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We used two judgment-based scales to evaluate quality features of 623 individualized family service plans (IFSP) contributed by 73 service coordinators in one state. We also explored the alignment between the skills specified in child-focused IFSP outcomes, the three Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) early childhood outcome categories, and the knowledge and skill statements included in state early learning guidelines. Findings showed IFSP content generally was family-centered and of good quality. Outcomes were more frequently aligned with the IDEA outcome categories addressing the use of appropriate behaviors to meet needs and the acquisition and use of knowledge and skills. Outcomes were aligned more frequently with early learning guidelines in the areas of physical development, speech/language development, and approaches to learning. We discuss how instruments and procedures could be used to evaluate IFSP quality and determine connections to expected knowledge and skills for all children identified by state and federal programs.

The emphasis on social-emotional competence and its importance to positive academic and nonacademic outcomes has led to a focus on identifying and implementing effective practices for supporting young children's social-emotional competence. Our work to identify, validate, and support the fidelity of implementation of evidence-based practices to promote young children's social-emotional competence and to address challenging behavior has focused on the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social-Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children framework (Fox et al. in Infants Young Child 23:3-14, 2010; Hemmeter et al. in Sch Psychol Rev 35:583-601, 2006; Hemmeter et al., in: Buysse, Peisner-Feinberg (eds) Handbook of response-to-intervention in early childhood, Brookes, Baltimore, 2013). The implementation of the Pyramid Model practices to provide effective intervention that leads to meaningful child outcomes will require that practitioners are able to implement the practices with fidelity. Implementation science provides guidance on the "drivers" or key components that must be in place within a system to ensure the use of evidence-practices or interventions (Blase et al. in stages of implementation analysis: where are we? FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2013; Metz et al. in an integrated stage-based framework for implementation of early childhood programs and systems. OPRE Research Brief OPRE 201548, 2015). In this paper, we address competency drivers by describing an instrument that has been developed, validated, and used to measure the fidelity with which practitioners implement Pyramid Model practices. In addition, we describe the professional development intervention we have used to support teachers to implement the practices with fidelity. We focus on how a fidelity tool can be used to measure practice implementation as well as to guide professional development focused on the practices. [This article is published in "School Mental Health" (EJ1229476).]

Fidelity assessment has received renewed attention in recent years, particularly as distinctions have been made in implementation science between intervention fidelity and implementation fidelity. Considering both types of fidelity has been recommended when developing fidelity instruments. In the present article, we describe development of the pilot version of the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT-P) as a case example of designing a fidelity instrument for use in research and practice. The TPOT is a multimethod judgment-based rating scale designed to measure practitioners' fidelity of implementation of practices associated with the "Pyramid Model." We describe the structure of the TPOT-P in relation to "Pyramid Model" components and fidelity indicators. We summarize the measurement approaches grounded in generalizability theory and classical test theory that were used to investigate the psychometric properties of TPOT-P scores based on data collected by trained raters on three occasions in 50 preschool classrooms. Findings suggest the TPOT-P shows promise for dependably measuring teachers' implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices. [This article was published in "Journal of Early Intervention" (EJ1019934).]

We conducted a potential efficacy trial examining the effects of classroom-wide implementation of the "Pyramid Model for Promoting Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence" on teachers' implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices and children's social-emotional skills and challenging behavior. Participants were 40 preschool teachers and 494 children. Using a randomized controlled design, 20 teachers received a professional development (PD) intervention to support their implementation of the practices. The 20 teachers in the control condition received workshops after all study-related data were collected. Teachers who received PD significantly improved their implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices relative to control teachers. Children in intervention teachers' classrooms were rated as having better social skills and fewer challenging behaviors relative to children in control teachers' classrooms. Exploratory analyses showed that children at elevated risk for behavior disorders in intervention teachers' classrooms had improvements in their observed social interaction skills relative to similar children in control teachers' classrooms.

The article presents an overview of a targeted professional development (PD) intervention designed to improve the quality of individualized family service plans (IFSPs) and to support IFSP planning, development, and decision making. A discussion of the theoretical and empirical foundations for the PD intervention and its key components is presented. A pilot study which focused on examining the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the intervention in an authentic Part C setting of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act is discussed.