Baltimore Infants and Toddlers Program

For this brief, the authors analyzed a cohort of children referred to Baltimore's Infants and Toddlers program (BITP), for kindergarten readiness. Usually, pediatricians, parents, or early education staff refer a child to BITP upon observing a delay in development or speech and language skills....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBaltimore Education Research Consortium
Main Authors Grigg, Jeffrey, Connolly, Faith, Mitchell, Charlie
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Education Research Consortium 01.10.2018
Subjects
Developmental Delays
Eligibility
Family Programs
Health Services
Infants
Kindergarten
Referral
School Readiness
Social Services
Speech Language Pathology
Toddlers
Maryland (Baltimore)
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Summary:For this brief, the authors analyzed a cohort of children referred to Baltimore's Infants and Toddlers program (BITP), for kindergarten readiness. Usually, pediatricians, parents, or early education staff refer a child to BITP upon observing a delay in development or speech and language skills. Thereafter, BITP staff assesses the child to determine eligibility for services, then refers eligible children to appropriate services. Among students who were not assessed by BITP, students who could not be contacted scored above the district's composite Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) average, but children who were withdrawn scored below. The highest overall mean outcomes were among eligible children who completed services. These findings suggest the need for continued communication with parents on the importance of completing the services their children are eligible to receive. This analysis cannot determine why children who transition to kindergarten for additional services had the lowest levels of proficiency, but the fact that they remained entitled to services suggests they required continued support. Further study might rule out other explainations such as unmet needs or gaps in services.