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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEI-112 Childfind1 FRANKLIN/FULTON COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH/INTELLECTUAL & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES/EARLY INTERVENTION 425 Franklin Farm Lane Chambersburg, PA 17202 (717) 264-5387 MH/IDD/EI PROCEDURE STATEMENT PROCEDURE SUBJECT: Childfind PROCEDURE TOPICS: Activities Targeted To Locate/Identify Eligible Children Homelessness Residential Facility Placement Wards of the State At-Risk Tracking Referral Timelines PROCEDURE NUMBER: EI-112 Effective Date: November 21, 2014 Date Revised: October 26, 2022 References: - IDEA 34 CFR §303.302-303 - Title 55 PA Code §4226.24 - Medical Assistance 837 Handbook - Announcement: EI-09 #13 Childfind System Including Children who are Wards of the State, Children Living in Residential Facilities, Children who were Abused and Children who are Homeless - Announcement: EI-10 #04 Operational Guidance for Infant/Toddler Programs Regarding Children Living in Residential Facilities - Announcement: EI-12 #02 Updates for Early Intervention Policy Based on Requirements in IDEA Part C Regulations - Announcement: EI-13 #01 Transition of Toddlers to Preschool or Other Community Services - Announcement: EI-14 #01 At-Risk Tracking for Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Homelessness - Announcement: EI-22 #01 Lead Exposure in Infants/Toddlers and Preschoolers - Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) Bulletin 3490-08-01: Developmental Evaluation and Early Intervention Referral Policy - McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized by Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act 2 Referral Timelines: The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention program has ensured that a Service Coordinator is required to contact a family within five (5) working days or sooner if possible, 100% of the time. Data is collected monthly to ensure strict adherence to this policy. This includes referrals from child welfare agencies, including child protective service and foster care, homeless family shelters, domestic violence shelters, schools, child care and early learning programs, other public health or social agencies, clinics and health care providers. The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program has a Childfind system in place to identify children eligible for Early Intervention. Childfind activities will ensure that potentially eligible children are evaluated and receive needed Early Intervention services in a timely manner and that families receive the procedural protections available through the Early Intervention system. The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program uses Childfind materials developed by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports (BEISFS) as well as the CONNECT Helpline (800-692-7288). These materials can be downloaded from the PaTTAN website or the EITA Portal. Homelessness Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program follows the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act definition of a child who is experiencing homelessness. According to the act, children experiencing the following conditions are considered to be homeless:  Sharing housing with other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason.  Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or campgrounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations.  Living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals or are awaiting foster care placement.  Who are awaiting foster care placement in shelters, emergency foster care, transitional foster care, or respite care.  Children who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.  Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.  “Migratory children” and children who qualify as homeless under federal law because the children are living in circumstances described above; Definition of a child experiencing homelessness according to the McKinney-Vento Act, reauthorized in 2002. Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program will maintain a connection with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Homeless Liaison to help families referred to the Early Intervention Program who are experiencing homelessness connect to additional resources. Other resources from DHS regarding families experiencing homelessness are also available and the Service 3 Coordination staff will utilize these resources when appropriate. Children and families experiencing homelessness have the same rights to screening, evaluation, and Early Intervention services as other children living in Franklin and Fulton Counties. Families experiencing homelessness during any time they are participating in Early Intervention service will receive the services outlined in other procedures related to Screening, Tracking, Evaluation for Eligibility, and Development of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The Service Coordinator will meet with the family at the family’s location if the family is experiencing homelessness. The SC will continue to offer community resources to the family and connect the family with assistance with the family’s permission. When the Homeless Liaisons or others become aware of children who are homeless and have needs that can potentially be addressed by Early Intervention services, both Franklin and Fulton County Homeless Liaisons notify Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program through CONNECT at 1-800-692-7288 or by directly contacting Service Access & Management, Inc. at 717-709-4321. Residential Facilities/“Ward of the State” Children living in residential facilities are described as those children who are in a 24-hour living setting in which care is provided for one (1) or more