Early Childhood Education and Care for Children with Disabilities: Facilitating Inclusive Practice* Simone DeVore 1,3 and Karen Russell 2 In this case study, a co-operative inquiry process was used to facilitate the expansion of inclusive early childhood education and care practices in a rural community in the Midwest. A university and a community researcher first engaged in interviews and site visits, during which they learned how a three-member inclusion team of early care and education professionals initiated changes in practice from self-contained to inclusive special education and therapy. Key practices included responding to families’ priorities, changing roles, and providing inte- grated services and support for children’s successful transitions into Kindergarten. The second part of the research consisted of action planning during focus groups and community meet- ings, which resulted in social recognition from the school district, technical assistance through state improvement grant funding, and better preschool options for young children with dis- abilities. KEY WORDS: childcare inclusion; inclusive special education; integrated services; co-operative inquiry. The inclusion of children with disabilities ages birth to six in community-based childcare and preschool settings is a legal mandate and civil right articulated by natural and least restrictive environment provi- sions under the Individuals with Disabilities Educa- tion Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA) and reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The natural and least restrictive environment mandates suggest that special education be delivered in environments where children of particular age groups typically spend time in and benefit educationally (Division for Early Childhood, 1993; ‘‘Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act,’’ 2004, Pub. L. No. 108–446). Many school districts and communities in the United States are just beginning to provide fam- ilies with more and better options for inclusive com- munity-based settings (e.g., childcare) where children with disabilities socialize and play with children who are developing typically (DeVore & Bowers, 2006; Larson, Lapine, Schmitter, Tragesser, & Leichtfuss, 1999; Odom, 2002). Providing more opportunities for inclusion requires that early childhood special edu- cation teachers (ECSE) and related services providers undergo changes in their roles as professionals (Lie- ber et al., 1997). Instead of providing self-contained services in school-based classrooms, early childhood special educators and therapists must collaborate with families, early childhood regular educators, and caregivers to identify the best options for inclusive services in community-based settings (Sandall & Schwartz, 2002). *We gratefully acknowledge partial funding of this research by the Dean’s Office at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and State Improvement Grant funding by the Department of Public Instruction. 1 Department of Special Education, University of Wisconsin– Whitewater, 800 W. Main Street, College of Education, White- water, WI 53190, USA. 2 Department of Special Education, University of Wisconsin– Whitewater, 2146 E. Washington Ave., Madison, WI 53704, USA. 3 Correspondence should be directed to Simone DeVore, Depart- ment of Special Education, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, 800 W. Main Street, College of Education, Whitewater, WI 53190, USA., e-mail: devores@uww.edu Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 35, No. 2, October 2007 (Ó 2007) DOI: 10.1007/s10643-006-0145-4 189 1082-3301/07/1000-0189/0 Ó 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC