Striving for Success: an Early Childhood Intervention Program Evaluation in Taitung Taiwan

Striving for Success: An early childhood intervention program evaluation in Taitung Taiwan

Linda H. Chiang, Azusa Pacific University

Azar Hadadian, Ball State University

Abstract

In 1984 Taiwan government mandated early childhood special education services for children with or at the risk for disabilities. In 1997, a new special education law regulated that all relevant government departments to develop policies to provide special services to preschool children. Currently most children who receive early childhood special education are from 3 to 6 years of age. This paper will discuss the intervention program, which was implemented in Taitung, Taiwan. Evaluation was made based on personnel, expenditure, and support from the government as well as the society. Methods used for this study were qualitative in nature and included personal interviews with the program director, and participation and observation with different functions hosted by the program director in Taitung during fall 2008 to summer 2009. I. Introduction

Early childhood is an important stage of life through which the most critical development stage will be shaped. During this time of life, it is critical for individual’s growth and as a prerequisite for adulthood. For the Chinese, children will not only bear the family name, they are also expected to fulfill the expectations of their ancestors. The Chinese believe to be successful in life one must get a head start in education. However, giving birth to a child especially a boy with disabilities usually means he would not be able to carry the family responsibility, therefore it is devastating. Historically many parents of children with disabilities would hide the child from the public. Parents fed and kept the child at home and felt hopeless and helpless. In 2003 the

Children and Youth Welfare Law was passed by The Bureau of Interior Affair which regulates and expands services for children age 3 to 6 with disabilities.

In Taiwan the early childhood intervention did not attract much attention from the public until in the 1980s. Taiwan government mandated early childhood special education services for children with disabilities in 1984. A report by the Red Cross Society of China, R. O. C. (1990) stated that because of the lack of information and resources most young children with severe disabilities were kept at home and did not receive educational services. In 1997, a new special education law (Department of Education of the Republic of China, 1997) mandated that all relevant departments of government to develop regulations for active implementation of special services for school children. Based on this law, it is expected that by 2003 all young children with disabilities will attend schools starting at the age of 3. In the last two decades, many programs have been established and implemented. According to the Early Intervention for

Developmental Delay Children Association Act in the Republic of China (2005), the purposes of early intervention are to 1). Raise the awareness of early intervention for developmental delay and high risk children; 2). Collaborate with community and combine societal resources in serving developmental delay and high risk children; 3). Assist families with developmental delay and high risk children in career planning; 4). Establish and develop relevant resources and consultation services for developmental delay and high risk children; and 5). Plan and publish books and materials relevant to early intervention. The association drew funding from memberships and annual meetings. Every year this association has to submit a report to the

Bureau of Interior Affair. At the present time the headquarters of early intervention in Taiwan located in Hualien, there are local chapters in Taipei, Nantou, Taitung and Kaohsiung. The program that was discussed is in Taitung.

Currently, the majority of children who receive early childhood special education are 3 to

6 years of age. However, there are some cases with children who are at the age of seven. In

Taiwan, those children who received medical care or rehabilitation service only because their parents requested for such services (Kang, Lovett, & Haring, 2002). Most intervention programs are provided by private interest groups; only a few of them are government supported (Wang,

1993). This paper evaluated an early intervention program in Taitung Taiwan where support was from both government agencies and private foundations. Questions raised by these researchers are: What types of service does the program provide? What are the challenges in implementing program? What support they have gotten from the government? What support they have gotten from the private donors? What are the immediate needs for the effectiveness of the program?

What is the staff’s satisfaction? This inquiry intends to seek answers relevant to early childhood intervention in order to provide sound suggestions for early childhood teacher training programs in Taiwan. II. Perspectives

Experiences in early childhood build a foundation for later academic and life success, it is especially crucial among at risk children and their families (Magnuson, Meyers, Ruhm &

Waldfogel, 2004; Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005). Early intervention is a proactive approach to serving young children with disabilities and their families. Through such program many children with disabilities will learn and develop (VanDerHeyden & Snyer, 2006). Providing early services to children at the risk of disabilities can reduce the costly residential care for some young children. It is well accepted that the benefits of early childhood special education outweigh, or at least justify, its costs (Guralnick, 1997) especially for family of this children.

