Name of Report: Issue Brief #19: Improving Outcomes for Children with Special Needs
Organizational Affiliation: Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Author: Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Contact Information: Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, One Union Station, Providence , RI 02903, 401-351-9400 (telephone), rikids@rikidscount.org (e-mail)
www.rikidscount.org (website)
Date: November 2003
Pages: 20
Content Summary
This Rhode Island KIDS COUNT issue brief focuses on children with special needs. Defining "special needs", this report discusses such issues as early identification and intervention, the impact of unaddressed special needs, effective care systems, special education and improving its outcomes, financing, and community participation. Information about national studies as well as education and treatment approaches is included. This issue brief also outlines recommendations for special education, health care and family support, early intervention and prevention, parental employment, community participation, access, transition into adulthood, and children in out-of-home placement. Lists of state agencies which assist children and families with special needs and Rhode Island disability-specific resources are available.
Major Findings
Rhode Island has one the highest populations of children over the age of five with disabilities, as reported by the 2000 Census. Rhode Island students with disabilities have higher drop-out rates, lower rates of enrollment in institutions of higher education, and increased poverty rates than their peers. They are less likely to find full-time work and more likely to earn lower wages as adults. Although national research indicates that high quality programs including but not limited to Early Intervention, Early Head Start and Head Start are effective in improving outcomes for children with special needs, they enroll only a limited percentage of eligible children in Rhode Island . The current system of special education financing in Rhode Island provides the same amount of funding per student regardless of whether the student has special needs and regardless of the extent of those needs, thereby creating potential incentives to limit or deny services and increasing the need for advocacy. Informed advocacy is difficult in the absence of publicly available information about best practices, particularly where the child’s needs are complex. Improving outcomes for children with disabilities by maximizing their earning potential, increasing family stability, improving health, and reducing dependency, delinquency and institutional care, also reduces societal costs. Black and Hispanic children in the state are disproportionately likely to be identified as mentally retarded and unlikely to be identified as autistic, or speech or hearing impaired. There is also concern that English Language Learners may be erroneously identified as requiring special education services or erroneously overlooked when they need special education.
Related Issues
Each year the Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook provides data regarding children with special needs by school district, by disability. This data shows that in Providence, a very high minority and high poverty district, children are less likely to be identified as needing special education services than in Rhode Island overall. Rhode Island ’s annual reports concerning special education to the U.S. Department of Education indicate that minorities in Rhode Island are slightly underrepresented in special education, in contrast to national trends. National research indicates that English language learners and students from high-minority areas are over-represented in special education programs in the U.S. overall. (Klinger and Artiles 67)
Reference List
Klinger, Janette K. and Alfredo J. Artiles. "When Should Bilingual Students Be In Special Education?" Education Leadership 61.2 (2003): 66-73.
How to Access Report
http://www.rikidscount.org/