TA Call CCBs and Child Find June 12, 2012

Welcome ! Purpose: EI Colorado and CDE Preschool Special Education Child Find staff will review changes in the Part C regulations that impact local child identification and transition practices for birth to three year olds. 2

Overview Review new federal requirements for screening, evaluation, assessment, transition and procedural safeguards Share next steps and timelines to adopt a state policy that allows post-referral screening that complies with Part C requirements Share CCB and AU responsibilities for accomplishing the new screening requirements Clarify that the new federal requirements must be met starting July 1st and throughout the period that a state screening policy is being developed and approved 3

Now until June 30, 2012 Identified priority areas completed July 1, 2012 States must be fully compliant June 30, 2013 States must have policies and procedures in place Timeline 4

CHILD IDENTIFICATION

New regulations distinguish activities for: Pre-Referral Referral Post-referral Part C Regulation Changes 6

Pre-Referral Public awareness Interagency collaboration with early childhood partners to coordinate child identification activities Central Directory (website link) Screening by referral sources such as: Community Physician’s office Child care Nurse visiting programs Pre-referral screening by referral sources is not impacted by federal Rules changes 7

A child under the age of three referred to the CCB or Child Find for evaluation for early intervention services due to: Suspicion of the child having a disability, or Subject of a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect, or Identified as directly affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure When a referral is made to either the CCB or Child Find, it begins the child and family’s involvement in the EI System and starts the 45 day timeline. Action shall be taken and these actions shall be documented. Referral 8

Post-Referral May include: Developmental screening due to a concern, to determine whether an evaluation is necessary, and to plan the evaluation Evaluation/Assessment Family Assessment Eligibility Determination IFSP Development 9

POST-REFERRAL SCREENING

States must have a Screening Policy for post-referral screening to occur !! NEW !! Prior written notice !! NEW !! Consent to screen !! NEW !! Administration of appropriate screening instruments by personnel trained to administer those instruments !!NEW !! Prior written notice on results of screening !! NEW !! Parents are given written copy of screening results !!NEW!! Parents may request and consent to evaluation at any time during the screening process…even if screening results indicate that the child is not suspected of having a disability Federal Part C Requirements for Post-Referral Screening 11

State Screening Policy Issues Considered Post-referral Screening Policy Ability to screen prior to full evaluation Have to comply with state and federal regulations CCBs/AUs do not receive funding for screening activities for children who do not proceed to evaluation Increase expenses and time for service coordination Communities would have the flexibility to choose whether to screen or not No Post-referral Screening Policy Local communities would not have the option of conducting screening prior to going to a full evaluation Increases the numbers of children who would be evaluated, with no new resources Decrease in number of appointments for family 12

Development of State Screening Policy Input EI Colorado has gathered input from a Screening Task Force of CCB and Child Find representatives, CDE, EI Directors, and the CICC Many communities feel it is essential for them to continue to conduct post-referral screening Having a state screening policy will not prohibit communities from deciding to evaluate all children referred rather than screen Requests for flexibility 13

State Screening Policy EI Colorado is recommending a State policy allowing communities to conduct post-referral screening Until the state screening policy is developed and approved, post-referral screening may continue as long as all federal Part C regulations are met Local policies/procedures must define whether and how screening will be conducted 14

Development of a State Screening Policy allows local communities the flexibility to adopt the policy or not If the AU-Child Find & CCB decide to screen as part of the post-referral process, all screening requirements under Part C shall be followed effective July 1, 2012 Local communities that choose not to adopt the state screening policy will evaluate all children referred and are not permitted to conduct post- referral screening State Screening Policy 15

Draft and publish new policy for a 60 day public review period (EI Colorado) Submit draft policy and procedures to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) by EI Colorado Following approval by OSEP, EI Colorado prepares the policies to go through the State Rulemaking Process Following public hearings, and review and approval by State Board of Human Services, rules are finalized and published Revise training and technical assistance materials Conduct joint training meetings and webinars Provide guidance on necessary changes to local interagency agreements Complete by June 30, 2013 Activities to Develop & Implement State Screening Policy and Procedures 16

Responsibilities for Required Screening Activities 17 Which Agency personnel can…CCBAU Give families prior written notice for screening? Responsible Get consent for screening?Responsible Conduct the initial screening?Responsible Give written screening results?Responsible Give families prior written notice of the screening results? Responsible Complete the evaluation when the screening shows no delays, but family still wants full evaluation Responsible

Responsibilities for Required Screening Activities If a CCB becomes aware of a child who has been referred to an AU for a multidisciplinary evaluation that will not be completed within forty-five days of the date of the referral, then the CCB shall notify the department within two business days from the time that the CCB has been notified by the AU using state procedures. (2 CCR (B)(9))

Local Decisions about Post-Referral Screening What should be considered in determining whether to screen or not to screen? CCB and the AU should jointly determine the best procedures for their community and define the decision in writing in the interagency agreement If the CCB and AU disagree on a decision to conduct screening, how is the disagreement resolved? The CCB and the AU will need to follow the dispute resolution procedures in their interagency agreement What if the current interagency agreement doesn’t reflect the new requirements? Jointly draft an addendum to the agreement to articulate new procedures while agreement is being formally updated and adopted 19

Means the procedures used by qualified personnel to determine a child’s eligibility for early intervention Is conducted in order to identify infants and toddlers with disabilities who are in need of early intervention services and who do not have an established condition Shall be completed, along with initial assessment and IFSP meeting within 45 days after the child is referred to the EI Colorado Program Conducted in child’s native language, when developmentally appropriate !! NEW !! Evaluation 20

