About Us

Funded by the Office of Head Start and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2008-2011, HSCI was established at the University of Washington to systematically address barriers to effective inclusion by increasing the competence, confidence, and effectiveness of Head Start program personnel to fully include children with disabilities. For over a decade, The Head Start Center for Inclusion has been a trusted source for high-quality, evidence-based, inclusion resources and supports, and the demand continues.

Based on current research about the inclusion of children with disabilities and effective professional development, HSCI aims to improve the practice of early childhood educators by:

• Providing information, materials, training, and innovative web-based learning opportunities on family-centered support and evidence-based instructional strategies.
• Offering innovative professional development opportunities to local Head Start programs.
• Learning from Head Start programs about the factors that lead to the adoption, fidelity, implementation, and sustainability of effective inclusion practices.
• Coordinating with OHS-sponsored training and technical assistance providers to provide ongoing consultation on effective practices to Head Start programs across the country.
• Ensuring that all Head Start programs across the nation have unfettered access to the tools and learning materials that HSCI has developed, thanks to the grant.

Currently, Cultivate Learning and the EarlyEdU Alliance at the University of Washington maintain the HSCI site, and new resources continue to be developed.