The passage of the 1986 Amendments of the Education of All Handicapped Children's Act, P.L. 99-457, including the infant and toddler focus in Part H (now known as Part C) and the preschool focus in Part B, brought new challenges and opportunities to professionals and families alike. Within this legislation resides a philosophical framework emphasizing the family-centered, interdisciplinary, and collaborative nature of early childhood services. Although the legislation created new intervention opportunities for children and families, a major challenge facing the field is the preparation of an adequate supply of highly qualified personnel to deliver services to a diverse group of young children with disabilities and their families in a range of community settings.

Qualified early childhood personnel are those trained to work with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities and their families as part of an interdisciplinary team (Bailey, 1996) in inclusive settings (Miller & Stayton, 1996) using a family-centered service delivery model (McCollum & Bailey, 1991). Federal law requires that all personnel, across disciplines, meet the highest entrylevel state standards and that states develop a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) to respond to the need for trained professionals from several disciplines. Training programs must assure that personnel not only meet state and federal requirements but also the professional standards of quality that are now accepted by the field as recommended practices (Bredecamp & Copple, 1997; McCollum & Maude, 1992; NAEYC, 1996; Odom & McLean, 1996).