Periodic Review of Centers
The Western Montana RiteCare Language and Literacy Clinic at The
A. Written Report Summary:
(1)
Purpose (2) Objectives (3) Activities:
The
The
Scottish Rite sponsors three clinics in
Personnel
Two
part-time clinicians (0.95 FTE total) provide services for young children with
speech, language, and literacy challenges.
The Clinic generally serves as a “provider of last resort” for clients
who are not eligible for public school therapy and do not have access to health
insurance reimbursement for private therapy.
Located in
the
University
Student Training
The Clinic
serves as a practicum site for UM students studying early childhood education,
language and literacy development, psychology, health, human and family
development, and special education. Students from a variety of departments and
programs including Education, Communication Studies, Clinical and Social
Psychology and Human and Family Development have participated in this
opportunity. The clinic staff has hosted
and supervised graduate students in Speech Pathology from universities outside
of
Outreach
The clinic
staff provides a range of outreach services for a variety of groups working
with young children by conducting inservice training on issues related to
language development, early literacy, social communication skills, reading
disabilities, and brain development. Groups include early care and education
providers, early childhood educators, general and special educators,
speech-language pathologists and related service providers, as well as
families. These trainings have taken place throughout
Selection
of Clients and their Families
These
services are provided to families who do not have medical insurance coverage or
an ability to pay for private therapy and who are not able to obtain these
services through other agencies. When a family contacts us with concerns about
their child’s communication development, we first describe the mission of our
clinic of providing services to children who are not able to obtain these
services through other means.
Secondly,
we inquire if families have insurance that would cover speech therapy or if
their child receives Medicaid support. If either is the case, the family is
referred to private practice agencies. The clinic staff relies on parent report
and does not have them complete a financial statement. Before the clinic
opened in 1998, an agreement was made with the private practitioners that if a
family had the ability to pay for these services, the clinic would refer the
family to them and not take business away by providing a similar service at no
cost.
Some
children who receive services through the public school system also may
participate in services at the RiteCare Clinic when needed. Our services focus
on communication needs though family training and complement those provided
through the schools. Parents and care givers are required to participate in the
treatment that is provided for their child. Clients served at the clinic range
in age from infants into middle school. We have also provided consultation
services to students on campus who have sought out our assistance.
Students
who attend private schools may also access our services, if the need exists. In
addition, the clinic participates in a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Missoula County Public Schools to provide intervention services for up to four
children attending private schools who have been identified through their Child
Study Team process in need of speech and language therapy.
The
Clinic operates under a type of Management by Objectives System with regular
reports provided to university administration, the Clinic Steering Committee
and state Scottish Rite Leadership.
Current goals and objectives of the RiteCare Clinic include:
1.
Provide
diagnostic assessments and therapeutic interventions for children experiencing
challenges with speech, language, and literacy along with follow-along therapy
for their families:
-
Conduct
appropriate evaluations with prospective clients, interpret results, and share
recommendations with families verbally and in a written report;
-
Maintain
an active caseload of 24 clients with individually designed treatment programs
including annual goals and objectives which are reviewed throughout the clinic
year;
-
Provide
family training during children’s treatment sessions designed so the therapy
work can be continued at home and other settings to maximize progress;
-
Review
individual treatment plans and summarize progress in a written report at the
conclusion of a treatment plan or at the end of the clinic year (the Clinic
generally operates through the end of May);
-
Maintain
a waiting list as needed and provide consultation services until a treatment
time becomes available;
-
Provide
treatment services for children who attend private schools per Memorandum of
Understanding with Missoula County Public Schools.
Accomplishments:
-
During
eight years of operation, the clinic served more than 300 children and their
families, conducted more than 240 evaluations, and provided more than 4000
therapy sessions;
-
During
the 2005-2006 academic year, the clinic staff provided services to 80 children,
conducted 27 evaluations, provided comprehensive intervention for 44 children
in 594 therapy sessions, enrolled 17 new clients, and exited 19 children.
-
In
1998, a target caseload of 24 clients was established by the Clinic Steering
Committee as appropriate for the FTE of the clinic staff and the intensity of
the service provided. Strong demand for service required increasing the
caseload to 30 clients in 2004.
Comments from families:
- “I
am so grateful – without this program, my daughter would not get speech
therapy, and she is learning so much.”
- “We
see improvement on goals almost immediately.
I am learning ways to incorporate techniques at home.”
- “The
most knowledgeable and resourceful therapists, we are honored to be a part of
the RiteCare Clinic.”
- “The
clinician is an expert in teaching me how to help my son. I share her information, ideas and practices
with everyone who works with him and we’ve seen tremendous improvement.”
- “Thank you, form
my heart. We’re so thrilled with our
son’s growth.”
- “This
program makes such a profound difference
in children’s lives and their ability to grow into higher functioning adults.”
2. Provide
consultation and outreach services for families, education personnel, and other
service providers:
-
Provide
information for families who have concerns about their child but may not qualify
for therapeutic intervention or who live in a distant community and cannot
access direct ongoing services from the clinic
-
Consult
with school personnel and other service providers regarding the learning
strengths, progress, and continued needs of specific children;
-
Provide
inservice training on issues related to language, literacy, and social skill
development as requested and appropriate.