Procedures shall include all of the following: Administering an evaluation instrument !! NEW !! Taking the child’s history, including interviewing the parent Identifying the child’s level of functioning in each of the five developmental areas Gathering information from other sources (i.e. family members, medical providers, etc) Reviewing medical, educational or other records (34 C.F.R (b)) Evaluation 21

Initial assessment means the assessment of the child and the family conducted prior to the child’s first IFSP meeting Assessment means ongoing procedures used by qualified personnel to identify the child’s unique strengths and needs and the early intervention services appropriate to meet those needs throughout the period of the child’s eligibility The results of the initial and ongoing assessment of the child and family are the basis for the IFSP Team’s determination of which early intervention services would meet the needs of the child and his or her family in accordance with the requirements of an IFSP Assessment 22

Review of the results of the evaluation Personal observation of the child The identification of the child’s needs in each developmental area The family assessment is: Voluntary on the part of each family member participating Based on information obtained through an assessment tool and family interview Inclusive of the family’s description of resources, priorities, and concerns Conducted in the family’s native language Assessment of the child includes: 23

Questions?

TRANSITION

Transition Discussion with family ongoing from beginning of early intervention experience Review Family Guidebook III: Transition Planning Local interagency agreement with Special Education Administrative Unit (AU)/Child Find to outline process 26

Opt-Out Policy Opt-Out Policy must be given prior to AU Notification Notice of Child and Family Rights and Procedural Safeguards... brochure Documented on Special Education AU/School District Notification form Parent can change decision at any time What if a parent previously opted-out and changes their mind? Required timelines apply if possible Otherwise treated as late referral 27

Transition Plan All children shall have a Transition Plan developed Transition Plan is developed as part of IFSP meeting No separate “Transition Plan meeting” Transition Plan page in IFSP document Transition Plan is developed between 2 years 3 months and 2 years 9 months As soon as possible for children referred at a later age Transition Plan page has been revised to reflect these changes Program Options, Transition Steps and Transition Services !!NEW!! 28

Special Education AU Notification Opt-Out Policy must be presented to family prior to AU notification One “notification” which serves as the referral for potentially eligible children only “Potentially eligible under Part B of IDEA” is defined as a child enrolled in EI services and: Has not met all outcomes on his or her IFSP; and/or Is demonstrating a delay in any developmental domain based on the expertise of a member of the IFSP team Notification should be made based on the definition of potentially eligible and not pre-determination of Part B eligibility by Part C service providers !!NEW!! 29

Special Education AU Notification, continued Notification to local AU and CDE CCB notifies AU Notification constitutes a referral to the AU for preschool special education evaluation and must be acted upon EI Colorado State office notifies CDE Notification must occur between 2 years 3 months and 2 years 9 months Notification occurs as soon as possible for children referred at a later age AU timeline for Part C to Part B transition evaluation and IEP implementation is the child’s 3 rd birthday !!NEW!! 30

Special Education AU Notification, continued Special Education AU/School District Notification form 1.Parent opts out - no AU notification will be sent 2.Parent does not opt out and does not give consent to share additional information – only basic information will be sent to AU 3.Parent does not opt out and gives consent to share additional information – most current IFSP and assessment information will be sent to AU In order to facilitate the inclusion of IFSP and assessment information in the eligibility determination and IEP process, this information should be sent concurrently with the notification 31

Transition Conference Children who are potentially eligible: Transition Conference is required The conference shall occur between 2 years 3 months and 2 years 9 months Required participants include parent(s), service coordinator and AU representative Children who are not potentially eligible: Reasonable efforts should be made to convene a Transition Conference Required participants include parent(s), service coordinator and providers of other potential appropriate services !!NEW!! 32

Transition Conference cont. Transition Conference may be combined with IFSP meeting to develop Transition Plan Required participants same as for IFSP meeting with the addition of the representative of the AU Conference must occur during the prescribed timelines regardless of whether eligibility for Part B preschool special education services is known Service coordinator responsible for scheduling with both AU representative and family AU representative responsible for attending !!NEW!! 33

Interagency Agreements 34 Begin to revise local agreements as soon as possible Complete revisions by January 1, 2013

PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

Procedural Safeguards This version should be given to families at the next scheduled meeting after July 1, 2012 Service coordinators should discuss sections of the brochure that pertain to the family during their monthly contact All orders after June 1, 2012 will be filled with the new brochure and sent to CCBs beginning June 15,

Procedural Safeguards Consent Consent shall be obtained before: Administering screening Any evaluation or assessment is conducted Any Early Intervention Service is initiated Public benefits or insurance or private insurance is used Disclosure of personally identifiable information Can no longer use hearing procedures to challenge parent’s refusal to provide consent (including consent to evaluate) 37

Procedural Safeguards Prior Written Notice Must be given to parent(s) within a reasonable time (10 days) before proposing or refusing to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or placement of their child, or the provision of early intervention services to the child with a disability and that child’s family 38

Procedural Safeguards Confidentiality Who must maintain confidentiality? Any individual, agency, entity, or institution that collects, maintains, or uses personally identifiable information to implement the requirements in Part C Early Intervention Colorado/DDD CCBs Service Coordinators and Providers Child Find * Does not include primary referral sources, or public agencies (Medicaid, CHP+, and private insurance companies) that act solely as funding sources for Part C. 39

Procedural Safeguards Confidentiality When does confidentiality apply? From the time a child is referred until the participating agency is no longer required to maintain an EI record (six years) Points to remember: Upon request an initial copy of the child’s EI records shall be made available at no cost to the parent Access to EI records shall occur no more than ten days after the parent makes the request 40

Questions?