12 Colo. Code Regs. § 2509-10-7.980

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

Section 12 CCR 2509-10-7.980 - PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS [Rev. eff. 7/1/14]

A. A Community Centered Board shall have policies and procedures that are consistent with 34 C.F.R. Sections 303.400, 303.401 - 303.417, 303.420 - 303.42, and 303.430 - 303.438 which are incorporated by reference as defined in Section 7.900, A, 5.

B. A parent shall be given written information and a verbal explanation of the procedural safeguards from the date of the referral through the determination of eligibility or ineligibility, delivery of early intervention services, and exit from early intervention services at or before his or her child's third (3rd) birthday.

C. A Community Centered Board shall ensure that all service coordinators demonstrate competence in the following:

1. Procedural safeguards; and,

2. How and when those procedural safeguards are to be explained and provided to a parent; and,

3. What documentation shall be maintained to demonstrate this information has been appropriately provided to each parent.

D. Parental rights include:

1. Confidentiality

a. Personally identifiable data, information, or records pertaining to a referred child shall not be disclosed by a Community Centered Board, any early intervention service provider, or any personnel involved in dispute resolution to any person other than his or her parent, except as provided in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, 42 U.S.C. Section 1320, as amended, and the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, as amended, which is incorporated by reference as defined in Section 7.900, A, 4.

b. A parent may voluntarily give written parental consent for the exchange of confidential information to other parties.

c. A Community Centered Board shall ensure that all persons collecting, maintaining, and using personally identifiable information receive training to comply with state and federal confidentiality policies and procedures.

2. Regarding access to records, a Community Centered Board shall:

a. Provide a parent, at no cost, a copy of each evaluation, assessment of the child, family assessment and Individualized Family Service Plan. Copies must be provided to a parent without unnecessary delay after each Individualized Family Service Plan meeting, and in no case more than ten (10) days after parental request; and,

b. Allow parents to inspect and review any early intervention records related to the child that are collected, maintained, or used by the agency for the purposes of providing early intervention services; and,

c. Comply with the request from a parent for access to records without unnecessary delay, and in no case more than ten (10) days after the parent makes the request to inspect and review records; and,

d. Make available to a parent an initial copy of the child's early intervention record, at no cost to the parent without unnecessary delay and in no case more than ten (10) days after the parent makes the request for a copy; and,

e. If any record includes information on more than one child, provide to the parent the opportunity to inspect and review only the information relating to his or her child; and,

f. Be allowed to charge a reasonable fee for providing additional copies of records, provided the fee does not prevent a parent from exercising his or her right to inspect and review the child's early intervention record; however the Community Centered Board shall not charge a fee to search for or to retrieve information for the parent; and,

g. Upon a parent's request, provide a response to the parent for explanations and interpretations of his or her child's records without unnecessary delay, and in no case more than ten (10) days after the request has been made; and,

h. Provide a parent the right to have a representative, with written consent by the parent, to inspect and review the records; and,

i. Maintain a log of anyone obtaining access to records, including the name of the individual, the date access was given, and the purpose for the access.

3. Prior Written Notice

a. Using the state form, prior written notice shall be provided to a parent within a reasonable time before proposing or refusing to initiate or change the identification, eligibility, evaluation, early intervention service setting, the provision of appropriate early intervention services to his or her child and family, or the sharing of personally identifiable information.

b. The prior written notice form shall contain sufficient detail to inform a parent about:

1) The action that is being proposed or denied; and,

2) The reasons for taking such action; and,

3) All procedural safeguards available; and,

4) State complaint procedures including a description of how to file a due process complaint and the timelines for those procedures.

c. Prior written notice, in accordance with 34 C.F.R. Section 303.421, which is incorporated by reference as defined in Section 7.900, A, 5, shall be documented using the state form; and:

1) Written in language understandable to the general public; and,

2) Provided in the native language of the parent; and,

3) If the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; and, is not a written language, a Community Centered Board shall take steps to ensure that:

a) The prior written notice is translated orally by an interpreter or by other means to the parent in the parent's native language or other mode of communication; and,

b) A parent understands the written prior notice; and,

c) There is prior written evidence that the requirements for written prior notice are met; and,

d) Information shall be provided in the mode of communication used by a parent, such as sign language, Braille, or oral communication.

d. A copy of the written prior notice shall be maintained in the child's record.

4. Written Parental Consent shall be obtained before:

a. Initiating a referral that contains more than the basic information of a child's name, date of birth, gender, parent contact information and the name of the assigned service coordinator; and,

b. Conducting an initial evaluation and assessment of a child; and,

c. Providing any early intervention services; and,

d. Changing early intervention services or eligibility; and,

e. Billing of Medicaid or a private health insurance plan, if consent is required under state coordinated system of payment procedures; and,

f. Sharing any personally identifiable information about a child or parent with another agency or program, other than authorized representatives, officials, or employees of participating agencies, as defined in Section 7.901, or the required transition information given to the Administrative Unit and the State Education Agency.

5. If written parental consent is not provided, the Community Centered Board shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that a parent:

a. Is fully aware of the evaluation, and assessment or early intervention services that would be available; and,

b. Understands that his or her child will not be able to receive the evaluation, assessment or early intervention services unless consent is given.

6. The right to decline an early intervention service without jeopardizing the provision of other early intervention services shall be provided to a parent.

7. A surrogate parent, who meets state required procedures and requirements and who has been appointed in accordance with 34 C.F.R. Section 303.422, which is incorporated by reference in Section 7.900, A, 5, shall be designated to ensure that the rights of a child are protected, if:

a. No parent, as defined 34 C.F.R. Section 303.27, which is incorporated by reference as defined in Section 7.900, A, 5, and in Section 7.901, can be identified; or,

b. A Community Centered Board, in partnership with other involved public agencies, after reasonable efforts cannot locate a parent; or,

c. A child is placed in the legal custody of the county department of human/social services.

12 CCR 2509-10-7.980

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