DEC Service Coordination Community of Practice

Service Coordination CoP

The Service Coordination Community of Practice (SC CoP) was created to recognize the value of service coordinators and give these important early intervention team members a professional home. The SC CoP offers service coordinators the opportunities to network with others across the nation, share SC-related resources and tips, and learn about topics relevant to providing high quality service coordination.

To learn more, contact:

Melissa Schnurr - melissa.schnurr@iowa.gov

Melissa Hardison - Melissa.Hardison@ky.gov

To join the Service Coordination CoP:

Please complete and submit the form at the bottom of this page. The roster is used to facilitate networking, resource-sharing, problem-solving, and collaboration around SC-related questions and discussions.

Key Service Coordination Resources

Webinars & Events

Writing Functional Outcomes on the IFSP - A Joint Webinar from Division for Early Childhood's Early Intervention, Service Coordination, and Family Partnership Communities of Practice

Monday, November 7th, 2022, 3:00 - 4:30 PM Eastern Time

The DEC EICoP is joining with the DEC Service Coordination CoP and the DEC Family Partnership CoP to bring to our members a 90 minute webinar on writing functional IFSP Outcomes (both family and child). We will have an overview of what it means to have a functional outcome and then hear from a family member, a provider and a service coordinator on how they approach writing functional outcomes from their perspective.

Presenters: Kimberly Travers, Facilitator; Demetres Thomas, Family Member; Melanie Batista, Provider; and Kimberly Morse, Service Coordinator

Kimberly Travers, Facilitator - Kimberly Travers is dedicated to enhancing the lives of families and their children with disabilities along with the professionals who serve them by focusing on Part C Early Intervention policy, practice, and research. Kimberly’s professional and personal experience and expertise are critical elements that she brings to many classrooms, councils, boards, and workgroups, as well as professional development activities. Her passion for family-center, natural environments, and evidence-based practices can be seen during her presentations and advisory work, inspiring families and professionals to team more successfully. Kimberly has extensive experience at the local, state, and national levels in the field of early intervention, family-centered practices, and program evaluation. Kimberly’s work experience includes service provision and service coordination to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, training and technical assistance, and policy recommendations. Kimberly’s journey as a parent of a child with a disability elevated her understanding of the importance of the family voice and informed decision-making at all levels.

Kimberly is currently completing her Doctor of Philosophy in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education at Kent State University and is also a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (LEND) scholar at the Ohio State University. Kimberly has proven her effectiveness at coordinating federal grants and currently serves as the coordinator for Project NExT at Kent State University. She has created many collaborations among community partners and the university that provide student experiential learning across the region. Kimberly has also created inter-university partnerships between KSU and OSU for research addressing the quality of IFSP outcomes in Early Intervention. Kimberly is an active member of many workgroups targeting early intervention such as the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Early Childhood, Early Intervention Special Interest Group, and Policy Council. Kimberly has extensive experience creating and working in interdisciplinary teams, at both the practice and management levels, and her strong facilitation skills support the forward movement toward best practices in the field.

Demetres Thomas, Family Member - Demetres Thomas is a lifelong special education advocate. Her experience focusing on Early Childhood Education spans over 14 years. Although serving in several capacities in her local school district as the Special Education EC District Lead and Special Education Assistant Principal, she is most proud of her role as mother to a daughter born with developmental delays. Her family’s involvement with Georgia's Part C program helped to close developmental gaps for her daughter. She was recently named VP for Georgia's DEC subdivision with the hopes of helping GA families experience the same, if not better, positive outcomes for their child(ren). She also sits on the Family Committee of the DEC National Board.

Melanie Batista, Provider - Melanie Batista is an Occupational Therapist with over 22 years of experience working in Early Childhood. She has worked in Early Intervention programs in the states of New York, Colorado, and South Carolina. She currently practices in Beaufort County, South Carolina and serves in a public-school setting on the Early Childhood Evaluation Team. Melanie is a former Early Intervention parent and is the mom of 2 boys, ages 7 and 10. In addition to working as a full time mom and OT, Melanie is passionate about mentoring new Early Interventionists and helping them to become confident parent coaches through her membership program, The Therapy Village and AOTA- approved courses found on her website, growinglittlebrains.com.

Kimberly Morse, Service Coordinator - Kimberly Morse has 14 years of experience working in Early Intervention. She began her career as a service coordinator with the Raleigh Children’s Developmental Services Agency before becoming an evaluator. She returned to her home state of Virginia in 2015 and resumed her work as a service coordinator before transitioning to her current role of Clinician III with the Infant and Toddler Connection of Chesapeake. In her current role, Kim continues to serve the role of service coordinator for a partial caseload, training new service coordinators to our team, and completes quality assurance tasks. Kim had the privilege to work with the team that released the Service Coordination in Early Intervention Joint Position Statement in 2020. She has recently been appointed to the DEC Service Coordination Committee. It is her passion to continue to support service coordination, especially as it relates to hiring, training, and retaining quality service coordinators.

