DaSy isn't just a type of Flower...

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Well, if you didn't know, I've been busy completing the requirements to become a Doctoral Candidate and interning at the Office of Special Education Programs, a division under the Department of Education. Yes, THE Department of Education. But the point of this post isn't to brag; it's actually to disseminate some information you may not be aware of. I'll save the bragging for later when I have a Ph.D. behind my name ;).

So! OSEP was designed to improve the lives of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities from birth through age 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts. The vision of OSEP is for us to live in a world where individuals with disabilities have unlimited opportunities to learn and to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives.

I am privileged to be a doctoral student funded by a Personnel and Leadership Preparation Grant at the University of Central Florida by OSEP. However, if I am honest, I was unaware of the almost unlimited resources and opportunities made available. OSEP authorizes millions of dollars yearly in grants to higher education institutions and other non-profit organizations to support grants for personnel development, technical assistance, technology, and resources for parent training and information centers. Honestly, this post could be my dissertation if I posted all the information. To spare us some time, feel free to click the hyperlinks for more details. For this post, I wanted to highlight one specific OSEP-funded center with you, the DaSy Center.

The DaSy Center designs and delivers technical assistance for early intervention and early childhood special education state staff. DaSy supports their efforts to collect, report, and analyze high-quality data.

The DaSy Center has used the framework to conduct needs assessments with state clients and to monitor/measure progress in technical assistance activities with states.

State clients have used the self-assessment to evaluate and improve data system infrastructure.

The framework has been used to guide and support state data system work, e.g., to identify data elements and features or evaluate state data use practices.

The DaSy Center has used the framework to guide the development of various toolkits and other technical assistance resources.

Through this center, an online interactive platform called MyDaSyTA was developed. The platform constructs a central location for stakeholders to receive online technical assistance, increase cross-state collaboration, build learning communities, disseminate information, and receive in-time feedback.

Some examples of individualized technical assistance include:

• Facilitating state leadership teams or stakeholder meetings

• Consulting and problem-solving

• Guiding by asking questions to promote reflection and decisions

• Sharing information (e.g., literature, products) and resources from other states (e.g., existing forms/policies)

• Providing feedback on developing state documents or materials

• Conducting training in support of the state's data system

In addition, each year, the DaSy Center staff plans various cross-state technical assistance activities to meet the needs of early intervention early childhood state staff, including:

• Resource documents and briefs

• Toolkits

• Learning modules

• Learning communities

• Webinars and other presentations

• Topical cohorts and meetings on specific topics of interest for DaSy clients

Still, Want More Information?

Below you will find a quick flyer I made about the DaSy center and a QR Code with even more information. Also, take some to click through the embedded links in this blog post. And if social media is your thing, you can also follow them on Twitter: @DaSyCenter

Until Next Time!

Danica M.