"My program has always offered great learning opportunities. One of the best was when we worked with our local school district to learn about helping families with children who have severe disabilities. I now understand more about what the families go through and how much support they need." – Head Start family engagement staff

This chapter focuses on helping staff grow in their jobs. As a disability services coordinator (DSC), your work affects every part of the Head Start program. To support children with disabilities, all staff need training and support.

Ask yourself:

• What are they already good at?
• Where do they need help?
• How can I earn their trust?

When staff feel supported, they are more willing to learn. This leads to better teamwork and stronger services for children and families. It also strengthens your program’s coordinated approach.

Key Ideas

• To support children with and without disabilities in the learning environment, staff must be confident and able to use strategies in the Framework for Effective Practice.
• Some staff may need extra help, like coaching or mentoring, to provide strong services.
• Training with early intervention and special education partners helps everyone stay on the same page.
• Training should respect the different perspectives and languages of staff, children, and families.
• When staff grow professionally, it helps children and families do better too.
• A strong training plan is part of a strong support system for children with disabilities.

What is the training and professional development system?

The Head Start Program Performance Standards (the Performance Standards) require a research-based approach to professional development. This means staff training should be based on what we know works best for children and families (45 CFR §1302.102). The goal is to make sure staff are ready to provide high-quality services and keep improving.

Training and service delivery should work together. When you coordinate both well, children with disabilities and their families get better support.

Training and professional development, 45 CFR §1302.92 explains what training should include. Staff in child and family services need research-based training to strengthen their knowledge and skills. To effectively support children with disabilities, this training should focus on the following key areas:

• Using effective teaching and home visiting methods.
• Understanding the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF).
• Working with families as partners.
• Supporting children with disabilities and their families.
• Building strong, caring relationships with children and families.
• Helping children who speak more than one language.
• Managing and promoting positive behaviors.
• Preparing children and families for changes, like moving to a new activity or setting.
• Using data to create learning plans that meet each child’s needs.

Coaching and Professional Development in Head Start Programs

Head Start programs must make sure staff have access to mental health and wellness information. This helps staff stay healthy and ready to support children and families.

Programs also need a coordinated coaching strategy that is based on research. This means coaching should be planned and connected to staff needs and program goals.

What Coaching Can Look Like

Some staff may need more support than others. Programs need to identify staff who would benefit most by intensive coaching. This type of coaching includes:

• Observing staff in their work.
• Giving helpful feedback.
• Showing examples of strong teaching.
• Supporting home visiting practices.

These coaching activities should match the program’s goals and help improve services.

Other Professional Development Options

Not all staff need intensive coaching. They can still grow through other types of research-based professional development, such as:

• Mentoring  
• Workshops
• Online courses
• Peer learning groups

Training Requirements

• All staff must complete at least 15 hours of professional development each year.
• When possible, this training should count for academic credit.
• The Head Start Act of 2007 requires a professional development plan for every full-time staff member who works directly with children. These plans should be reviewed regularly to make sure they are still helpful.

Coaches and supervisors often help create and support these plans. This is all part of a strong, coordinated approach to staff development.

Your Role in Professional Development for Staff

As the DSC, you help make sure all staff get the training, support, and supervision they need to work with children with disabilities and their families.

This includes many different roles, such as:

• Teachers
• Family child care providers
• Home visitors
• Family service workers
• Bus drivers who transport children with disabilities
• Nutritionists who plan meals for children with special health needs
• Data specialists who track progress and outcomes
• Volunteers should be included in training when possible

Not everyone needs to know every detail about disability services. But all staff should understand enough to do their jobs well and support every child.

How to Support Staff

• Work with your program’s professional development system to plan training and coaching.
• Make sure you coordinate your approach — connect with all staff, volunteers, and others who support children.
• Focus on building knowledge and confidence across the team.
• By reaching out and working together, you help create a strong, supportive environment for both staff and families.