children. The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program will ensure that the child’s service needs are met in collaboration with the residential facility and will make every effort to coordinate their evaluation, planning, and service delivery activities so that the child has one evaluation and a service plan that meets the requirements of the Individual Disability Education Act (IDEA) and the facility’s responsibilities. These services to families help enhance the development of their child/children and the residential facility will provide the services specified in the IFSP as part of the comprehensive service plan that the facility is obligated to provide. The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program will ensure that the services in the IFSP, with the exception of service coordination, special instruction and, transition, are provided by the residential facility. In the event that a child in the Early Intervention Program transfers to or from a residential facility, the Early Intervention program will facilitate a smooth transition to or from the residential facility. If the child is discharged to a setting in a different county, Franklin/Fulton will facilitate the transfer to the new Early Intervention program in that county. If a referral is made for an infant/toddler (“child”) who is currently in a residential facility, a Service Coordinator would be assigned to the child as soon as possible. With family consent, the Service Coordinator would visit the child and review assessment(s) conducted and the current treatment plan, to confirm that the assessments are complete and appropriate and that the treatment plan adequately addresses the child’s needs, and confirms that the services are being delivered. If the Service Coordinator cannot locate a parent or other person with the legal authority to grant consent, then the Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program will take steps to appoint a surrogate parent to consent and make other decisions regarding the child’s Early Intervention program. If the assessment(s), treatment plan, and services being delivered address the child’s needs, then the Service Coordinator “adopts” the plan as the IFSP. The Service Coordinator determines from 4 the facility when the next quarterly treatment team meeting is and plans to attend and participate in that meeting, which will also serve as the IFSP meeting to which the local Early Intervention program will invite the family. This Treatment Plan/IFSP meeting must be conducted in accordance with the same rules as apply to all children who are eligible for the Infant/Toddler Early Intervention Program. As stated in Announcement EI-09 #13, the Department expects that the facility and the local Early Intervention program will coordinate review of the Treatment Plan/IFSP, so that the child will have only one (1) plan, which will serve as both the treatment plan for the facility and the IFSP for the Early Intervention program. If the assessment(s) or treatment plan is inadequate, the services are not being delivered, or the facility does not cooperate or is not willing to coordinate then Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program will contact the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (“OCDEL”) within two (2) days of the on-site visit. If the Service Coordinator determines at the on-site review that the assessments are not complete and appropriate for a child, the Service Coordinator informs the facility and notifies OCDEL of what is insufficient. It is expected that the facility will correct the deficiency. In the unlikely event that the facility does not meet its responsibility to provide appropriate assessment(s), the local Early Intervention Program will assure that the child receives all appropriate assessment(s). If the facility does not provide services within 14 days of when the Service Coordinator conducts its on-site review (since the treatment plan is considered the IFSP), then the local Early Intervention program will provide the services until the facility provides the services. The expectation is that this will not happen, since the facilities understand their responsibilities, but the local Early Intervention program will provide services in the short term until the facility meets its responsibilities. If the current treatment plan is inadequate to address the child’s needs, the Service Coordinator requests the facility to schedule a Treatment Plan/IFSP meeting, and ensures that one (1) takes place, no later than 45 days after the local Early Intervention program received the referral, rather than waiting for the quarterly treatment plan review. The IDEA term “ward of the state” means a child in the custody of a County Children and Youth agency who does not have a foster parent, for example, a child in substitute care who lives in a setting other than a foster home, such as a group home or residential facility. The Interagency Agreement between Franklin County Children and Youth Services and Fulton County Center for Families should include for direct referrals of children who are “wards of the state” to the Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program. Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention program adheres to the Pennsylvania law that defines child abuse as any of the following when committed upon a child under 18 years of age by a perpetrator: 1. Any recent act or failure to act which causes non-accidental serious physical injury. 2. An act or failure to act which causes non-accidental serious mental injury or sexual abuse or exploitation. 3. A recent act, failure to act or series of such acts or failures to act which creates an imminent risk of serious physical injury or sexual abuse or exploitation, which follows 5 the provisions in IDEA 2004 and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). 