Part IV. Intake, Eligibility, and Assessment
12VAC35-225-60. Intake.
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.
Statutory Authority
§ 2.2-5304 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 10, eff. February 27, 2016.
12VAC35-225-70. Eligibility criteria.
A. The department shall identify physical and mental conditions with high probability of resulting in developmental delay.
B. A child shall be eligible for early intervention services under Part C if the child is younger than three years of age and has:
1. A developmental delay as measured through the evaluation and assessment procedures described in this section; or
2. A diagnosed physical or mental condition with high probability of resulting in developmental delay.
Statutory Authority
§ 2.2-5304 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 10, eff. February 27, 2016.
12VAC35-225-80. Evaluation for eligibility criteria.
A. A child's medical and other records shall be used to establish initial eligibility (without conducting an evaluation for eligibility determination) if those records indicate that the child's level of functioning in one or more developmental areas constitutes a developmental delay or that the child otherwise meets the criteria for an infant or a toddler with a disability.
1. If the records document a diagnosed physical or mental condition with a high probability of resulting in developmental delay, then a certified early intervention case manager or certified early intervention professional shall complete and sign the eligibility determination form to document review of the record.
2. If the records document a developmental delay, a certified early intervention professional shall review the record to determine whether it establishes eligibility, completing and signing the eligibility determination form if it does.
B. With prior written notice and parental consent, each child under the age of three years who is referred to the early intervention system shall receive a timely, comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation to determine eligibility unless eligibility is established under subsection A of this section.
C. Except as provided in subsection A of this section, the local lead agency shall ensure that, with parental consent, the evaluation for eligibility determination and, if the child is eligible, an assessment of the child and family and an initial IFSP meeting are completed within 45 days from the date of referral.
D. The 45-day timeline described in subsection C of this section shall not apply for any period when:
1. The child or parent is unavailable to complete the evaluation for eligibility determination, the assessments of the child and family, or the initial IFSP meeting due to exceptional family circumstances that are documented in the child's early intervention record; or
2. The parent has not provided consent for the evaluation for eligibility determination or the assessment of the child despite documented, repeated attempts by the service coordinator or other service provider, or both, to obtain parental consent.
E. In the event that circumstances described in subsection D of this section delay the 45-day timeline, the service coordinator shall ensure:
1. The exceptional family circumstances, repeated attempts to obtain parental consent, or other circumstances resulting in a delay are documented in the child's early intervention record;
2. The evaluation for eligibility determination, the assessments of the child and family, and the initial IFSP meeting are completed as soon as possible after the documented exceptional family circumstances no longer exist, parental consent is obtained, or other circumstances causing a delay no longer exist; and
3. Development of an interim IFSP, if appropriate for the child and family.
Statutory Authority
§ 2.2-5304 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 10, eff. February 27, 2016.
12VAC35-225-90. Eligibility determination process.
A. Eligibility determination 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.
B. Eligibility determination shall be conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner and with procedures selected that are not racially, culturally, or linguistically discriminatory.
C. Eligibility determination 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 evaluation of the child determine that the language normally used by the child is developmentally appropriate for the child.
D. No single procedure shall be used as the sole criterion for determining a child's eligibility.
E. Eligibility determination shall include:
1. Use of an evaluation instrument;
2. Taking the child's history, including interviewing the parent;
3. Identifying the child's level of functioning in cognitive, physical, communication, social or emotional, and adaptive development;
4. Gathering information from other sources such as family members, other caregivers, medical providers, social workers, and educators, if necessary, to understand the full scope of the child's unique strengths and needs; and
5. Reviewing medical, educational, or other records.
F. Informed clinical opinion may be used as an independent basis to establish a child's eligibility even when other instruments do not establish eligibility; however, in no event may informed clinical opinion be used to negate the results of instruments used to establish eligibility.
G. The eligibility determination date, methods, participants, and results shall be documented on the eligibility determination form.
H. The service coordinator shall provide the family with a copy and explanation of the eligibility determination form as soon as possible following eligibility determination at no cost to the family.
Statutory Authority
§ 2.2-5304 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 10, eff. February 27, 2016.
12VAC35-225-100. Ineligibility for early intervention services.
If, through the process of eligibility determination, a child is found to be not eligible for early intervention services, the service coordinator shall provide the parent with:
1. A prior written notice that the child has been determined to be not eligible, and
2. A copy and explanation of the notice of child and family rights and safeguards including the parent's right to dispute the eligibility determination by any combination of requesting mediation, making a due process complaint, or filing an administrative complaint.
Statutory Authority
§ 2.2-5304 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 10, eff. February 27, 2016.
12VAC35-225-110. Assessment for service planning.
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.
Statutory Authority
§ 2.2-5304 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 10, eff. February 27, 2016.