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New York Early Intervention Definitions 

Approval - The procedures used by the department to approve providers of service, which may include the requirement that approved evaluators, service coordinators, and providers of early intervention services enter into and periodically renew agreements with the department in order to conduct evaluations or render service coordination services or early intervention services in the Early Intervention Program and sets forth the terms and conditions of provider participation in the program, including establishing the obligations, expectations, and relationship between the department, municipalities within the State, and the provider.

Approved Provider - A provider of service that is approved by the department and that has entered into an agreement with the department, where the department has required such an agreement for program participation.

Assessment - Initial and ongoing procedures used to identify:

    • The child's unique needs and strengths and the services appropriate to meet those needs; and,
    • The resources, priorities and concerns of the family and the supports and services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of their infant or toddler with a disability.

Child Find System - All policies and procedures established by the state early intervention service agencies to:

    • Ensure that at-risk and eligible children are identified, located, and referred to the early intervention official or public health officer as designated by the municipality;
    • Determine the extent to which children are receiving needed services; and
    • Ensure coordination among the state agencies' major efforts to identify at-risk and eligible children.

Completed Mediation means:

    • The parties have participated in mediation and reached an agreement;
    • The parties have participated in mediation but have been unable to reach an agreement during mediation or the parent requests an impartial hearing;
    • A parent's request for mediation has not been accommodated according to the time frame set forth in section 69-4.17(g)(12); or,
    • The early intervention official declines to participate in mediation.

Days - Calendar days.

Department - The New York State Department of Health.

Designated County Official - The official designated by the municipality as responsible for receipt of referrals of children suspected of having or at-risk for developmental delays or disabilities.

Developmental Delay - That a child has not attained developmental milestones expected for the child's chronological age adjusted for prematurity in one or more of the following areas of development: cognitive, physical (including vision, hearing, oral motor feeding and swallowing disorders), communication, social/emotional, or adaptive development and meets the level of delay.

Disability - A developmental delay or a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay.

Dominant or Native Language - When used with respect to an individual who is limited English proficient, means the language or mode of communication normally used by that individual, or in the case of the child, the language normally used by the parent of an eligible or potentially eligible child, except that:

    • For evaluations and assessments conducted, dominant or native language means the language normally used by the child, if determined developmentally appropriate for the child by qualified personnel conducting the evaluation and assessment.
    • When used with respect to an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or for an individual with no written language, dominant or native language means the mode of communication that is normally used by the individual.

Early Intervention Official - An appropriate municipal official designated by the chief executive officer of a municipality and an appropriate designee of such official.

Eligible Child - Any infant or toddler from birth through age two (2) years who has a disability, except as provided below:

    • Any eligible child who has been determined to be eligible for program services under section forty-four hundred ten of the education law and who:
      • Turns three (3) years of age on or before August 31st, shall, if requested by the parent, be eligible to continue receiving early intervention services until September 1 of that calendar year; or,
      • Turns three years of age on or after September 1, shall, if requested by the parent and if already receiving early intervention services, be eligible to continue receiving early intervention services until January 2 of the next calendar year; except,
      • If the infant or toddler is receiving preschool special education services under Section 4410 of the State Education Law, he or she shall not be an eligible child.
    • Eligibility for early intervention services shall end on the day before the child's third birthday for any child who is found ineligible for services under Section 4410 of the Education Law, or for whom an eligibility determination for such services has not been made prior to the child’s third birthday.
    • The term "eligible child" shall also include any infant or toddler with a disability who is:
      • An Indian child that resides on a reservation geographically located in the State;
      • A homeless child as defined in section 725 of 42 U.S.C. 11434a, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; or,
      • Who is a ward of the State.

Evaluation - The multidisciplinary procedures used by appropriate qualified personnel to determine a child's initial and continuing eligibility for the Early Intervention Program, including identifying the level of functioning of the child in each of the following areas of development: cognitive, physical, communication, social or emotional, and adaptive development that is consistent with the level of developmental delay. An initial evaluation is the evaluation to determine a child’s initial eligibility for the program.

