Status of States' Progress in Implementing Part H of P.L. 99-457 : Report #2 and Executive Summary / Gloria L. Harbin and Others.

This study assesses progress made by the states, as of 1990, in the implementation of the 14 components of Part H of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments, 1986. Fifty out of 51 jurisdictions completed the State Progress Scale, which contains items for each of the 14 components and determines the stages of policy implementation: policy development; policy approval; and policy application. Two major messages emerged from the study: (1) that a major national effort is being made to comply with the complex set of requirements that are a part of this legislation and that status of the states has considerably improved over the first administration of the State Progress Scale a year earlier; and (2) that most states have not yet obtained official approval for their policies. The states were farthest along in establishing definitions of developmental delay and procedures for developing individualized family service plans, a child find system, a central directory, and contracting services. Those components of the law that showed the least progress in policy development were the development of data systems, procedures for assigning financial responsibility, interagency agreements, and timely reimbursement. Instructions for completing the assessment instrument are included in an appendix. (JDD)

Policymakers. ericd

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.