TEIS: Tennessee’s Early Intervention System By: Dr. Clarissa Willis, Principal Investigator
Now in its 15th year, Tennessee’s Early Intervention System
(District 1) is part of the Center of Excellence. Serving children birth to
age 3 with developmental delays and providing in-depth service coordination
for families are the primary goals of the project. In 2002, over 400 families
across an eight-county area received services from TEIS. According to Judith
Johnson, Project Director for TEIS, “The guiding principle of TEIS is family
first, the needs of the child and family are our first consideration. We recognize
that best practice early intervention dictates the need for a continuum of
services that afford families’ quality and appropriate options tailored to
their needs, wishes, and priorities. Rather than the matching of families
and their young children to programs and services primarily on the basis of
availability, we provide services that are family-driven and family-focused.”
The service coordinators are the strength of the TEIS program.
They work closely with families to help develop an integrated system that
includes services geared to the needs of the child and giving special consideration
to the family as a whole. The TEIS office consists of seven service
coordinators, a contract coordinator, support staff personnel, two early interventionists,
a project director, and a principal investigator. Clarissa Willis serves
as principal investigator for TEIS. A background in early childhood special
education and early intervention has helped TEIS staff members with long-range
planning. According to Dr. Willis, “TEIS District 1 is unique in that the
geographical challenges seem overwhelming. There are parts of rural East
Tennessee where services just are not readily available. Since the project
is devoted to home-based, family-centered services, it becomes difficult
in some remote areas to connect families with the resources they need. Each
service coordinator at TEIS is so gifted at locating and maximizing available
resources. I am constantly in awe of how much they do to enhance the lives
of the families they serve.”
In addition to offering family-centered service coordination, TEIS is fully
committed to building relationships and helping develop interagency collaboration.
Working through the Northeast Tennessee Local Interagency Coordinating Council,
the staff of TEIS is able to interact with others who serve children with disabilities.
Bimonthly meetings provide a forum for service providers and families to come
together for networking, discussions, and training. According to Alicia Taylor,
Service Coordinator for TEIS, “We believe that the spirit of IDEA can be
clearly seen in the efforts to improve collaboration in our district and TEIS
is so proud of its community involvement.”
The service coordinators are the strength of the TEIS program.
They work closely with families to help develop an integrated system that
includes services geared to the needs of the child and giving special consideration
to the family as a whole. The TEIS office consists of seven service
coordinators, a contract coordinator, support staff personnel, two early interventionists,
a project director, and a principal investigator. Clarissa Willis serves
as principal investigator for TEIS. A background in early childhood special
education and early intervention has helped TEIS staff members with long-range
planning. According to Dr. Willis, “TEIS District 1 is unique in that the
geographical challenges seem overwhelming. There are parts of rural East
Tennessee where services just are not readily available. Since the project
is devoted to home-based, family-centered services, it becomes difficult
in some remote areas to connect families with the resources they need. Each
service coordinator at TEIS is so gifted at locating and maximizing available
resources. I am constantly in awe of how much they do to enhance the lives
of the families they serve.”
In addition to offering family-centered service coordination, TEIS is fully
committed to building relationships and helping develop interagency collaboration.
Working through the Northeast Tennessee Local Interagency Coordinating Council,
the staff of TEIS is able to interact with others who serve children with disabilities.
Bimonthly meetings provide a forum for service providers and families to come
together for networking, discussions, and training. According to Alicia Taylor,
Service Coordinator for TEIS, “We believe that the spirit of IDEA can be
clearly seen in the efforts to improve collaboration in our district and TEIS
is so proud of its community involvement.”
