1. IFSP Guidance Document Updates
Effective July 1, 2018
Presented May 23, 2018
Introductions
Organization of this presentation is by section of the IFSP
Updates were needed to match the changes made to the IFSP form
Some changes were also added due to our continued involvement with OSEP and national TA centers
Some of the updates just make the IFSP and or database work more efficiently.
Much of the guidance was simply clarified from the original guidance provided when Kansas first began to implement the current model of services.

2. Child and Family Information
Guidance clarifies when to use Initial, Annual or Review as type of IFSP to be consistent with current guidance on children “lost to services”.
Initial IFSP A second Initial IFSP may be entered for a child whose prior IFSP was closed for any reason for more than six months.  
If a child is lost to service, the IFSP does not expire/close until the annual date of the IFSP is reached.
This does not apply to children transferring between programs with an active/open IFSP.
Referral Chart
Appendix
On the child and Family Information page,
Guidance clarifies Initial, Annual and Review.
Confusion about when a re-referral or referral of a child previously in another program would be an annual, review, or maybe even an initial IFSP.
The Referral Chart is now included in the appendix so that you can easily determine how to respond.
For example, a family withdraws their child who has an active IFSP and then returns to the program 9 months later seeking services. This child would receive a second Initial IFSP.

3. Important Dates Clarification on the Referral Source and Name:
In transfer with an open/active IFSP, enter the original referral source and name from the other program.
If IFSP has been closed/expired for any reason, for more than 6 months, enter the new Part C referral source and name.
Date IFSP accepted Reviewed by our program:
Enter the date your team conducted an IFSP review with the family
15 days from referral
Re-numbering of transition information
Transition Plan date, Transition Conference date
Transition documents open? Yes/No
Clarification of the referral source: Changes to the referral source information will follow the guidance on the referral chart.
If a child’s IFSP has been closed for any reason for more than 6 months, and the child is re-referred or transferred between programs, a new Part C Referral Source would be noted.
Date IFSP Reviewed by our program. Enter the date that your team reviewed the IFSP with the family. This review should occur within 15 days from the referral, unless the family requests not to meet until a later time.
Transition information was re-ordered to follow the process and the question changed to open transition documents yes/no.
The database will remind you to open these beginning when a child is 2 years, 3 months old in preparation for transition activities.
You may not need it at 2 years, 3 months but it’s an added reminder for the FSC.

4. Guidance clarifications
Transfers from one local tiny-k program to another
Transfer guidance was tweaked to match the transfer guidance documents updated last year.
Transfer will now automatically accept original dates.
Transfers from out of state
Clarifies the process when a child has an active IFSP from another state
Child is considered eligible in Kansas, an Initial IFSP meeting is held and Kansas forms are used.
Transfers in state were updated to match the transfer guidance documents developed last year.
The in-state transitions will now automatically accept all the dates from the original program. These can be edited as needed.
Transfers from out-of-state- the process was clarified.
Now you will: Receive the referral from out of state, which begins the 45-day timeline.
If the child has an active IFSP, and you have or can get a copy of it in a reasonable time, they should be considered eligible for Part C services in Kansas.
An evaluation is not necessary but new assessment information is gathered to support writing the My Child’s Story, Family Resources, Concerns and priorities and outcomes for the child and family.
An Initial Kansas IFSP meeting is held with the family.
Information from their old IFSP may be helpful, but all information should be transferred to Kansas forms. New consents and PWN forms must be completed.
An Initial, Kansas ECO Descriptor Statement must be chosen.
Kansas Initial Part C Referral Date and Date Referred to our program would be the date the referral was received.
The date of the Kansas Initial IFSP meeting with the family will be the Initial IFSP, initial eligibility, and current IFSP date.

5. Eligibility for Part C Services
Clarifies that a Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA) must be used with every child.
Approved CBA list
Only one box will be checked
Developmental delay, explain
Automatic Eligibility, explain
Informed Clinical Opinion, explain
Clarifies that FSC is not a discipline when listing the two evaluators who determined a child eligible.
In the Eligibility section, clarification were made to ensure that Every child’s evaluation and assessment includes the use of a Curriculum-based assessment and that only one box will be checked to show how the child was made eligible. A link to the approved CBA tools is provided in the guidance document.
DD would be checked if the CBA indicated 25% delay in one area, or 20% delay in two or more areas.
Some of the CBA tools do not have a percentage calculation, and in those instances we rely on the practitioners knowledge to determine if the information gathered on these assessments indicates the presence of a significant developmental delay. If the practitioner feels the delay is significant by Kansas’ definition, then DD would be checked. If the practitioner is not comfortable stating that the child has met the requirement for a developmental delay, informed clinical opinion may be the better choice.
The FSC is not a discipline. Typically our FSC’s are also providers (PT, OT, ECSE or speech) Please provide the appropriate role when identifying the person as an evaluator of the child’s eligibility.

6. My Child’s Story: Evaluation and Assessment Information
List out the CBA, the child and family assessment, and all other sources of information used.
Clarifies that the RBI is a child and family assessment, and that the SAFER is not a stand- alone assessment
The evaluation and assessment information is now listed out separately so that dates, who was present, etc. can be more specific to the process used with individual families. There is clarification regarding the child and family assessment tools, just bringing everyone back to the basics of understanding the RBI and SAFER combo, if you are using it. Although an evaluation report is not needed, the programs should be documenting the CBA and child and family assessment using protocols or notebook paper.

7. My Child’s Story: The summary of development
The culmination of all information learned about a family prior to the IFSP meeting
Written at the IFSP with the family using prompts
Does not replace the child and family assessment requirements, which should have it’s own documentation.
Includes #3. what routines and activities the family would like the team to address
Guidance supports the practice of three meeting with the family within the 45-day timeline
The summary of development is the culmination of all information learned up to the IFSP meeting and is to be written at the IFSP meeting with the family’s input.
There are questions on the side to guide the conversation with the family. The box for writing the summary will expand to fill as much space as needed.
Question #3, the bottom box, is located on the next page but is part of the MCS.
It says, Based upon the above conversation, what are the routines and/or activities that I would like the team to address when we develop my child’s outcomes?
Guidance for #3. Indicate the family identified routines and activities that they want the team to address. These may be routines or activities that are challenging for the child in some way or times the family had concerns about their child’s ability to participate fully. These are the family’s concerns.
The guidance document has additional tips and suggestions that supports the practice of three face to face meetings with the family in the first 45-days. This includes an intake/initial visit in which the family learns about the services and support offered by the program and the program begins to learn initial information about the family and their concerns. The second visit is an evaluation and sometimes includes an assessment. The third visit might include child and family assessment, followed by the development of the IFSP or just be an IFSP visit. This schedule of visits is supported by OSEP, McWilliams, Sheldon and Rush as well as many other experts in our field of EI. It is in Kansas’ early work and continues to have our support as the best practice in early intervention.

8. Early Childhood Outcomes
The three Outcomes are together on same page
Guidance has no significant changes
Strengthens the practice of completing the descriptor statements with the family
Strengthens use of appropriate tools: age- anchoring tool and Decision Making Tree.
The arrangement has changed and now all three ECO statements are on the same page.
The guidance about how the ECO statements are completed continues to support completing the descriptor statements through discussion with the family using an age-anchoring tool and the Decision Making Tree.

9. Family Concerns, Resources and Priorities
IFSP form change
Name of Assessment tool: Currently has check boxes and a text space
Will now be linked with My child Story’s page #1b Child and Family Assessment information.
There is one change to the Family Concerns, resources and priorities page.
Number 1 is the information regarding the assessment tool used and It had check boxes before.
Starting July 1, it will be auto-populated from the MCS page, or vice versa
On the paper IFSP, you would write in the information and there will be a prompt that it match the 1b of MCS.

10. Other Services
Clarifies that the check boxes are for services that the family currently receives
Changes #2 from Comments to Description of needed services and contact information
Indicate the resources the family is needing
Provide contact information for either
Clarifies that the check boxes are for services that the family currently receives
Changes #2 from Comments to Description of needed services and contact information
Indicate the resources the family is needing
Provide contact information for either

11. Outcomes for Children and Families
Outcomes developed from MCS and FCRP
Support participation in everyday routines, not skills
Not all concerns mentioned previously need to be developed into an outcome, but all outcomes must relate to either the MCS or the FCRP page.
Documentation for the timeline and measurability aspects of outcomes have been updated.
Timeline is something important to the family and outcome specific, not just 6 months from now.
Measure is more relaxed, does not necessitate conducting an observation or use of checklist to document a percentage of mastery by the child.
Guidance has been tweaked just a little bit to emphasize functional and related to participation in everyday routines
Explains that not all concerns noted in MCS or the FCRP page must be turned into an outcome, but remember that all outcomes must have a tie back to those pages, so at reviews those pages should be updated when new outcomes are written.
The timeline for an outcome does not have to be 6-months; some outcomes may be accomplished very quickly. The timeline should be meaningful for what you are working on and meaningful to the family.
Measuring progress does not necessitate a tool or instrument and calculations of the % of improvement. Parent report of a child’s typical response to the outcome area is sufficient.

