12 Colo. Code Regs. § 2509-10-7.920

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, June 10, 2024

Section 12 CCR 2509-10-7.920 - CHILD IDENTIFICATION [Rev. eff. 7/1/15]

The Early Intervention Program shall have a comprehensive Child Find system, pursuant to 34 C.F.R. Section 303.302, which is incorporated by reference as defined in Section 7.900, A, 5, that focuses on the early identification of infants and toddlers who have developmental delays or disabilities, including a system for making referrals so that timely and rigorous identification in accordance with Section 7.920, B - F, shall occur.

A. Pre-Referral Public Awareness

1. A Community Centered Board shall work with special education Administrative units, the Local Interagency Coordinating Council, and other community members, as necessary in order to develop a coordinated program of public awareness that identifies infants and toddlers with disabilities who may be eligible for early intervention services.

2. A Community Centered Board shall ensure that it has an Internet link on its website to the Early Intervention Colorado website at www.eicolorado.org and that families are informed of the website and the statewide toll free number 1-888-777 -4041.

3. A Community Centered Board shall ensure that information on the Early Intervention Colorado Program is available via an Internet website, and in a written format, upon request of a family.

4. A Community Centered Board shall ensure that printed materials from the Department and other products are made available to families and the general public, as well as through state and local interagency efforts for outreach to primary referral sources, including hospitals, physicians, other health providers, child care providers and other public and non-profit agencies.

B. Referral

1. A Community Centered Board shall work collaboratively with community partners and primary referral sources to develop effective procedures for referral of children, birth through two (2) years of age, to the Early Intervention Program, in order to identify infants and toddlers who are in need of early intervention services.

2. Referral of a child, birth through two (2) years of age, means a verbal or written notification from a referral source to the Community Centered Board or Administrative Unit about a child who:

a. Is known to have or suspected of having a developmental delay; or,

b. Has an established condition, as defined in Section 7.920, H; or,

c. Lives with a parent with a developmental disability; or,

d. Has been identified as the subject of a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect; or,

e. Is identified as directly affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure.

C. Post-Referral Process

1. A Community Centered Board shall accept a referral from community sources, including, but not limited to, a family, health provider, child care provider, Administrative Unit, county department of social/human services, county department of health, and others.

2. A Community Centered Board shall use the state referral form found at http://coloradoofficeofearlychildhood.force.com/eicolorado/ei_quicklinks?p=home&s=make-a-referral&lang=en, and procedures as defined by the Department, and shall facilitate, to the extent possible, the use of the early intervention referral form by other referral sources in its designated service area.

3. A Community Centered Board shall assign a service coordinator within three (3) working days from the date of a referral.

4. The family shall be contacted as soon as possible after being assigned a service coordinator, but no longer than seven (7) calendar days from the date of the referral, to provide the service coordinator's contact information and inform the family of their procedural safeguards.

5. A Community Centered Board shall notify the appropriate Administrative Unit within three (3) working days of a child being referred for early intervention services for whom a Child Find evaluation needs to be conducted.

6. A Community Centered Board shall:

a. Notify the referral source of the receipt of the referral using the state referral form; and,

b. Provide the contact information for the assigned service coordinator; and,

c. With written parent consent, notify the referral source and the child's primary health provider of the results of the evaluation and/or assessment using the state referral form.

7. Referral information sent to an Administrative Unit by a Community Centered Board shall contain at least the following:

a. The first, middle, and last name of the child; and,

b. Date of birth of the child; and,

c. Gender of the child; and,

d. Parent name, address, and telephone number; and,

e. Primary language spoken; and,

f. Name and telephone number of an assigned service coordinator; and,

g. Date of the referral.

D. Post-Referral Screening

1. A Community Centered Board shall work with the Administrative Unit(s) to identify in the interagency agreement if the Child Find process will include post-referral screening.

