Virginia Law

A. With prior written notice and parental consent, each child found eligible for early intervention services shall receive:

1. A multidisciplinary assessment of the child's unique strengths and needs and the identification of services appropriate to meet those needs; and

2. A family-directed assessment of the resources, priorities, and concerns of the family and identification of the supports and services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of that infant or toddler.

B. Assessments for service planning shall be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of certified early intervention professionals, which may include one individual who is certified as an early intervention practitioner in more than one discipline or profession, and shall include the use of informed clinical opinion.

C. Assessments shall be conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner and with procedures selected that are not racially, culturally, or linguistically discriminatory.

D. Assessments shall be conducted in the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent unless the early intervention service providers conducting the assessment of the child determine that the language normally used by the child is developmentally appropriate for the child.

E. The multidisciplinary assessment of the child shall include:

1. A review of the results of the eligibility determination;

2. Use of a comprehensive assessment tool;

3. Personal observations of the child;

4. Identification of the child's needs in cognitive, physical, communication, social or emotional, and adaptive development; and

5. If the child is new to Virginia's early intervention system, determination of entry ratings on the child outcome indicators required by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

F. The initial family assessment shall be conducted within 45 days from the date of referral if the parent concurs, even if other family members are not available. The family-directed assessment shall:

1. Be voluntary on the part of each family member participating in the assessment;

2. Be based on information obtained through an assessment tool and through an interview with those family members who elect to participate in the assessment;

3. Include the family's description of its resources, priorities, and concerns related to enhancing their child's development; and

4. Be conducted in the native language or other mode of communication used by the family member participating in the assessment, unless clearly not feasible to do so.

G. Early intervention service providers conducting assessments shall document the assessment results in the integrated, comprehensive assessment summary on the IFSP or in a separate written report that is then integrated into the comprehensive assessment summary on the IFSP.