In 2023, 540,000 infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities received early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C, but significant gaps remain. Only half of the children referred to early intervention services ultimately enroll, and fewer than one in four children eligible for services under IDEA Part C actually access services.

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres speaks with Leslie Fox, Director of Early Childhood Mental Health, Development, and Disabilities at WestEd, about the Collective Impact Model for Child Find (CIM-C), a model demonstration project that strengthens referral pathways and improves access to early intervention services for young children and their families in underserved and rural communities.

Fox discusses how healthcare and early childhood professionals and programs can align screening practices, improve cross-sector collaboration, and support families in advocating for their children’s developmental needs. This episode explores how collaborative strategies and professional learning can close identification gaps and strengthen early childhood systems.

Their conversation covers three critical components of the CIM-C project: 

WestEd works with early childhood professionals and agencies to strengthen the supports for children with disabilities and their families. Through research and evaluation, technical assistance, and systems support, we help our partners implement effective early intervention strategies that strengthen care systems and support the learning and development of all young children. Learn more.

Although opioid overdose deaths have recently declined, tens of thousands of families still lose loved ones to the epidemic each year. Overcoming the epidemic requires a comprehensive approach that spans education and prevention, treatment and recovery, justice reform, cross-sector collaboration, and supportive policies. How can communities integrate these areas effectively to save lives and support long-term recovery? 

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Grace Westermann speaks with Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, Director of Justice and Public Health Policy and Practice at WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center. They discuss the root causes of youth opioid misuse; the barriers that prevent schools, healthcare, law enforcement, and community organizations from working together; and the role of data in building coalitions that are more effective.  

Drawing on her expertise, Loeffler-Cobia outlines five evidence-based strategies for addressing the epidemic and explains why breaking down silos across sectors is critical to saving lives. 

Their conversation covers the following topics: 

Education and job training can lead to good jobs and living wages; but for many adult learners, that path to greater prosperity is anything but straightforward. Structural barriers, disconnected systems, and outdated models often make it difficult for individuals to gain the skills and credentials they need to advance their careers. How can we modernize education and workforce systems and create opportunities for all learners?

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Kathy Booth, Director of the Center for Economic Mobility at WestEd, and Randy Tillery, Director of Economic Mobility and Postsecondary and Workforce Systems at WestEd and Co-Director of the Center for Economic Mobility. They discuss the challenges many adult learners face—such as balancing work, caregiving, and school—and why short-term training alone often falls short. They emphasize the value of cross-sector partnerships between community colleges, employers, and workforce organizations in building systems that are more responsive to both learners’ needs and local labor markets. 

Their conversation covers the following topics: 

Read the Transcript

The Center for Economic Mobility at WestEd brings together employers, educational institutions, and workforce systems to codesign solutions that meet the needs of both learners and employers. By strengthening linkages between systems, the Center aims to foster greater access to education, job training, and credentials so that learners can build stable and rewarding careers. Visit economic-mobility.WestEd.org to learn more. 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an effective framework for creating flexible learning environments by designing learning experiences that give students choices in how they learn, what materials they use, and how they show their understanding. But can this framework be applied beyond the classroom as an engaging and innovative approach to solving enduring challenges within systems?

WestEd’s UDL Lab and "UDL Jams” use the principles of the UDL framework to bring people together in real time to collaboratively solve complex problems. Inspired by the improvisational and collaborative nature of jazz, these sessions create a space where participants bring their unique expertise to co-create meaningful, actionable solutions.

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Dr. Zach Smith, Senior Project Director, and Dr. Jose Blackorby, Director of Research and Learner Variability, both from WestEd’s Special Education Policy and Practice team. They explain the origins of UDL, how their UDL Jam model works, and why this approach is gaining momentum among educators, system leaders, and innovators across sectors.

Their conversation covers the following topics:

Transcript

Placement into accelerated mathematics courses can open doors for students, paving the way toward advanced high school coursework, college readiness, and future career opportunities. But ensuring students are placed accurately requires a rigorous, evidence-based approach. 

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Scott Firkins, Director of Assessment Content at WestEd, and leaders from the Palo Alto Unified School District in California, Dr. Guillermo López, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, and Janine Penney, Manager of Assessment. They discuss how the district collaborated with WestEd to transform its placement process for accelerated mathematics in middle school. The result is a fair and evidence-based mathematics validation process designed to accurately place students in the right course in the mathematics pathway. 