Evaluator - A team of two (2) or more professionals approved to conduct screenings and evaluations.

Family-Directed Assessment - A voluntary family-directed assessment conducted by qualified personnel to identify family priorities, resources and concerns, which the family decides are relevant to their ability to enhance their child's development, and the supports and services necessary to enhance the family’s capacity to meet the developmental needs of the family’s infant or toddler with a disability.

Family Concerns - Those areas that parent identifies as needs, issues, or problems which they wish to have addressed within the Individualized Family Service Plan.

Family Priorities - Those areas which the parent selects as essential targets for early intervention services to be delivered to their child and family unit.

Family Resources - The strengths, abilities, and formal and informal supports that can be mobilized to address family concerns, needs or desired outcomes.

Hearing Officer - The person duly designated for the purpose of conducting or participating in a hearing pursuant to the Public Health Law, including an administrative officer or an administrative law judge assigned by the Department to the hearing.

Hearing Record means:

    • All notices, pleadings, and motions;
    • Evidence presented during the hearing;
    • Questions and offers of proof, objections thereto, and rulings thereon;
    • Any statements of matters officially noticed by the hearing officer; and
    • Any findings of fact, conclusions of law, decision, determination, opinion, order or report made by the impartial hearing officer.

Include - That the items named are not all of the possible items that are covered whether like or unlike the ones named.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) - A written plan for providing early intervention services to a child eligible for the Early Intervention Program and the child's family. The plan must:

    • Be developed jointly by the family, appropriate qualified personnel involved in the provision of early intervention services, and the early intervention official;
    • Be based on the evaluation and assessment described in section 69-4.8 of this subpart;
    • Include matters as specified in section 69-4.11 of this subpart; and
    • Be implemented as soon as possible once written parental consent for the early intervention services in the IFSP is obtained.

Informed Clinical Opinion - The best use of quantitative and qualitative information by qualified personnel regarding a child, and family if applicable. Such information includes, if applicable, the child's functional status, rate of change in development, and prognosis.

Informed Consent:

    • The parent has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in the parent's dominant language or other mode of communication;
    • The parent understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records if any that will be released and to whom; and,
    • The parent understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at any time.

Initial Service Coordinator - The service coordinator designated by the early intervention official upon receipt of a referral of a child thought to be eligible for early intervention services, who functions as the service coordinator who participates in the formulation of the Individualized Family Service Plan.

Interim Individualized Family Service Plan - A temporary plan developed with parental consent for a child with a known developmental delay or disability who has apparent immediate needs to enable early intervention service delivery between initial identification of the child's needs and the completion of the multidisciplinary evaluation.

Mediation - A voluntary, non-adversarial process by which the parent of a child and the early intervention official or designee are assisted in the resolution of a dispute.

Medical/Biological Risk - Early developmental and health events suggestive of medical needs or biological insults to the developing central nervous system which, either singly or collectively, increase the probability of later disability.

Multidisciplinary - The involvement of two or more professionals from different disciplines or professions.

Municipality - A county outside of the City of New York, or the City of New York in the case of a county contained within the city of New York.

Natural Environment - Settings that are natural or normal for the child's age peers who have no disability, including the home, a relative's home when the child is cared for by the relative, child care setting, or other community setting in which children without disabilities participate.

Ongoing Service Coordinator - The service coordinator designated in the Individualized Family Service Plan.

Parent - A parent by birth or adoption, or person in parental relation to the child. With respect to a child who is a ward of the State, or a child who is not a ward of the state but whose parents by birth or adoption are unknown or unavailable and the child has no person in parental relation, the term "parent" means a person who has been appointed as a surrogate parent for the child. This term does not include the State if the child is a ward of the State.

