Early Intervention: Family-Centered Best Practices
Embedded Coaching integrates evidence-based, family-centered best practices into Early Intervention services. The goal is for Early Intervention providers to work with families to improve a child’s development within their daily routines. Families learn new ways to support their child’s learning by exchanging information with their team.
Federal and State law require Early Intervention providers to apply Embedded Coaching in a child’s natural environments.
Embedded Coaching Elements
Embedded Interventions
Interventionists collaborate with families to find ways to support their child during routine activities, respecting the family’s style and culture. Providers will base their strategies on:
- Ongoing observations of routines and conversations with the family
- Child and family history, interests and strengths
- Family goals, concerns, priorities, resources and routine activities
Collaborative Coaching
Interventionists coach and provide feedback to families in order to:
- Help families learn new ways to support their child’s development throughout the day during family routines.
- Discuss ways that best help the child learn.
An essential aspect in providing coordinated Early Intervention services is ongoing and consistent communication and collaboration among all team members and the family. That is true whether the child receives services at home or in a center-based program, a facility or a child care program.
When therapists work with families to incorporate these strategies into family routines, families can better support their child’s development. At the same time, families can enhance and expand the work of the therapists. One of the eight federal outcomes for the Early Intervention Program is to enhance families’ capacity to support their children’s learning and development. Embedded Coaching enables our program to meet that outcome.
Additional Resources
- Local Early Intervention Coordinating Council Presentation on Embedded Coaching (PDF), including summaries of evidence-based, effective practices and related citations.
- Free Modules on Implementing Family-Centered Best Practices
- If you have questions about Embedded Coaching, email EmbeddedCoaching@health.nyc.gov