Their conversation covers the following topics:

Transcript

Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) have expanded across the United States in recent years. These accounts provide state education funds, originally allocated for students to attend public school, to be redirected to families to use for educational services of their choice.

These programs enable parents to use these funds for a wide range of educational services, such as private school tuition, tutoring, distance learning options, and more.

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with William Berry, Research Associate with WestEd’s Charter and School Choice team, and Robin Chait Project Director with our School Choice team. They discuss how ESAs work, three primary accountability mechanisms, and the need for research on student outcomes.

Their conversation covers the following topics:

Transcript

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

How can district and state leaders identify signs of school distress long before they are designated as in need of improvement by state accountability systems?

In 2020, WestEd partnered with the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) to develop and conduct a portfolio of  research (listed below) that identified signs of early distress in schools, or "indicators of distress," and described an approach to support school improvement efforts. When states and education decision-makers wanted to take the work further into implementation, what emerged is WestEd's Indicators of Distress, an evidence-based early detection system that can help charter and traditional schools meet and surpass accountability standards while fostering positive learning experiences for students.

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Aimee Evan, Senior Research Associate and School Improvement Specialist with the School Choice team at WestEd and co-author of the NCSRC reports, and two state education agency leaders, John Carwell Jr., Education Associate at the Delaware Department of Education, and David Frank, Chief of Staff and Assistant Commissioner, Education Policy, at the New York State Education Department.

They discuss the Indicators of Distress approach and how the Delaware Department of Education and the New York State Education Department worked with WestEd to identify needed systemic improvements and implement processes and procedures that helped lead to sustained success.

Their conversation covers the following topics:

• Implementing the Indicators of Distress approach in Delaware and New York

Transcript

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Indicators of Distress (Webpage)

Gun violence impacts families, first responders, and communities in profound and lasting ways. In 2023, more than 18,000 persons died by homicide in the United States. And on June 26th, 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis. 

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with experts from WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Team and developers of the Violence Prevention Navigation Framework (VPNF): Lori Toscano, Shaun Ali, and Kerwin Henderson. Together, they help state and local leaders better understand the factors that contribute to or prevent violence within their communities—helping promote safe and equitable futures for all children, youth, and adults.

Their conversation covers the following topics:

• Identifying the underlying factors that give rise to or mitigate gun violence

Transcript

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Justice and Prevention Research Center at WestEd (Website)

Early childhood practitioners face various challenges in the field, including staffing shortages, lack of funding for programs and professional development, and insufficient cultural representation in the workforce.

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Grace Westermann talks with Monica Mathur-Kalluri, Project Director within WestEd’s Early Childhood Intervention, Mental Health, and Inclusion team. As a Project Director, Monica engages with practitioners, parents, and state and community leaders to enhance the well-being of infants and toddlers and providers working with children ages 0–5.

Together, they discuss the transformative power of reflective practice spaces for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) practitioners and how these spaces help prevent burnout and create a more sustainable and supportive environment for those dedicated to early childhood care. 

Listeners will also hear from early childhood practitioners from California and Virginia and what they had to say about their experience participating in the Revolutionary Reflective Practice retreat hosted in August 2023 for BIPOC practitioners.

Their conversation covers the following topics:

• Reflective practices for BIPOC practitioners

Transcript

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Revolutionary Reflective Practice for BIPOC Healing and Liberation (Website)

In this episode of the Leading Voices podcast, host Danny Torres talks with Angela McGuire, Project Director within WestEd’s Early Childhood Intervention, Mental Health, and Inclusion team under Early Childhood Development and Learning. Angela leads the Comprehensive Early Intervention Technical Assistance Network (CEITAN), which has supported the professional growth of early childhood intervention professionals for more than 30 years. Together, they discuss the critical role of early intervention in improving outcomes for our youngest children with disabilities and how state agency leaders can best support early intervention professionals in their work.

Their conversation covers the following topics:

• What state leaders need to know to best support early intervention professionals

Transcript

Additional Resources

• Transforming Early Intervention and Improving Outcomes for Children—Q&A with Angela McGuire (Blog Post)