Introduction

In 2004, the Research and Training Center on Service Coordination developed a program logic model to provide a visual and theoretical framework for describing service coordination in early intervention. The purpose was to integrate the RTC’s research findings concerning public policies, child and family outcomes, and service coordination practices into one cohesive model. A program logic model offers a simple visual schema to describe, share, and evaluate the work of the RTC and others.

While the entire program logic model is not presented here (viewers may go to the following link to download the entire logic model: http://www.uconnucedd.org/rtc_centers/publications.html), three key elements of the model are: Inputs, Activities, and Outcomes (Kellogg citation). Inputs are the policies and procedures, research findings, professional development, and resources that guide and support service coordination activities. Activities describe what is done with the resources, and include the processes, actions, and events of service coordination. Finally, Outcomes are the specific positive changes in children, families, and the early intervention system as a whole, which are a result of the Activities. These changes can include knowledge, skills, and/or levels of functioning. Figure A offers a simplified version of the full RTC Program Logic Model. The following tutorial delves more deeply into these three logic model elements, highlighting key federal policies and research findings that have guided the development of the Service Coordination ToolKit.