Virginia Law

A. For purposes of the early intervention system, including determination of required parental consents or exercise of parental rights, when more than one party is qualified under the definition of parent, the biological or adoptive parent must be presumed to be the parent unless that person does not have legal authority to make educational or early intervention decisions for the child. However, if a judicial decree or order identifies a specific person or persons to act as the parent of a child or to make educational or early intervention decisions on behalf of a child, then that person or persons shall be determined to be the parent.

B. The service coordinator shall conduct intake with the family in order to:

1. Inform the family about early intervention services and the IFSP process;

2. Provide the parent with a written notice and explanation of the family's rights and procedural safeguards under Part C, including:

a. A description of what personally identifiable information is maintained, the types of information sought, the methods used in gathering information, including the sources from whom information is gathered, and the uses to be made of the information;

b. The policies that early intervention service providers must follow regarding storage, disclosure to third parties, retention, and destruction of personally identifiable information;

c. The rights of parents and children regarding the foregoing information, including their rights under the confidentiality provisions of Part C; and

d. A description of the languages in which this notice of rights and safeguards is available in Virginia;

3. With prior written notice and parental consent, gather information about the child's development and health history to assist in eligibility determination;

4. Facilitate identification of team members for and coordinate scheduling of eligibility determination;

5. Provide the schedule of sliding fees for early intervention services provided under Part C and other payment information; and

6. For children with Medicaid, ensure completion of the paperwork, including development of an Initial Early Intervention Service Coordination Plan and data entry necessary to enroll the child in the Medicaid early intervention benefit. This plan shall end when the child is found ineligible for early intervention; the IFSP is signed; or 90 calendar days from the date of intake, whichever comes first.