Two Part Series on Time Management and Organizational Strategies for Service Coordinators

Part 1 - Wednesday, March 9th, 2022, 2:00 PM Eastern Time

Webinar recording and handouts

Part 2 - Thursday, April 28th, 2022 1:00 PM Eastern Time

Webinar recording and handouts

Two Part Series to build awareness of time management and organizational tools available to support the implementation of the Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators used to support and guide the Part C programs while fulfilling the federal requirement of service coordination.

Part 1 will introduce Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix and participants will have an opportunity to discuss and reflect on how/where service coordination activities fall within the four quadrants in relation to importance and urgency. Participants will be encouraged to explore additional resources, apply strategies and activities in between sessions. Part 2 will provide more practical tools and strategies to help service coordinator refine their time management and organizational skills.

Facilitated by: Shawna Gurney, Maine; Heather Waters, Utah; Melissa Hardison, Kentucky; Sarah Nichols, Illinois; Beth Friedman, Pennsylvania

National Service Coordination Resources: What’s new and where are we going?

Thursday, December 9th, 2021, 10:30 - 11:30 AM Eastern Time

Download the recording and handouts

Curious to learn about resources, tools and activities to support states and programs using the DEC/ITCA Joint Position Statement on Service Coordination in Early Intervention and the Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators? Join us for an encore presentation of our 2021 DEC session to learn what's new, how resources are being used to support high quality service coordination, and where we hope to go next!

Presented by: Melissa Schnurr, Dana Childress, Sarah Nichols, Cori Hill, Christina Commons, Melissa Hardison

DEC/ITCA Joint Position Statement: Service Coordination in Early Intervention

Tuesday, April 20th, 2021, 2:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern Time

Download the webinar recording

Join members of the writing team to learn about the new Joint Position Statement on Service Coordination from DEC and the Infant Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA). The team will share how the Position Statement was developed, provide opportunities to explore the contents of the statement, and discuss how it can be used by states and local programs.

Presenters: Melissa Schnurr, Dana Childress, Maria Kastanis, Roxane Romanick, and Sharon Loza

The Foundation for Excellence - Understanding the Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators

Thursday, December 3rd, 2020 at 3:00 - 4:00 PM Eastern Time

Download the webinar recording and resources

The Workgroup on Recommended Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators (RKSSC) Team Members will provide an overview of the Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators (KSSC), including how they were developed. Participants will gain an understanding of the six KSSC and be encouraged to reflect on current practices, strengths and areas where they may seek growth.

Facilitators: Sarah Nichols, IL; Cori Hill, VA; Melissa Hardison, KY

Outcomes/ Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn about the 6 overarching Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators working in early intervention.
Participants will determine which Knowledge and Skills for Service Coordinators they feel most and least confident with in their practices.
Participants will gain access to a KSSC self-assessment tool and have the opportunity to reflect and develop action steps for improvement upon completion of the session.

Partnering with Families in Their Times of Need

Thursday, May 14th, 2020 at 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

Download the recording and materials

Every family is unique and some families have more needs than others. Time and resources service coordinators put forth to successfully implement family practices may fluctuate according to family strengths, abilities and needs. This web-conversation will explore strategies service coordinators use to engage in family-centered practices, build family capacity and foster opportunities for family and professional collaboration with families who have high needs.

Facilitators: Sarah Nichols and Maria Kastanis, Illinois

Coaching during Service Coordination: What Does It Look Like?

Wednesday, October 30, 2019, 2:00-3:00pm EST

Download the recording and materials

Instructional Practice 13 (DEC Recommended Practices, 2014) encourages practitioners to use coaching when interacting with primary caregivers - and that includes service coordinators! Join us for a web conversation to discuss nine coaching practices that you can use to help families participate in the EI process, share information, access resources, and solve problems.

Service Coordination Matters – A Web Conversation To Recognize What You Bring to the EI Team

Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 2:00 - 3:00 pm ET

Download the recording and materials

Be sure to check out the National Service Coordination Training Workgroup Webinar Resources page! You’ll find two archived webinars, activity guides, and lots of resources that address the following topics:

How Do You Do It? Juggling and Overcoming Service Coordination Challenges
The Role of the Service Coordinator in Building Relationships in Early Intervention