According to the U. S. Department of Education (2001), data from the National Early

Intervention Longitudinal Study with infants and toddlers with disabilities who exhibit more than three times the number of serious behaviors incidents than typically developing students. While there are multifaceted issues surrounding early intervention, it is essential to involve parents in the process.

Services Delivery Models for Early Intervention

In the U. S. federal laws regulated early intervention/early childhood special education for more than three decades. In addition to the federal support early in research has consistently showed that young children with developmental delays and/or disabilities as well as their families have significantly benefited of such support. A number of studies showed parental involvement beginning in the early years leads to children’s academic achievement and more positive attitudes towards school throughout middle childhood and adolescence (e.g. Ardelt &

Eccles, 2001; Coleman & Karraker, 1998). Early intervention services are provided via different models including home-based, center- based, and home-center programs (Raver, 2009). The rationale for home centered concept to early intervention is based on an ecological approach to human development (Racicot & Shelley,

2000). This ecological system constitutes a unique family culture. Providing services in the family is considered a natural way to support and help the needed children and their family.

Through a home-based program early childhood special educators (ECSE)/professional visits the family’s home to work directly with the child and the child’s family. The pace of interactions, teaching, and discussion is dictated by the parents’ preferences and needs and by the child’s ability to profit from what is being offered. Through such intervention activities of daily living were modeled in natural environment (Sandall et al., 2005). A home-based early intervention program can increase family empowerment and opportunities for parents to influence their child’s development (Bakermans-Kranenburg, van IJzendoorn, & Bradley, 2005). It is the most common model for providing services to infants and toddlers, and to their families.

Intervention with center- based model involves children are brought to the central location to receive services. The services vary depends on the number of staff and the resources of the agencies. In some programs, professionals provide direct services to the children and offer regular conferences to their families. In others, parents were guided through intervention activities while the professionals serve as facilitators or models. Some programs offer information, training or social sessions for families that may involve siblings and extended family on a regular basis. This type of intervention provides opportunities for children to interact with other children and families (Sandall et al., 2005).

The combination of home and center intervention is called home-center program. In this type of program families may choose to have services for their preschool age child to have services in a preschool or a daycare program for children with typical development and also receive home visits. When home visits are offered in combination with center program visits usually occur about once a week. Such intervention normally depends on the financial and geographic location.

Factors Related to the Delivery of Early Intervention

A successful early intervention program strongly relies on various factors. Many studies have been made to describe the roles and responsibilities of service coordinators (Bruder, 2005), the kinds and scope of service coordination practices valued and described by both parents and practioners (Dunst & Bruder, 2006), and the barriers and facilitators to service coordination

(Nolan, Young, Hebert & Wilding, 2005). In addition, political factors, funding, and personnel competence are important factors.

III. Methods of Study

Study methods utilized for this paper included observations and participation of program

functions during fall 2008 to summer 2009 in Taiwan. One researcher visited the center and

interviewed program director six times, each interview took approximately two hours. There

were two functions conducted by the program director and her staff that was observed, one

was a parent-day. Child care was provided so the parents could be with an artist for

enrichment and fun; the other one was an exhibition to display parents’ writings and art

crafts.

IV. Findings From interviews with the program director, an overview of the program, its’ personnel, expenditure, needed support, and parents’ participation of the functions provided by the program and their needs for assistance reported as followed:

1. An overview of the Program

Taitung early intervention center located in Taitung city. The rent a floor inside a

hospital (see Photo 1). Taitung early intervention center provides services to sixteen

townships including Orchid and Green islands. In recent three years their case load

has been increasing. In 2006 they had served 309 cases, 455 in 2007 and 738 in the

year of 2008 (Annual Report, 2008). There are eight full time staff plus the director in

this early intervention center. This center serves more than 600 cases. They provided

home-based service to Taitung area. The headquarter of early intervention in Eastern

Taiwan is in Hualien but the center did not get financial or any support from the

headquarter. Geographically Taitung County covers a long territory. Some parts are

difficult to get to due to a lack of public transportation. Staff and social workers have

to use their own vehicles to serve without reimbursement from the center. They have

tried mobile classes for parents to be involved.