4. Early Intervention programs should continue their collaborative efforts with local County Children and Youth Agencies including the establishment of interagency agreements with their County Children and Youth Agencies regarding the identification and referral process for these children. 5. Serious physical neglect which endangers a child’s life or development or impairs a child’s functioning. All children in Franklin and Fulton County will be referred to their respective County Children and Youth Agencies who are under the age of three (3) (also recommended for children over age three (3) and are involved in substantiated case of child abuse or neglect, will receive a developmental screening (The Ages and Stages Questionnaire). If following the screening process, it is determined that the child is exhibiting developmental concerns, the County Children and Youth Agency will refer the child and family to The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program. If it is determined that the child is not exhibiting any developmental concerns the family will be informed that a referral can made for at risk tracking services. At risk services include the following indicators:  Birth weight under 1,500 grams  Cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit  Born to chemically dependent mothers and referred by a physician, health care provider or parent  Abused or neglected, as substantiated and referred by the county Children and Youth Agency under Child Protective Services Law  Confirmed dangerous levels of lead poisoning as set by the Department of Health  Experiencing homelessness If the family is interested in the tracking program, the County Children and Youth Agency will assist the family in directly contacting the Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program. Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program and all affiliated providers are identified by law as mandated reporters, which require them to report all alleged child abuse to the authorities. Reports will be made regardless of the relationship between the alleged perpetrator and the child. Pennsylvania law defines child abuse as any of the following when committed upon a child less than 18 years of age by a perpetrator: 1. Any recent act or failure to act which causes non-accidental serious physical injury. 2. An act or failure to act which causes non-accidental serious mental injury or sexual abuse or exploitation. 3. A recent act, failure to act, or series of such acts or failures to act which creates an imminent risk of serious physical injury or sexual abuse or exploitation. 4. Serious physical neglect which endangers a child’s life or development or impairs a child’s functioning. 5. An act meeting the above-criteria which has been committed in the preceding two (2) years. 6 Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program has an agreement with Children and Youth that they will be available to administer a developmental screening using The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) or Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social Emotional (ASQ:SE). In almost all referrals from Children and Youth Services for families, these screenings have already been given and are part of the referral packet for all children, including those involved in substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect. Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program through the Interagency Agreement has a CAPTA referral form for further evaluation if screening determines that the child is exhibiting developmental concerns. Other Referral Sources The Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program does outreach and collaborates with all the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) in the surrounding Counties. This includes, but is not limited to, Hershey, York, Chambersburg and the Harrisburg NICU’s. The Early Intervention Program, along with the NICU, understand that new parents eagerly look forward to bringing their baby home, so it can be frightening when they are told their newborn needs to be admitted to the NICU. It may seem like a foreign place, but understanding the NICU and what goes on there, can help ease fears. Only very young babies, or babies with a condition linked to premature birth, are treated in the NICU; typically infants who have not yet been released from the hospital since birth. The length of stay for such infants in the NICU depends on the severity of their condition. Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program reaches out to these facilities to encourage that Early Intervention be a part of the child’s discharge plan. The Early Intervention Program works closely with the PathStone Migrant Program. The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) program serves as an advocate and a voice for migrant and seasonal farmworker families. PathStone provides holistic services to migrant families as they arrive in Adams, Berks, Chester, and Franklin Counties in Pennsylvania. The key objective is to prepare young children for success in Kindergarten by meeting their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs in a safe and healthy environment. Staff new to the Franklin/Fulton Early Intervention Program will receive training about Childfind as part of their orientation to the Early Intervention System. All policy and procedure statements will be reviewed annually or sooner when changes or updates are released. Trainings will occur for all staff including administrative, service coordination and fiscal staff as needed. Any change or update to any policy or procedure statement will be sent immediately upon receipt to the provider agencies and all changes are reviewed at the next scheduled Early Intervention provider meetings for further review and discussion.