Effects of Web-Based Support on Early Head Start Home Visitors’ Use of Evidence-Based Intervention Decision Making and Growth in Children's Expressive Communication

Abstract

We investigated Early Head Start home visitors’ use of evidence-based practices and the efficacy of a web-based system to support these practices. Home visitors learned to use 3 evidence-based practices: (a) frequent assessment of children's early communication for screening and progress monitoring, (b) 2 home-based language-promoting interventions, and (c) data-based decision making in the use of the language-promoting intervention strategies. Two conditions were compared in a randomized control trial. Condition A involved the use of an online data collection system, training in data-based intervention decision making, and training in the evidenced-based language interventions. Condition B was the same as A plus additional web-based support (MOD: Making Online Decisions) linked to the children's expressive communication data. Results indicated that the expressive communication of children receiving MOD support grew significantly more than for children whose home visitors did not receive MOD support. Home visitors in both groups increased their monitoring of children in need of intervention. The dosage of the MOD intervention that children received varied within the group, and MOD home visitors reported high levels of implementation fidelity and satisfaction with the MOD system. Future research and implications for early intervention and home-visiting practices are discussed.

Keywords:

• language/speech
• family support
• developmental delay
• educational media tools
• home environment

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the Office of Special Education Programs (H327A060051) and the Institute of Educational Sciences, National Center for Special Education Research (R324A070085), U.S. Department of Education. Additional support was provided by the Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, National Institutes of Health (HD002528), Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, Kansas Social Rehabilitation Services, and the regional Early Head Start Association.

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of colleagues Debra Montagna, Barbara Terry, Christine Muehe, Susan Higgins, Matt Garrett, and Chia-Fen Liu. We thank Todd Little of the Kansas Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis for help with the growth modeling aspects of the data analysis. We thank our consultant, Howard Goldstein, for his help in conceptualizing the MOD. We also acknowledge our Kansas Early Head Start program research partners, participating programs, children and families, and Mary Weathers for her support in facilitating partnerships with Early Head Start.

Notes

1. These percentages sum to more than 100% because home visitors could choose more than one option.