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COVID-19 Resources

The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenging time for everyone, especially for children and families who find themselves navigating shifts and disruptions in the trusted routines, services, and schedules they rely on. Researchers, implementation and technical assistance specialists, faculty fellows, students, and staff at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute are actively responding to the needs of families, educators, and other professionals by developing and offering evidence-based, user-friendly resources and information that provide the expert support our community needs most. We are continually working together to create new resources, which we will add to this page as they become available.

Families and Caregivers

Supporting Individuals With Autism Through Uncertain Times

Experts at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC School of Education, and UNC School of Medicine's Department of Allied Health Sciences developed a free toolkit that includes user-friendly, evidence-based resources for families and caregivers supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Currently available in English, Polish, Swedish, Chinese Mandarin (simplified and traditional), Italian, Japanese, Arabic, and Spanish. A companion guide for adults with autism is also available.

Webinar: Supporting Individuals With Autism During COVID-19

Drs. Laura Klinger and Kara Hume presented a live webinar on April 23, "Supporting Individuals With Autism During COVID-19." They discussed coronavirus resources developed at UNC and answered questions from participants. You can watch the recording of the webinar on the UNC School of Medicine website.

COVID-19 Resources for Families

The STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMIE) center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, curated a set of resources for families to: (1) help children understand COVID-19, (2) teach children to wash their hands, and (3) support children's STEM learning during routines and activities.

Storybook Conversations Series

The STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMIE) center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, started a new storybook conversations series to support families in using dialogic reading and making adaptations during book reading. The series is focused on supporting young children to learn STEM concepts through storybook conversations.

Helping Young Children Feel Secure When Weird Is the New ‘Normal’ (Ayudar a los niños pequeños a sentirse seguros cuando lo extraño es lo "normal")

and

Staying in Touch: Maintaining Parent-Teacher Relationships From a Distance (Mantenerse en contacto: Como mantener las relaciones entre padres y maestros a distancia)

and

How Can I Support My Child's Transition Into Kindergarten From Home? (¿Cómo puedo apoyar la transición de mi hijo a kindergarten desde casa?)

Ximena Franco and Mary Bratsch-Hines, advanced research scientists who are part of the Early Learning Network funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, contributed to these blog posts that include simple tips for families and caregivers during this unprecedented break from school. Blog posts are available in English and Spanish.

Children and Adolescents

Teaching Teens Self-Compassion During Big Changes Amidst COVID-19

FPG Faculty Fellow and UNC Psychiatry Assistant Professor Karen Bluth provides simple self-compassion tips for teens coping with uncertainty. You can download and share a tip sheet in English and a tip sheet in Spanish.

Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Programs

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA), funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, is serving as the hub for providing State Part C and Part B, Section 619 programs with the latest information on funding and guidance, telehealth practices, and information on talking to children and families during the COVID-19 national emergency.

(Re)Opening

As states began to lift restrictions on schools, childcare centers, businesses, and other public spaces, ECTA developed this new subpage under the COVID-19 page. It supports the complex planning and preparation necessary following the initial wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Offerings include guidance from the Center for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. ECTA will continue to add content to this page as resources become available.

Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education Faculty and Instructors

Shifting Blackboards: Supports for Emergency Online Teaching, Adjusting Assignments, and Rethinking Field Experiences

Supporting Change and Reform in Preservice Teaching in North Carolina (SCRIPT-NC), funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, archived a webinar, handouts, and resources that faculty and instructors can use as they are being asked to transition to online instruction due to COVID-19.

Service Systems

Optimizing Distance Learning Begins With Selection

In their April 2020 eNotes, the State Implementation and Scaling-Up of Evidence-Based Practices (SISEP) center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, provided guidance for school districts and schools so that they can apply the concepts of implementation science when selecting online learning practices.

Blended Learning Strategy Trifecta: COVID-19/Quarantine Approach

In this article, Wendy Morgan, learning and development senior strategist, describes how FPG utilizes an innovative blended learning strategy to tailor onsite, instructor-led training by using data collected from eLearning.

Blended Learning Strategy

In this one-pager, FPG's Learning and Development Senior Strategist, Wendy Morgan, provides tips and strategies for combining the strengths of asynchronous and synchronous approaches to create custom-tailored instruction that is effective and efficient. There is also a worksheet to accompany the one-pager. 

Principle-Based Implementation Support During a Time of Crisis

and

Supporting Public Systems and Communities in Crisis: The Critical Role of Co-Creation in Implementation Practice*

and

Assessing Context, Learning Rrom Leaders, and Changing the Rules: Implementation Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic**

FPG's National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) developed a series of blog posts and podcasts on implementation support and practice during the Covid-19 pandemic.

*Co-developed with Sarah Verbiest, Director, Jordan Institute for Families in the School of Social Work and Executive Director of the Center for Maternal and Infant Health in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Todd Jensen, Family Research and Engagement Specialist, Jordan Institute for Families and Research Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

**Co-developed with Katie Burke, Senior Manager at Centre for Effective Services (CES) in Ireland

Effectively Including Online Participants in Onsite Meetings

Allison Metz, senior research scientist, and Kirsten Kainz, FPG faculty fellow, contributed to this blog post that provides useful tips on how to ensure online participants are included effectively in meetings.

Converting In-Person Support to a Virtual Format

Low-Burden Needs Assessment Questions

FPG’s Learning and Development Senior Strategist, Wendy Morgan, and Educational Technology Specialist, Julie Chin, created two resources to aid technical assistance and professional development providers. The first provides strategies to shift from in-person support to an online format, and the second provides tips for writing low-burden needs assessment questions during this stressful time.