• Study Overview. COSF teams in the local programs are videotaping team COSF discussions where ratings are identified for children in early intervention and children in early childhood special education. To identify factors that contribute to the accuracy of COSF ratings, the videotapes are being coded by the research team both for structural elements (e.g., length of meeting, roles of attendees) and process elements (e.g., parental contributions to the discussion, rating consistency with evidence).
• Sample. Six state EI agencies and six state ECSE agencies have partnered with ENHANCE to collect new data to investigate the validity of COSF data. Each state agency has identified 3 local areas for study participation for a total of 18 local EI and 18 local ECSE areas. Six COSF discussions (three at entry and three that are at exit) will be videotaped in each local area, resulting in data on 108 children in early intervention programs and 108 children in preschool special education programs.
• Status. Videotapes are currently being collected for the team decision-making study through spring 2013. Initial videos received are in the process of being coded. View the draft video coding form. Please contact us for more detailed information, including about contents of the study codebook for video analysis.

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