Infants: Family and Early Intervention Services

International Journal of D isability, D evelopm ent and Education V ol. 49, N o. 4, 2002

Measuring the Quality of Early Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers: problems and prospects
SUSAN KONTOS* & KAREN DIAMOND
Department of Child Development and Family Studies, 1269 Fowler House, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907–1269, USA

Comparable scales to measure quality of early intervention services for infants and toddlers as perceived by parents and service providers were developed based on the Recommended Practices in Early Intervention. Each scale consisted of four subscales focusing on: home-based therapies/instruction, centre-based therapies/instruction, medical/ health services, and service coordination. The scales were administered to 209 parents and 177 of their service providers. A sample of 24 parents completed the instrument twice during a two-week interval to assess test–retest reliability of the parent scale. Test–retest reliability for the parent scale was .785. Validity of the scale was assessed by examining the correlation of parent and provider perceptions of quality with family demographic and early intervention service characteristics. Parents’ perceptions of quality were related to family centredness of services. Neither parents’ nor providers’ perceptions of quality were related to family socioeconomic status. Problems and prospects for measuring quality of early intervention services are discussed.
ABSTRACT

Purpose of the Study There is consistent evidence that the effects of early childhood programs on children’s development are moderated by the quality of the program. In other words, children’s development is enhanced when they attend high quality programs and hindered by low quality programs (Helburn, 1995; Kontos, Howes, Galinsky, & Shinn, 1994; Whitebook, Howes, & Phillips, 1989). The samples on which these ndings are based, however, are exclusively typically developing children in regular early childhood programs

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