Child Outcomes Summary (COS)

For children, the goal of early intervention and preschool special education is to enable them to be active and successful participants during the early childhood years and in the future in a variety of settings - in their home with their families, in child care, preschool or school programs, and in the community.

States collect and use data on three child outcomes to support this goal:

• Children have positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships).
• Children acquire and use knowledge and skills (including early language/communication [and early literact]).
• Children use appropriate behaviors to meet their needs.

Resources to support positive child outcomes can be found in this section.