Person In Parental Relation means:

    • The child's legal guardian;
    • The child's standby guardian after their authority becomes effective pursuant to section 1726 of the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act;
    • The child's custodian; a person shall be regarded as the custodian of a child if he or she has assumed the charge and care of the child because the parents or legally appointed guardian of the minor have died, are imprisoned, are mentally ill, or have been committed to an institution, or because they have abandoned or deserted such child or are living outside the state or their whereabouts are unknown; or,
    • Persons acting in the place of a parent, such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, as well as persons who are legally responsible for the child's welfare,
    • Except, this term does not apply to a child who is a ward of the State, and does not include a foster parent.

Provider - An agency or individual approved in accordance with section 69-4.5 of this subpart to deliver service coordination, evaluations, and/or early intervention services.

    • "Agency" means an entity which employs qualified personnel, and may contract with individual providers or other agencies which are approved by the Department, for the provision of early intervention program evaluations, service coordination, and/or early intervention services,
    • "Individual provider" shall mean a person who holds a state-approved or recognized certificate, license, and/or registration, as applicable, in one of the disciplines and is approved by the department as an individual provider.  An individual may contract with one or more approved agency providers.
    • “Payee provider” shall mean an approved provider that shall directly bill third party and governmental payers for early intervention services in the first instance through the department’s fiscal agent.

Qualified Personnel - are those individuals who are approved as required by section 69-4.5 of this Subpart and under contract with or employed by approved agency providers who deliver services to the extent authorized by their licensure, certification or registration to eligible children and have appropriate licensure, certification, and/or registration, as applicable, in the area in which they are providing services, including:

    • Audiologists;
    • Occupational therapy assistants;
    • Licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners;
    • Licensed behavior analysts;
    • Certified behavior analyst assistants;
    • Low vision specialists;
    • Orientation and mobility specialists;
    • Vision rehabilitation therapists;
    • Occupational therapists;
    • Optometrists;
    • Physical therapists;
    • Physical therapy assistants;
    • Pediatricians and other physicians;
    • Physician assistants;
    • Psychologists;
    • School psychologists, only through June 30, 2024
    • Clinical and master social workers;
    • Licensed mental health counselors;
    • Licensed marriage and family therapists;
    • Licensed psychoanalysts;
    • Licensed creative arts therapists;
    • Registered dietitians and certified dietitians/nutritionists;
    • Special education teachers and teachers of students with disabilities, birth to grade two;
    • Speech and language pathologists;
    • Teachers of the blind and partially sighted, teachers of the blind and visually handicapped, and teachers of the blind and visually impaired;
    • Teachers of the deaf and hearing impaired and teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing;
    • Teachers of the speech and hearing handicapped and teachers of speech and language disabilities; and,
    • Other categories of personnel as designated by the Commissioner.

Record - Any information recorded in anyway, maintained by an early intervention official, designee, or approved evaluator, service provider or service coordinator. A record shall include any file, evaluation, report, study, letter, telegram, minutes of meetings, memorandum, summary, interoffice or intraoffice communication, memorandum reflecting an oral conversation, a handwritten or other note, chart, graph, data sheet, film, videotape, slide, sound recording, disc, tape and information stored in microfilm or microfiche or in computer readable form.

Screening - A process involving those instruments, procedures, family information and observations, and clinical observations used by an approved evaluator to assess a child's developmental status to indicate what type of evaluation, if any, is warranted.

Ward Of The State - A child whose custody and guardianship have been transferred to the local social services official pursuant to a voluntary surrender by the child's parent or by a family court or surrogate's court in conjunction with the termination of the parental rights of the child's parent.

Personally Identifiable Information - The same as “personally identifiable information” as defined in 34 CFR 99.3 of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), except that the term “student” and “school” as used in FERPA shall mean “child” and “early intervention service provider,” respectively, as used in this Subpart, and includes:

    • The name of the child, the parent or other family member;
    • The address of the child, the parent or other family member;
    • A personal identifier, such as the social security number of the child, parent or other family member;
    • A list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child, the parent or other family member with reasonable certainty.

Reference

10 CRR-NY Va-1 69-4.1

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