IECD-588 Policy, Advocacy, Leadership

4 semester credits

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Understand, through research and key literature, the nature and importance of policy, advocacy, and leadership systems and related work.
• Articulate key elements of Parts B and C of U.S. federal law IDEA, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, WHO ICF, and/or WAIMH statements or their country’s laws related to young children with developmental disabilities as they pertain to covered services, provider qualifications, performance measures, and funding for early intervention, rehabilitation, and educational services for young children (birth to 8 years).
• Identify research and resources, local and online, within their own state/country and know how to access them to help parents successfully advocate for needed services for their children (birth to eight years) with developmental delays/disabilities.
• Collaborate with agencies in the health, educational, and child welfare systems to maximize funding and services for young children.
• Increase one’s own sensitivity to both family desires and goals for their child/ren and cultural norms around interpretation and implementation of law and policy within the community and school.