The Illinois Interagency Council on Early Intervention's "Principles of Early Intervention" guide the outcomes we hope to achieve through our Early Intervention Training Model. The seven principles are:

1. The primary goal of EI is to support families in promoting their child’s optimal development and to facilitate the child’s participation in family and community activities.

2. The focus of EI is to encourage the active participation of families in the therapeutic process by imbedding intervention strategies into family routines. It is the parents who provide the real early intervention by creatively adapting their child care methods to facilitate the development of their child, while balancing the needs of the rest of their family.

3. EI requires a collaborative relationship between families and providers, with equal participation by all those involved in the process. An on-going parent-professional dialogue is needed to develop implement, monitor, and modify therapeutic activities.

4. Intervention must be linked to specific goals that are family-centered, functional, and measurable. Intervention strategies should focus on facilitating social interaction, exploration, and autonomy.

5. Intervention should be integrated into a comprehensive plan that encourages transdisciplinary activities and avoids unnecessary duplication of services. The plan should be built around family routines, with written home activity programs to encourage family participation in therapeutic activities on a daily basis.

6. Intervention should be monitored periodically to assure that the strategies implemented are successful in achieving outcomes.

7. Children and their families in the Early Intervention System deserve to have services of the highest quality possible. High standards will be set for the training and credentialing of administrative and intervention staff. Training, supervision, and technology will be focused to achieve excellence.

Listed in the following table are the outcomes/end results we hope participants will achieve through each training experience and the training strategies that will be used to reach these outcomes.

1. Participants will understand all seven Principles of the Illinois Early Intervention System.	- Written materials/articles - Lectures - Flowcharts/Diagrams - Question and answers sessions and follow-up question and answer documents - Multimedia presentations via video and web-based training opportunities - Programmed self instruction via internet, CD ROM, videotape - Field based observations - Interviews - Panels - Presentations at statewide conferences
2. Participants will gain the skills to effectively implement the seven Principles of the Illinois Early Intervention System into their everyday practice.	- Problem solving stories - Simulated and actual demonstration and modeling of best practice techniques - Role-playing- Discussions and debates - Simulated practice exercises with coaching and feedback - Worksheets
3. Participants will change priorities and values from how the EI System "used to be" in Illinois to providing services in a family-centered and transdisciplinary fashion as driven by the seven Principles of the Illinois Early Intervention System.	- Role-playing - Critique stories, videos, role-plays - Structured games/exercises - Self analysis - Reflection
4. Participants will access on-going, self-directed learning opportunities to enhance and expand their understanding of effective practices in early intervention.	- Completion of needs surveys - Self analysis/reflection - Additional written and web based resources

The Illinois Early Intervention Training Program will achieve these outcomes through a project design that will focus on coordinating the skills and resources of early intervention professionals throughout the state. We will collaborate with individuals and agencies who possess the expertise to both develop and present comprehensive and consistent training opportunities statewide.