2. If post-referral screening is used, the Community Centered Board shall assure the following requirements are met:

a. A parent shall receive prior written notice of, and provide written consent to, the post-referral screening, and be informed of the right to request evaluation in place of or in addition to post-referral screening; and,

b. Appropriate instruments shall be used by personnel trained to administer those instruments; and,

c. Written screening results are provided to a parent; and,

d. A parent shall receive prior written notice of the action that is being proposed or refused as a result of the post-referral screening, and the reasons for taking the action.

e. If the results of a post-referral screening reveal that the child is developing at age expected levels in the five (5) domains referenced in 7.920, I, 7, c, the parent may request and is entitled to a timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

E. Eligibility Criterion

An infant or toddler, birth through two (2) years of age, shall be eligible for early intervention services if he or she has a developmental delay or atypical development as defined in Section 7.901, an established diagnosed physical or mental condition as defined in Section 7.901, or lives with a parent who has a developmental disability as defined in Section 7.920, I.

F. Eligibility Determination for Developmental Delay and Atypical Development

1. Eligibility shall be based on a developmental delay and atypical development as defined in Section 7.901.

2. Results derived solely from a single procedure shall not be used to determine eligibility or ineligibility.

3. The following shall be documented in an Individualized Family Service Plan:

a. Name and discipline of each team member who participated in the evaluation and assessment; and,

b. Evaluation instrument(s), child assessment tool(s), and methods and procedures used to conduct the evaluation and assessment; and,

c. The measurable results of the multidisciplinary evaluation and/or assessment in each of the developmental domains; and,

d. Eligibility or ineligibility determination; and,

e. Name and signature of the Community Centered Board representative who verifies that the evaluation and assessment team gathered and provided diagnostic information to establish eligibility or ineligibility; and,

f. Signature of a parent acknowledging that he or she has been informed of his or her child's eligibility determination.

4. If a child is determined ineligible for early intervention services based on evaluation procedures identified in Section 7.920, the family shall be provided prior written notice to inform them of:

a. The right to dispute resolution procedures as defined in Section 7.990;

b. If sufficient appropriations are available, and with written parent consent, a referral to the Early Intervention early start program if the child has an identified risk factor as defined in section 7.901; and

c. Other community resources that may assist his or her child.

G. Eligibility Determination Based on an Established Condition

1. There shall be supporting documentation from a qualified health professional maintained in the child's record for a diagnosed physical or mental condition.

2. The diagnosis or condition shall be included in the Established Conditions Database.

3. There shall be documentation in the Individualized Family Service Plan regarding the name of the diagnosed condition on which eligibility is based.

4. A child with an established condition does not have to be exhibiting delays in development at the time of diagnosis to be eligible for early intervention services.

H. An infant or toddler who lives with a parent who has been determined by a Community Centered Board to have a developmental disability is eligible to receive early intervention services using any funding source other than the federal Part C funds. Such services may include, but are not limited to, developmental intervention for parent education and monitoring child development.

I. Evaluation to Determine Extent of Child's Delay

1. A Community Centered Board shall work with the Administrative Unit(s), the Local Interagency Coordinating Council, and other community members, as necessary, to develop a local child identification process to ensure that:

a. Evaluation procedures, as identified in Section 7.920, are adhered to; and,

b. For each child, where parental consent for evaluation has been given, an evaluation is conducted by a multidisciplinary evaluation team and, if the child is eligible, a child and family assessment is completed, and an initial Individualized Family Service Plan meeting is convened within forty-five (45) calendar days of the date of the referral.

2. Written notice shall be provided to the parent prior to the scheduling of an evaluation and a copy of the notice shall be maintained in the child's record.

3. Written parental consent shall be obtained prior to any evaluation being conducted and a copy of the consent shall be maintained in the child's record.

4. An evaluation shall include a multidisciplinary process by a team comprised of a minimum of two (2) appropriately licensed/qualified professionals, at least one (1) of whom is qualified in the primary area of developmental concern.