12. Summary of Services
As you were shown in Newton, we did make some changes to the services table.
Changes to the form: Changed Frequency/Intensity from a combined box to separate boxes.
Choices for the Method, Intensity, and Location columns on the service line have ben limited and are available as a drop down
Frequency and Length are numeric and can be any number
As Darci just showed you, If you are working in a downloaded IFSP, it is not connected to the internet and database in real time. So there will be two service tables; one with the services that were imported from the last IFSP, and a new blank table to fill out the plan of services for the next time period.

13. Summary of Services Changes to the form Guidance clarifies
Choices for the Method, Intensity, and Location columns on the service line have been limited and are available as a drop down
Frequency and Length are numeric and can be any number
Guidance clarifies
Teaming is not listed in the table
All direct services provided by the local tiny-k program must be documented on a service line; one-time consultation removed
Consultation is no longer a choice as it is not consistent with the Kansas model
Guidance clarifies that all service provided by the local tiny-k program to the family must be documented on the service table, with the exception of teaming which is included in text and in practice for all children in our system.
This change supports families procedural safeguards and program’s ability to bill for services through Medicaid.
There should not be a paper version of the IFSP that does not match the electronic version of the IFSP.
In Kansas’ model of early intervention, we have primary providers with joint visits by other team members, consultation is not a part of our model of practice and was removed as a choice.

14. Transitions
Anticipated completion dates are to be listed in the “activity” boxes. The completion dates must be documented in the “date completed” box.
All children receiving early intervention services who are approaching the age of three, must have a Transition Plan developed not fewer than 90 days, and at the discretion of all parties, not more than nine months from the child’s third birthday. The Transition plan is intended to review program options for children turning three, including community programs, Head Start, or Part B services.
Guidance as to how to document both anticipated and actual date of completion was in the last version of the guidance document and continues as it is.
Guidance regarding the transition plan has been clarified. All children receiving early intervention services, who are approaching age three need to have a transition plan.
The transition plan is not specific to Part B transitions, but is a time to explore all options available for a child and family in need of services after leaving early intervention.

15. No/small clarifications to:
Natural Environments
Clarifies difference between services provided by the local tiny-k provider for a brief time period in a non-natural environment and those that should be listed as an Other Needed Service. i.e. swallow study
IFSP Agreement
IFSP Review
There was a small change made to guidance around natural environments, just to clarify when something should be noted in Other Needed Services rather thru a justification for non-natural environment.

16. Additional Appendices
Referral Process Decision Making Chart
Entering a Review into the Database and Updating the Service Page
IFSP PDF Upload/Download Guidance
Shared Data Elements between the electronic IFSP and Database
Most of these have no or minor changes. Please read through them if it has been a while since you last did.
We are going to attach them as appendices just for ease and because they help explain the IFSP.

17. Shared data elements between the database and IFSP’s.
As of July 1, 2018, the database and IFSP will no longer update in real time
Changes made in an IFSP will update the database when the IFSP is marked complete
Changes made to the database will be pulled into an IFSP when it is created and may also update the most recent IFSP
There are some changes to how the shared data elements will work.
Beginning July 1, 2018 information from the database and IFSPs will not automatically update in real time.
What this means is that each discreet IFSP in your list of IFSPs for a child will remain constant for the time period it was created in.
But shared data elements will still be updated, it will just be in a more controlled manner.
IFSPs will update database elements when they are marked complete
Updates from the database will be pulled into new or imported IFSPs and may also update the most recent IFSP.

18. Other Reminders from Spring Combo
Who can sign my documents?
Handout available on Late IFSP Reasons available on the KITS website with webinar.
Data management system, in which each individual with have their own log-in, will not be implemented on July We’ll keep you posted on when
The Who can sign? Guidance doc posted by July 1 on KDHE website, available as a handout with this posting (KITS site) by June 1. We are following the new guidance now and have had reports that it is really helpful.
Change in late IFSP reasons- Handout was developed to explain these changes, but basically there will be a drop down box and you pick the choice that best fits the situation. We have narrowed the number of choices to have more consistency across the state for state and federal reporting purposes. The handout will have examples of some of the old reasons and how they fit into the new categories.
The Data Management system, that was going to have an individual og-in for every individual accessing the ITS database will not be implemented on July 1 but will be coming soon. We will keep you posted on how and when.

19. HAVE AN
AWESOME DAY
Documents and recordings from this training will be posted soon to KITS website and also to KDHE ITS website by June 1st.
The test site will be available for you to practice using a downloadable IFSP
As always, Ask your TA provider for additional guidance on any of the information shared today….
Local training can be provided,
Questions- time??????
Have an awesome afternoon!