2. Expenditure

Funding for services are from the government and private donors or foundations. The

government supports funds for activities but not for personnel salaries or travel

expenses. Renting, postages, or other necessary expenses relied on other grants. They

are constantly seeking for outside financial support. With the current economic

situation, the program struggled to survive and function. 3. Needs/Personnel

The director reported one essential support for the center to function is collaboration

with public institutions, such as Bureau of Education, Health, and Social. With their

collaboration, these institutions can help with screening and referring process and

spreading information to needed families. The second area would be staff

development. The director mentioned that the current staff worked very hard and got

along with each other very well. Since they provide home-centered service it needs

more staff and time to manage with their current case load. They are in need of in-

service training to learn new tasks in order to be more effective. One crisis of the

center is the turn-over rate of staff due to lots of work with little pay. The director and

other staff need to recruit and train new workers constantly.

This researcher asked the director regarding her personal and professional goals.

She was pleasant with her staff but hoped to finish her Master degree in the summer

to expand her field of knowledge and skills. In August 2009 when this researcher

interviewed her she has reached this goal. As for her professional plan, she was

hoping to try other positions rather than staying with the same job forever. Up to now,

she is still with the center because she enjoys her staff and has developed a rapport

with some parents through their services.

She was also excited that their center has obtained more collaboration with the

public institutes which lifted some burdens from some staff of the center.

4. Outcome/Parents’ participation This researcher participated the parent-day activity conducted by the center. This

activity took place in a hot spring hotel. The hotel charged them very little and

offered places for child care. Approximately forty parents participated in this activity

(see Photo 2). They listened closely to the artist-counselor and created their art work

toward the end of the day. Through the art they could see their emotions and knew

how to express their frustration and anger on papers. Eleven college students from

Taitung University helped with child care. They worked diligently and patiently with

those children with or at risk of disabilities (See Photos 3 & 4).

The other function conducted by the center was an exhibition which took place in a

huge bookstore. This bookstore offered the place without any charges. In the

exhibition, parents have created art crafts, paintings, clothes, and cards. Many

children and their parents expressed their gratitude to the staff from the center. From

the signature and notes from visitors, it is evident that the exhibition was well

accepted by the community as a whole.

V. Conclusion and Recommendation

Whether a society is humane may be judged from the way that the society treats

the people in need and with disabilities. These researchers noticed that the local

university, the bookstore and the hotel provided support to the early intervention

center and its staff. The community has contributed to the development and growth of

the disabled children and their families. From the interviews and observations during

this research process, we found there was increased attention to the children with or at

risk of disabilities. The special education law made support and collaboration from public sectors available to the center. We found the Bureau of Health helped the

screening process when children received their routine immune shots and Bureau of

Education provided consultation to the center. It is evident the mandated service from

the public institutes made the collaboration possible. It is also reasonable to think that

the society is willing to offer opportunities for children with or at risk of disabilities

and their families to be able to live and learn.

Parents with or at risk disability children also contributed to the intervention

center. Some parents strived from their dismay and became advocates for the

program. They took comfort from interacting with the staff and social workers. They

were willingly participated in parent-day. The smile on their face upon completed

their art work demonstrated their pride and happiness. Such activity can really booth

their confidence and take away their worry from time to time. We recommend more

activities for parents and their children.

The center needs to have more financial support from the government so the

director can spend less time in seeking outside support or writing grant proposals. The

director and her staff also need in-service training to enhance their skills and to be

informed of current studies in order to increase their efficacy. More importantly it is

to raise their morale and retain the staff. It can be helped with the collaboration of the

local university and the Bureau of Education to provide such training or in-service for

the staff in this intervention center.

In conclusion, the early intervention center in Taitung has served many children and their families and their disable children with increased collaboration from the public sectors. They have strived to do their best to serve the society with successful stories. Yet, they are still in need of support in regards of finance, personnel, and training. The content workers will make their program be more pleasant for the staff and the director and therefore, the success of the center.

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