(PS13-B27) Remote Workforce Support for Early Intervention Providers During COVID-19

Infants/toddlers with developmental delay and their caregivers are at increased risk for mental health problems and elevated levels of family stress. Many families rely on Early Intervention (EI), via Part C of IDEA. Historically EI providers have worked directly with children to reduce a specific delay (e.g., motor, speech); however, practice guidelines over the past decade have increasingly prioritized caregiver coaching and consultation. Provider-caregiver interactions provide natural opportunities to strengthen parent-child relationships, improve caregiver self-regulation, and mitigate the elevated stress that accompanies caring for a child with delay. Although a rich literature highlights empirically supported tools, few have been infused into EI. Hence, the shift towards a caregiver coaching model requires a new set of job demands and calls for innovative models of workforce training and support for EI providers.

            The current study describes our academic-community partnership with EI agencies focused on building an infrastructure for empirically and culturally informed workforce support centering family relationships and stress regulation. Partnering EI agencies provide care for families in a diverse urban center in the southeastern US (43% Black, 43% Latinx, 82% of families rely on Medicaid). Trainings for providers focused on two content areas that are not traditionally part of EI care or provider training: (1) PRIDE: Child Directed Interaction (from Parent Child Interaction Therapy) to promote positive caregiver-child interactions through play; and (2) CALM: relaxation and the cognitive triangle to help caregivers reframe discouraging thoughts associated with their child’s behavior or diagnosis, use positive coping strategies, and feel more joy from parenting. EI providers (N=51) attended one or more virtual, weekly 90-minute trainings to support their ongoing professional development and transition to Telehealth during COVID-19. Weekly trainings alternated content (PRIDE and CALM) and language (English and Spanish) for a total of 15 trainings between May and August 2020. The virtual format allowed for didactics, group discussion including via chat, and interactive activities (e.g., breakout rooms, white-board, role play, practice with feedback). Provider response at the start and end of each training was captured via Zoom poll questions related to current practices, attitudes, barriers, and intent to use training content.

The total number of responses per question (across trainings) ranged from 89 to 138. Providers attended an average of 3.69 trainings. Zoom polls revealed 92.1% of providers believed tools are good for both families and providers. Perceived barriers to implementation included Telehealth format (53.1%), needing more practice with tools (34.4%), competing priorities for time during home visits (9.4%), and perceptions that caregivers wouldn’t be interested (3.1%). Notably, two-thirds of providers reported intent to use tools with all families on their caseloads. Findings have implications for future EI workforce support and professional development designed to promote healthy functioning for infants/toddlers with or at risk for developmental delay and their caregivers.