussions (PDF - May 2007) Spanish version This tree includes child outcome rating definitions and supports the discussion on a child’s outcomes rating.
Immediate Foundational Skills (PDF – April 2015) Part of every child outcomes discussion should include an assessment of the child's functioning relative to age expectations. If a child's functioning is not age-expected, the team needs to determine the extent to which immediate foundational and foundational skills are present.
Outcome Rating Definitions (PDF - 2012) This document provides definitions for each of the 7 ratings on one page. Teams may wish to use the one-pager as a reference during rating discussions. The definitions are also available in the Instructions for the Completing of the COSF (PDF).
Discussion Prompts for Child Outcomes (PDF – November 2012) These discussion prompts can be used to expand the discussion of child outcomes. They can be used to make sure that IFSP team members are considering all relevant aspects of development for a particular outcome as well as to engage the parent in the discussion of the outcomes.
Including Families in the Discussion (PDF – April 2007) In Illinois, family members are to be included in the discussion of their child's outcomes ratings. Including families in the discussion is consistent with all other aspects of early intervention practice and acknowledges the family as an important source of information about the child. This document provides additional information about the importance of including families in child outcomes' discussions.
Age-Expected Child Development Resources
Child Development Resources - The IFSP team needs to determine to what extent each child demonstrates age-expected skills in each of the three outcome areas. Many team members admit, however, that they have lost track of what is appropriate for a given age. ECTA has curated a variety of resources that describe age-expected development across a variety of domains.
Age Anchoring Guidance for Determining COS Ratings - Guidance for EI/ECSE Practitioners and Trainers (PDF- April 2018) provides answers to commonly asked questions about age anchoring as it applies to the COS process. It is designed as a reference for practitioners, as well as supervisors, coaches, and professional development staffs.
Age Anchoring Tools (PDFs): These materials, developed by Larimer County (Colorado), provide examples of age-expected development according to the three child outcome areas. They cover child skills and functioning from birth to 36 months to support understanding of age-expected child development. You can reference the developmental milestones to ‘age anchor’ the skills they document as part of the child’s current level of functioning.
Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia (ITCV) Child Outcomes page - ITCV has developed nice resources for helping team members think about age-expected development relative to the 3 child outcomes. Team members may find it useful to review, or even print, the information before the meeting to enhance their ability to discuss what is expected at various ages.
This page includes an overview, survey versions and additional resources.
Integrating Child and Family Outcomes into the IFSP process (PDF- 2014) The purpose of this chart is to help integrate Child and Family Outcomes into the IFSP Process from referral to transition.
Bucket List (PDF – October 2011) is a tool developed by the Department of Defense and modified by Maryland to help describe a child’s performance in age expected, immediate foundational, and foundational skill for the child outcome summary.
Find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on child and family system outcomes. The family-friendly page covers questions on outcomes and federal reporting, child and family outcomes, child outcome summary (COS) process, crosswalks, family outcomes survey and acronyms. With answers at the click of a button, this tool works well on mobile devices!
This section describes resources and best practices related to talking with families about child and family outcomes. The page is divided up according to three main areas related to family participation in the outcomes measurement process: talking with families about the outcomes measurement process, encouraging and utilizing input from families in the process of gathering information about the child and family, and sharing information back with the family about the child outcomes rating or family outcomes measurement process.
Illinois (Part C and Part B 619) is participating in a project designed to determine the effectiveness of the Child Outcomes Summary Form as a tool for assessing progress towards the three identified OSEP child outcomes.
Assessment Tools and the COSF
Since the COSF is not an assessment tool, it allows team members to utilize information from a variety of assessment tools. ECTA (ECO) has developed several resources that can help team members see how global assessment tool information can contribute to a child outcomes discussion.
Cross-referencing the functional skills assessed by various published instruments with the three child outcomes required by OSEP for Part B/619 and Part C programs, these crosswalks assess the degree to which these instruments measure the required outcomes, based on the frequency of informal requests from states. These crosswalks are presented as a service to the field. The ECTA Center does not endorse the use of any specific assessment instrument. Thus, a completed crosswalk does not constitute the endorsement of an instrument. If a crosswalk of an instrument is not available it is because, given the reality of finite resources, it has not yet been completed. A sample of crosswalks include the following:
Additional Resources
Child & Family Outcomes: How Do You Know? This article by Dana Childress from Early Intervention Strategies for Success Blog discusses strategies to consider as dig deeper into the outcomes children and family experience as you determine, monitor and measure progress within child and family outcomes as a result of participating in your program.
EITP Resource page on Child Development EITP has collected various resources that help promote a better understanding of child development for your work or the families you support. Through this website you can discover resources with more information on developmental milestones, view or register for online modules related to development, and find opportunities to learn more about this topic.
Pathways.org provides free tools to maximize all children's motor, sensory, and communication development. You can share their resources with families or use them to help you in your practice!
Online Training Resources
Child Outcomes (resource modules) from the Illinois Early Intervention System Overview online training is offered as a resource for individuals to review as needed. These 2 online modules are designed to inform and support early intervention professionals in their understanding of the child outcome process.
Child Outcomes Summary (COS) Process Module: Collecting & Using Data to Improve Programs: This free online module series from DaSy and ECTA provides key information about the COS process, and the practices that contribute to consistent and meaningful COS decision-making.
Understanding Young Children's Development - A series of modules discussing early childhood development as it relates to the different child outcome statements that are the focus of the Office of Special Education Programs' (OSEP) accountability reporting requirements for state Part C Early Intervention and Part B/619 Early Childhood Special Education programs. Content developed by the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service and adapted by EITP. To view these modules for EI credit, please register for the training titled "Understanding Young Children's Development" on our online events calendar.
- A Focus on Positive Social-Emotional Skills - This online module will review general principles of child development pertaining specifically to the acquisition of social-emotional skills, further examine several traditional approaches to organizing child development information, and allow participants the opportunity to hone observational skills related to young children's development.
- A Focus on Children's Acquisition and Use of Knowledge and Skills - This resource continues the narrative on early childhood development begun in the first module and focuses on children's acquisition and use of knowledge and skills.
- A Focus on Children's Ability to Take Appropriate Action to Meet Needs - This resource is the final module in the Understanding Young Children's Development series and continues the narrative on early childhood development that began in the first two modules. This resource focuses on children's ability to take appropriate action to meet their needs.
