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The Assistive Expertise Partnership (ATP) in Nebraska values partnerships and works in collaboration with varied state and federal applications. Every of those partnerships ends in totally different applications inside ATP.   The ATP Training Program, for example, is a joint effort between the Nebraska Division of Training’s Workplace of Particular Training and the Nebraska ATP. The ATP Training Program is charged with constructing systemic capability for high-quality AT companies for each IDEA Half C (birth-3 early intervention) and IDEA Half B (3-21 school-aged) particular schooling companies.  As such, the ATP Training Program doesn’t present direct companies to kids and college students however, somewhat, gives an array of technical help and different helps to empower IFSP and IEP Groups to supply AT companies to the youngsters and college students they serve.

There are two main guides that the ATP Training Program makes use of to information its practices and actions.  First, the time period high quality is outlined by means of the High quality Indicators of Assistive Expertise Providers (QIAT Indicators).  The QIAT Indicators comprise eight indicator areas particular to the actions and duties concerned in making certain high quality AT Providers are supplied (Bowser et al., 2020).  The second is a doc put collectively by the Heart to Enhance Program and Undertaking Efficiency (CIPP) entitled, Conceptualizing Capability Constructing (Lammert et al., 2015).  This doc outlines a multidimensional method to capability constructing that features kinds of capability, ranges of capability, phases of capability constructing, and outcomes of capability constructing.  The method permits the ATP Training Program to contemplate, plan for, implement, and consider its capacity-building efforts inside and throughout every dimension.

Exercise Space 1:  Growing High quality of AT Providers Via the State of Nebraska

On this first space, the ATP Training Program focuses on constructing particular person and organizational capability by offering three ranges of technical help (TA):  Common, Focused, and Intensive.  Common TA is supplied freely and could also be accessed on-demand by any educator, associated service supplier, administrator, or member of the family inside Nebraska. Common TA actions embody conducting webinars on AT instruments and processes, cellphone/e-mail/video chat help for every AT gear mortgage request acquired, creating/disseminating sources, offering demonstration movies of AT instruments, exhibiting at statewide/regional conferences, creating/disseminating tip sheets/kinds to help AT processes, and providing on-line programs relating to AT processes (each self-developed and in partnership with the ATIA Studying Heart). The ATP Training Program has additionally partnered with different entities to share sources by means of its Useful resource Database. 

Focused TA actions concentrate on offering skilled growth experiences for particular occasions (e.g., conferences) and/or are regionally particular (e.g., requested regional workshops).  These are sometimes extra narrowly outlined subjects in response to particular wants and will take the type of one-time trainings, multi-part trainings, ebook research, on-line studying experiences, communities of apply (e.g., AT Leaders and AAC), and particular person/staff teaching. 

Lastly, Intensive TA entails sustained actions occurring for longer durations, with ongoing contact, and with particular outcomes.  For intensive TA, the ATP Training Program presents the AT Cadre. The AT Cadre consists of as much as 21 people throughout Nebraska who obtain intensive skilled growth throughout an 8-month interval. Every AT Cadre member (a) engages in month-to-month skilled growth experiences (although entry to supplies created by the ATP Training Program, entry to the ATIA Studying Heart, and the QIAT Companion); (b) units private objectives and receives personalised teaching from ATP Training Program Workers and/or former AT Cadre Completers; (c) participates in a Nebraska AT Neighborhood of Follow; and (d) engages in a person information and ability software mission that applies their studying and goals to enhance AT practices of their staff, faculty, or system.

Exercise Space 2:  Bettering the expertise infrastructure relating to AT all through the State of Nebraska.

The ATP/Ed Program maintains a Statewide Training Mortgage Pool that’s supported and made obtainable by means of EDUCATION.AT4ALL.COM. Gadgets on this mortgage pool could also be borrowed by schooling personnel that serve on kids’s IFSP groups or college students’ IEP groups. Tools could also be borrowed for the needs of participating in an analysis of the AT wants of youngsters/college students. Every requester is supplied TA from the ATP Training Program employees to assist develop capability for participating in high quality analysis/evaluation, acquisition, and implementation processes. Loans may be made to function a loaner whereas ready for restore or funding, or to supply an lodging on a short-term foundation.  Lastly, loans of AT gear could also be used for skilled growth functions. 

Exercise Space 3: Growing the engagement of key stakeholders (e.g., different state technical help applications, community-based applications, state companies, and many others.) and constituencies (e.g., school-based members of the IEP/IFSP Groups) relating to AT and AT companies.

Partaking in partnerships is crucial for capability constructing inside instructional techniques to help high quality AT companies for kids/college students receiving particular schooling companies. The objective is to find alternatives to meaningfully combine high quality AT companies into the practices of various initiatives and efforts.  As such, the ATP Training Program implements an ATP Training Advisory Group to garner suggestions for guiding and supporting program TA actions and gear purchases. The ATP Training Program additionally serves on different stakeholder teams, advisory boards, and planning teams to coordinate efforts and actions to assist construct capability for high quality AT companies in Nebraska. 

Conclusion

Via these actions, in combination, the ATP Training Program works towards systemic change to enhance the AT companies for kids and college students receiving particular schooling companies in Nebraska. 

References

Lammert, J. D., Johnson, L., & Fiore, T. A. (2015). Conceptualizing capability constructing. Rockville, MD: Westat.

QIAT Management Staff.  (2020). The QIAT companion: A just-in-time useful resource for implementing the standard indicators for assistive expertise.  CAST Skilled Publishing: Wakefield, MA.