by CHI Staff
U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded $250,000 to Hofstra University and $250,000 to Adelphi University to support programs that will prepare graduate students to serve young children with special needs. The $250,000 grant will cover the first year for each program, and it is anticipated that both programs will receive the same amount of funding each year for a total of five years. Both grants were provided through the Department of Education’s Personnel Preparation program, which helps address needs for qualified special education personnel and ensure that those personnel have the skills and knowledge needed to serve children with special needs.
The grant awarded to Hofstra University will support the Hofstra Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Professionals (HECIP) program to prepare highly-qualified teachers to support young children with disabilities and their families. Through the program, 51 college graduates will be recruited for a dual certification master’s degree program in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education and will be trained to serve young children with special needs.
The grant awarded to Adelphi University will support the Infant Mental Health and Developmental Practice (IMH-DP) project, an interdisciplinary program to prepare graduate students to become IMH-DP specialists who will serve young children with special needs. IMH-DP integrates a university-based, credit-bearing program into the curriculum of social work, school psychology, mental health counseling and speech language pathology, and will result in 40 highly qualified IMH-DP specialists.
“These programs will ensure that educational and health professionals get the training, knowledge and skills they need to help children with special needs succeed throughout their lives and achieve their full potential,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice. “This federal funding allows the programs to get off the ground and get started, and I’ll work to ensure they get the funding they need each year to continue their important work.”
“Providing outstanding teaching to students with disabilities is extraordinarily important and this award will allow us to support highly-qualified teachers to help fulfill this need,” said Dr. Herman A. Berliner, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Hofstra University.
"There is strong evidence that social-emotional development and specifically the formation of secure relationships lay the foundation for learning and competence in young children. This award will support the implementation of the innovative, cutting-edge program to amplify and fortify the preparation of early childhood professionals. It is our plan that this program will be permanent at the close of the award,” said Dr. Gayle D. Insler, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Adelphi University.
