INNOVATIVE PRACTICES PROJECT BLEND - AN INCLUSIVE MODEL OF EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES

The purpose of this article is to describe Project BLEND, a model demo nstration project that provided inclusive early intervention services to young children with developmental delays and their families. Wherea s the initial focus of Project BLEND was to provide inclusive services to young children with developmental delays, collaborative partnershi ps among significant adults became the underlying foundation that infl uenced the development and implementation oi the model. The conceptual framework for the project ii-described in terms of 3 interrelated com ponents: service coordination, family-child care-early intervention pa rtnerships, and transition services. Challenges encountered while we i mplemented the model and strategies to address chafe challenges are al so presented with initial evaluation informa.