Planning for Partnerships

Working with partners is a key part of professional development. When you plan joint training with others, staff get clear and consistent information. This helps everyone stay on the same page.

You can help staff grow by working with others to:

• Create tools and checklists to find out what supports staff need.
• Encourage teamwork between coaches, early intervention providers, and special education partners.
• Promote shared learning about teaching children with and without disabilities together in the same setting.
• Build strong advocates for children with disabilities by teaching effective strategies.

What to Include in Training

Professional development should cover a wide range of topics. The Performance Standards list what education staff need to learn. You can add more content to help staff better support children with disabilities.

Your training plan may include:

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other laws
• The Head Start Program Performance Standards
• How to recruit families, support them, and help with transitions
• Topics from each chapter of this guide

Child Development

Staff need to understand how varying family perspectives and language shape how children grow and learn. This is especially important when working with children who have disabilities and are dual language learners (DLLs). To be impactful and meet individual needs, teaching should be responsive and developmentally appropriate. Staff should adapt their approaches to support family values, perspectives, and needs.

Children with disabilities may learn and process language differently. This can affect how they learn both their first and second languages.

Key Training Topics

Key training topics include:

• How different values and perspectives influence child development.
• How disabilities can affect language learning and processing.
• How to support DLLs with disabilities in learning both languages.

Family advocates can help shape training by sharing what they know about families’ cultures and languages. In the end, child development principles should guide staff in their work with all children.

Tool to Support Your Work

A helpful resource for staff training is Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures. Chapter 10 of this report focuses on children who are DLLs and English learners with disabilities. You can use it to guide professional development and help staff better support children who are DLLs with disabilities. The report includes research-based strategies and insights that align with Head Start goals. 

Working Together to Support Staff

Building strong relationships with staff helps them feel more open to professional development. When staff feel heard and supported, they are more likely to be engaged in their own learning. This helps staff better serve children with disabilities and their families.

Build Trust and Communicate Clearly

• Show staff that you’re a partner who listens and wants to help solve challenges.
• Remind them that professional development helps them do their jobs better.
• Work closely with your human resources (HR) team. You may help write job descriptions or learn about staff needs through performance reviews.
• Learn about staff qualifications and required skills listed in the Performance Standards.

Plan and Provide Training

When you train staff in intentional teaching and individualized support strategies, you need to prepare them to meet the needs of all children.

You can help plan training for large groups or small teams, depending on your program’s size and the needs of the staff.

• Plan an orientation at the start of the year for staff, consultants, and volunteers.
• Work with the leadership team to set training priorities.
• Use this guide as a resource to explain disability services during onboarding.
• Support staff who have career goals in special education or early intervention.

Getting Started with Professional Development

Start by working with supervisors and program leaders to identify what staff need to learn. Use tools like:

• Staff records, to check experience or training in disability services
• Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP) progress and child outcomes data
• Transition data for children with developmental delays and disabilities
• Feedback from staff about their training needs
• Input from coaches, mental health consultants, and special education partners
• Results from past training evaluations
• Data from your community assessment and continuous improvement efforts

You may find that everyone needs a refresher on your program’s disability services policies or federal laws. Use professional development to help staff understand the coordinated approach and how their role supports better outcomes for children with disabilities.

Tailor Training to Staff Needs

Not all staff need the same training. For example:

• New staff may need basic training on disability services.
• Experienced staff may need advanced training or support for a specific child or disability.
• Volunteers should learn about supporting children with disabilities during orientation and, if possible, join ongoing training.
• Coaches and education managers may need to build their skills in supporting children with disabilities.

Use your staff needs assessment to plan training that works for everyone — just like you individualize learning for children, you should individualize learning for staff.