Accomplishments:
-
Clinical
services ranging from consultation to direct service have been provided to
families throughout western Montana and across the state; Frequently, families
will contact us via email or telephone seeking information .Approximately 20%
of the evaluations conducted each year include families who live in distant
communities. Evaluations were conducted for children living in communities such
as
-
Consultation
services have been provided to many school districts and Head Start
organizations throughout
-
Outreach
services have included more than 200 inservice trainings and presentations to
educators, child care providers, and families in
-
Participated
in the Early Learning Opportunity Act grant by conducting 6 trainings on early
literacy and language development for child care providers in the region;
-
Presented
for the Interactive Teaching Network two times through the
-
Conducted
on-going training on issues related to early literacy and language for the
Department of Defense Dependent Schools;
-
Presented for Reading First and Early Reading First conferences.
3. Document
the clinic activities for the Division of Educational Research and Service and
the Western Montana Scottish Rite Foundation:
-
Report
regularly occurring activities, unique accomplishments, and planned activities
on a weekly basis to Dr. Rick van den Pol, Clinic Director;
-
Report
monthly clinic status information including caseload numbers, evaluations
conducted, clients exited, new clients enrolled, waiting list numbers, therapy
sessions held, cancellations, and days worked to the Clinic Steering Committee
and to the Scottish Rite Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Montana,
-
Submit
an annual report that documents the year’s expenditures, proposed budget
information, accomplishments, family satisfaction feedback, new clinic goals,
and needs to all appropriate parties. The report for 2005-2006 is available on
request.
4.
Participate in fund raising events and grant writing to help with the financial
support of the clinic:
-
Assist
the clinic Steering Committee with planning and facilitating fund raising
events;
-
Seek
grant opportunities and submit proposals;
-
Provide
information and follow-up contacts for service organizations, agencies, and
potential donors.
Accomplishments:
-
The
clinic staff has been active in assisting the Scottish Rite members in planning
and implementing several fund raising events;
-
Grants
have been obtained from the Faith Health Demonstration project for assessment
tools and technology equipment;
-
Numerous
contributions have been given to the clinic by identifiable and anonymous
donors;
-
Public
relation activities have included numerous appearances on the regional
television stations, several newspaper articles written about the clinic
activities, articles in the Montana Scottish Rite newspaper, a fundraising
article in the National Scottish Rite journal, and presentations for service
groups.
5. Engage
in collaborative activities with faculty and students at The University of
Montana-Missoula and other institutions as appropriate:
Teaching
-
Supervise
students participating in independent study and practicum in early childhood
education, language development, early literacy, child development,
communication, and psychology;
-
Provide
consultative support and instructional services on issues related to language
and literacy development, evaluation and intervention, social communication, and other related
topics for faculty;
-
Participate
in Division of Educational Research and Service, Curriculum & Instruction,
and
-
Serve
as a member of the Human and Family Development Interdisciplinary Minor
committee.
Accomplishments:
-
One or two students typically participate in an independent study or practicum
during the academic year. Eight undergraduate students have participated in
independent studies and 3 graduate students (from other institutions) have
participated in practicum at the clinic.
- Clinic staff has served on one graduate
student Master’s Committee and one doctorial student committee;
-
Clinic faculty has taught several classes in Curriculum and Instruction
Department and provided a number of guest lectures in a variety of departments
and classes; Courses taught include: C&I 510 Fall Semester 2005, 3 credits,
Advanced Educational Psychology
C&I 543 Summer 2005, 3 credits,
Supervision and Administration of the K-12 Literacy Program
ED 343 Spring 2005, 3 credits,
Persons with Disabilities Online Course, School of Education, the University of
Montana Western
HFD 494 Fall 1999, 2000, 1
credit, Seminar on Language Development
Across the Life Span
C&I 367 Spring, Fall, 2000,
Spring 2001 CO-TEACH Practicum, co-instructor,
Guest lectures have been given in
special education assessment classes, in an educational psychology course, in
the reading diagnosis and assessment course in the
Research
Publications include:
Paulson, L. H., Kelly, K. L., Jepson, S., van den Pol, R., Ashmore, R.,
Farrier, M., & Guilfoyle, S. (2004). The effects of an early reading
curriculum on language and literacy development of Head Start children. Journal
of Research in Childhood Education, 18(3): 169-178.
Paulson, L. H. (2004). The
development of phonological awareness: From syllables to phonemes. ProQuest
Digital Dissertations.
Paulson, L. H., (2004). On the
path to literacy: Helping all children develop oral language, phonological
awareness, and print awareness. Children and Families, The Magazine of the
National Head Start Association, 18(1), 42-46.
