Transition: Early Intervention into Early Childhood Special Education

(These guidelines were created and approved in 2006)

The following is intended as a guideline for the implementation of special education requirements and for implementing the transition agreements now established in each of the Early Intervention (EI) regions, and Child Family Connections (CFC) offices within the boundaries of Tri-County Special Education Association. With so many offices and with so many personnel, it can be confusing to navigate the process. These guidelines arise from discussions with EI/CFC providers and Tri-County administrators. They are intended to clarify, not replace, existing agreements.

At the beginning of every school year, Tri-County’s Executive Director will:

• Contact CFC/EI personnel with the names of Tri-County psychologists, social workers, supervisors, and contact people for each county. Provide information to reach Tri-County personnel at work. Provide maps or directions to schools.
• Identify personnel to serve on the EI Local Interagency Council (LIC).
• Work through EI/LIC representatives to communicate the need to share screening dates and cooperate with EI providers in screening or child find efforts.

At 30 months (2 1/2 yrs.)

• EI service providers will contact Tri-County (currently, Donna Morris if Logan County, Ginger Payne if McLean County, and applicable team if DeWitt County). This contact will likely be by letter (faxed or mailed). This is the “referral” when using the language of the CFC personnel. It may contain just initials or it may contain parent consent to release information and reports about the child. In DeWitt County, referral letters will be mailed to the Clinton team if they are unsure about the child’s resident district or team. If parent consent to release information has not been obtained, then the CFC provider will continue to seek this permission so the next step can be fully implemented.
• The Tri-County contact person for each county will immediately determine district of residence and contact the appropriate people: building principal (and building staff at his or her direction), TC psychologist/social worker team, special education supervisor, parent, other staff as needed, and the service provider from CFC who sent the letter. The contact person may allow or ask someone else to make the contacts and follow through on this step, as long as s/he monitors it to see that it happens. The purpose of these contacts is to alert everyone to the upcoming evaluation, to organize and set a date for the evaluation planning/transition meeting, and to begin introducing the parent to the school environment, procedures, and/or personnel.

Between 2 yrs. 3 mos. and 2 yrs. 9 mos. EI Service Coordinator, District Representative and parent will convene a transition meeting:
    

• Meet the parent to begin building a relationship.
• Listen to parent tell about the child.
• Explain key terms and main ideas about school-based services, including evaluation and eligibility.
• Describe school-based programs and services, including evaluation and eligibility.

At 33 months (2 yrs. 9 mos.) School and Tri-County personnel will convene evaluation (domain) planning meeting:

• Listen to and discuss current information about the child’s needs/performance, consider and discuss existing evaluation reports, identify concerns.
• Plan an evaluation that has the components and personnel necessary to (a) answer referral questions written and (b) supplement or confirm previous evaluations results as appropriate. Consider all possible school-related needs when determining evaluation components and personnel. In other words, is there a need for specialized evaluations in order to access related services.
• Set dates for the evaluation components and for the IEP meeting.
• Review evaluation plans (timelines, steps, personnel, and other information) so that the parent feels comfortable/informed. Complete referral paperwork, or if applicable, notice not to conduct and associated paperwork. Seek/obtain parental consent for the evaluation.
• Identify who oversees or facilitates the entire evaluation. Who will be the contact person responsible for seeing that paperwork gets to where it needs to go, that all necessary communication takes place, and that the evaluation proceeds smoothly and according to timelines?

By 36 months, (3 years). Convene IEP meeting to determine eligibility and service needs of student and begin services if eligible.

• Review results of evaluation at properly scheduled IEP meeting. Invite the EI or CFC service provider to the IEP meeting unless the parent requests otherwise.
• Write IEP as appropriate to individual needs of students with disability.
• Identify other options for students who do not meet eligibility for special education services.
• Complete EI to ECSE tracking form and return to Department of Human Services.