Where to Find Training and Support

You don’t have to do it alone. Many organizations offer training and resources:

• Office of Head Start Regional Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) specialist offer workshops, institutes, and onsite visits.
• Use the Individualized Professional Development (iPD) Portfolio online modules, tools, and resources for early childhood staff.
• Early Educator Central offers free online courses for educators who work with infants, toddlers, and their families.
• Professional organizations like the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Early Childhood (DEC), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the National Head Start Association (NHSA) offer training at the state and national levels.
• Local child care resource and referral agencies and family child care organizations may also offer helpful training.

As you plan, cast a wide net — look for trainers and resources that meet your program’s unique needs.

Tips for Building Professional Development to Support Disability Services

Professional development should be thoughtful, well-planned, and based on real staff needs. It should also reflect your program’s commitment to educating children with and without disabilities together in the same setting.

Key Tips

• Review all training plans. Use data from staff needs assessments, program self-assessments, and child outcomes. Make sure your plans align with the Performance Standards and relevant laws.
• Balance general and specific training. Some topics, like individualization, apply to all children. Others, like specific teaching strategies for children with disabilities, may be more targeted.
• Support each staff member. Meet regularly with staff or their supervisors to problem-solve and address the needs of children with disabilities. Look for training opportunities at the local, regional, and national levels.
• Coordinate with coaches and managers. Work closely with those who support staff directly.
• Include your partners. Use memoranda of understanding (MOUs), community assessments, and self-assessments to find joint training opportunities. Reach out to:
  • Local education agencies (LEAs)
  • Community colleges for credit courses
  • Trainers and consultants
• Know your staff. Help them reach their professional goals. Support those working toward degrees or credentials.
• Think beyond the classroom. Include contractors, consultants, and volunteers in training when possible. Help create a welcoming environment for all children and families.

People Who Can Help You

• Program management (planning and budgeting)
• Education staff and home visitors
• Family service and health staff
• Coaches, supervisors, and child development specialists
• Mental health consultants
• Part B and Part C agencies (IDEA services)
• Community partners
• Training and technical assistance (TTA) providers

Questions to Ask Your Team

• What do we include in staff orientation? Does it cover disability services?
• How does our professional development support children with disabilities and their families?
• What training needs have staff identified? What has the program self-assessment shown?
• Do our managers and coaches need training to better support staff?
• When is the best time to deliver training — during pre-service or in-service?
• How do we know if our training is working? Are staff more confident and effective? Have child and family outcomes data improved since the training?
• Do our hiring practices help us find the best-qualified staff to support children with disabilities?

Scenario: Supporting Tamara and Building Staff Confidence

In a few weeks, 9-month-old Tamara will join a local Early Head Start program. She has experienced teachers, but Tamara brings new challenges. She has hip dysplasia and wears a soft brace that keeps her legs in place. She must wear it at all times — even during diaper changes.

Tamara has a medical plan, and she’s been referred to the Part C agency, but she hasn’t had her evaluation yet. She doesn’t have an IFSP. The staff want to give Tamara a safe, caring environment, but they have questions and concerns:

• “Is it safe to hold her?”
• “What if I move her brace by accident?”
• “Can she play on the floor?”
• “How do I track her progress using the ELOF?”

They’re worried they might unintentionally hurt her.

The DSC, Alexa, talks with Tamara’s family, doctor, and physical therapist. She shares what she learns with the staff and reassures them. But this situation makes Alexa wonder: Do other staff need more training on working with children who have physical disabilities or health needs?

Taking Action

Alexa works with the program management team to create a short needs assessment. They send it to:

• Teaching staff
• Home visitors
• Education managers
• Coaches

The results show a clear need for more training on medical conditions and physical disabilities. Alexa and the team use the results to build a professional development plan. They partner with:

• Easter Seals
• Part C providers
• Local Education Agency (LEA)
• Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee (HMSAC) members

They deliver training sessions and follow up in classrooms and home visits. Supervisors, coaches, and child development specialists help staff apply what they’ve learned. 

The Ripple Effect

What started with one child led to better support for many. Staff feel more confident, and children with medical needs receive better care. The training helped the whole program grow.