Ashmore, R. A., Farrier, M. J., Paulson, L. H.,
Paulson, L. H., Noble, L. A., Jepson, S., & van den Pol, R. (2001). Building Early Literacy and Language Skills:
A resource and activity guide for preschool and kindergarten. Sopris West,
(4) Other organizations involved:
Western Montana Scottish Rite Foundation RiteCare Clinic Steering Committee:
Chair: Pete
DeWit
Treasurer: Chuck
Spindler
Secretary: Glenn
Hacker
Other
Committee Members: Fouad Haddad, Mark King, Ron Fritz, Dave McInnes, Rick van
den Pol (ex officio)
The clinic
staff engages in consultation and collaboration services with area school
districts and educational agencies including: Missoula County Public School
District, Missoula Area Education Cooperative, Bitterroot Special Education
Cooperative, Head Start agencies in the region, and CO-TEACH Preschool Program.
We have also provided inservice training for most of the Comprehensive Systems
of Personnel Development (CSPD) regions in
Other
community agencies that collaborate with the clinic in a variety of ways
include the
The clinic
staff serves as the therapist representative on the governor appointed Family
Services and Support Advisory Council that oversees the Montana IDEA Part C
Services for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities.
(5) Reporting line:
The RiteCare Clinic is a program in the Division of Educational Research and
Service in the
(6) Relationships with academic
units:
The Western Montana RiteCare Language and Literacy Clinic supports the mission
of The University of Montana by providing a unique opportunity to contribute to
professional knowledge in an active learning environment that is responsive to
the needs of Montanans. The clinic serves as a unique interdisciplinary
learning opportunity to expand students’ educational experiences with a focus
on scientifically-based research and evidence-based practice. There is a strong
commitment to providing a vital service to the community, region, state, and
nation.
Proposed
Professional Training Program is Speech Pathology and Other Future Activities
The clinic
staff has participated in preparation of the proposed undergraduate program in
Communication Sciences and Disorders and the graduate level Speech and Language
Pathology program. The proposed program addresses a significant need in our
state. The Clinic staff and Steering Committee strongly endorses the proposed
program. Establishing a training program in speech pathology will have positive
short and long range impacts on the need for speech pathology services in
With
continued support from the Western Montana Scottish Rite Foundation and The
University of Montana, faculty, staff and university students in the RiteCare
Clinic will maintain the current level of service. Expansion of services could
occur if additional resources become available as the need greatly exceeds our
capacity.
(7) Similar programs:
Nationally, there are 170 Scottish Rite Childhood Language Programs.
(8) Budget:
The Western Montana
RiteCare Language and Literacy Clinic is staffed by two licensed speech and
language pathologists on a part time basis with a combined FTE of .95: Lucy
Hart Paulson, EDD, CCC-SLP is contracted for .75 FTE and RoseMary Johnson, MS,
CCC-SLP is at .20. The services of the director, Dr. Rick van den Pol, and
other administrative support are provided pro
bono. Scottish Rite sponsorship for the 2005-2006 academic year was $56,100
with an additional $17,115 contributed by the President’s office. Total operations
cost was $73,215. The projected total costs for the 2006-2007 academic year are
$77,075. This assumes a 5% Cost of
Living (COL) increase. Estimates of
inflation including
Given the
current staffing and support provided by the Scottish Rite and the university,
the clinic will be able to sustain its
operation for the next five years. Retention of the current staff is critical
in maintaining the quality of service presently provided.
During the
next five years, the clinic operating needs should follow national trends,
including serving 40 - 50 clients each year. Much of the equipment and clinic
materials have been acquired through grants and donations. As new acquisitions
are needed, grant opportunities and donations are sought. The current facility
serves the clinic activities well. If
these services were to be expanded, then additional space would be
required. It has not been determined how
the re-establishment of the Communication Sciences and Disorders and Speech and
Language Pathology programs will affect the location of the Clinic.
Future
funding of the RiteCare Clinic operations presumably will be provided by the
Western Montana Scottish Rite Foundation through their fund raising efforts, donations,
and bequests.
Conclusion
The
leadership of the Scottish Rite Masonic Branch of Freemasonry, along with staff
and faculty of the RiteCare Clinic, unequivocally endorse creation of a new
program of graduate and undergraduate preparation in Speech and Language
Pathology at the
B. Review and Approval Process
2. The Faculty Senate through its Chair,
Review
in terms of Scope as stated in academic policy 100.0
To provide instruction, scholarship, or service to the University, state or
world by: (1) focusing attention on an
area of strength and/or addressing a critical issue, or (2) facilitating
collaborative, multi-disciplinary endeavors to combine resources from several
programs or institutions to address issues of common interest.
Review
in terms of the University’s mission.
§
Comments:
§
Does
§
Is
the relationship with academic units beneficial?
§
Is
the program revenue neutral or does it consume more resources than it
generates? If so, is the use of University resources justified?
§
Is
the entity making progress toward objectives?
Recommendation:
Recommend continuance.
Justification:
The RiteCare Clinic is not controversial.
Its relationship with the academic units is beneficial.
University funding is used for this speech-language clinic
but the money is well spent on an important community service. It is the view of the Executive Committee of
the Senate that the clinic should move to financial independence from the
President’s Office during the next five years.
There is clear evidence that the clinic is achieving its
stated goals.