State Leadership Teams
The purpose of the State Leadership Teams is to provide statewide, high-quality, inclusive services for young children with disabilities and their families by embedding the SpecialQuest approach, materials, and resources into professional development through collaborative cross-systems efforts.
The work of the State Leadership Teams is focused in the following areas:
- Increasing public awareness about inclusion
- Using the SpecialQuest approach and materials in colleges and universities
- Use the SpecialQuest approach and materials in local, regional, and state training and technical assistance activities
- Influencing state policies and procedures to support hight quality inclusive practices
- Developing agreements to ensure children receive services in their natural or the least restrictive environment
Quotes from the State Study Report
After the National Leadership SpecialQuest event in Dallas, I received some phone calls from state members saying how they are looking forward to the next couple of years. That doesn’t happen as frequently as it should in early childhood. A lot of the members are state department people, and so to hear that they are energized — I just think that is interesting. It has caused us to come together around a shared vision, and I think that we are growing together.
—State Leadership Team Liaison
One thing that stands out in my mind is that we didn’t realize that there were so many different agencies all thinking the same thing. By doing this SpecialQuest initiative, it brought everybody together. In talking with people, they were doing some things and considering some things around a state-wide inclusion project. It is interesting that everybody was thinking the same thing, it just hadn’t all come together.
—State Leadership Team Liaison