5. Child evaluation shall be conducted in the native language of the child, unless clearly not feasible to do so.

6. An evaluation shall be based on an informed opinion of delay and shall be administered so that it is not racially or culturally discriminatory.

7. Procedures for the evaluation to determine if infant or toddler has a developmental delay shall include:

a. Administering an evaluation instrument; and,

b. Documenting the child's history, including interviewing the parent; and,

c. Identifying the child's level of functioning in each of the following developmental domains:

1) Adaptive development; and,

2) Cognitive development; and,

3) Communication development; and,

4) Physical development, including vision and hearing; and,

5) Social or emotional development.

d. Gathering information from other sources such as family member, other caregivers, medical providers and other professionals working with the child and family.

J. Assessment

If a child is determined to be eligible for early intervention services because of a developmental delay, atypical development, or an established condition, a Community Centered Board shall ensure that the following occurs:

1. Prior to conducting a child assessment, written notice shall be provided to the parent and parental consent for the assessment obtained. A copy of the notice and the consent shall be maintained in the child's record. For a child determined eligible due to a developmental delay, this notice may have been provided at the time of evaluation.

2. A child assessment, conducted by qualified personnel, shall be conducted in the native language of the child, unless clearly not feasible to do so, and may include the following:

a. A review of the results of the multidisciplinary evaluation, informed opinion of delay, and medical and other records used to establish eligibility, including the results of hearing and vision screening; and,

b. Personal observations of the child; and,

c. The identification of the child's strengths and needs in each developmental area; and,

d. The identification of early intervention services that would meet the child's needs;

3. A family assessment is made available to any parent or other family member of an eligible child.

a. A family assessment is voluntary on the part of each family member participating in the assessment.

b. A family assessment shall be family-directed and designed to determine the resources, priorities and concerns of a parent or other family member related to the enhancement of his or her child's development.

c. A family assessment shall be conducted in the native language of the family member(s) participating in the family assessment, unless clearly not feasible to do so.

d. When completed, the family assessment shall be:

1) Conducted by qualified personnel trained to utilize a department-approved family assessment tool, that is available on the early intervention Colorado website at www.eicolorado.org; and,

2) Based on information provided by the parent or other family member through a personal interview and through a family assessment tool; and,

3) Inclusive of a parent or other family member's description of his or her resources, priorities and concerns related to enhancing his or her child's development; and,

4) Completed prior to the development of the initial individualized family service plan.

4. If an Individualized Family Service Plan is developed at the same meeting as the evaluation and assessment, the service coordinator shall ensure that prior written notice about the development of the Individualized Family Service Plan is provided to the parent.

5. If a second meeting is required, notification of the date, time, and location of that meeting needs to be received by the parent far enough in advance of the meeting date so that the parent will be able to attend the meeting. A copy of the notice shall be maintained in the child's record.

K. Eligibility for Early Intervention Early Start Program

1. Services under the Early Intervention early start program are only available if there are sufficient appropriations after funding early intervention services to children with a developmental delay or atypical development as defined in section 7.901.

2. When sufficient appropriations for the Early Intervention early start program exist, if a child does not meet the definition of developmental delay or atypical development and is, therefore, ineligible for early intervention services in accordance with Part C, he or she shall be evaluated for eligibility for the Early Intervention early start program.

3. To be eligible for the Early Intervention early start program, the child must meet the definition of risk factor in section 7.901.

4. If the child does not meet the definition of risk factor in section 7.901, and is, therefore, ineligible for the Early Intervention early start program, the family shall be provided written notice of:

A. The right to dispute resolution procedures as defined in section 7.990; and

B. Other community resources that may assist his or her child.

12 CCR 2509-10-7.920

38 CR 11, June 10, 2015, effective 7/1/2015

39 CR 17, September 10, 2016, effective 10/1/2016

41 CR 23, December 10, 2018, effective 1/1/2019

43 CR 19, October 10, 2020, effective 10/30/2020

45 CR 07, April 10, 2022, effective 4/30/2022