Parental Rights

Dear Parent/Family Member:

The following is a summary of your rights as defined in the early intervention section, Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Your rights listed below meet the requirements of the law effective July 1, 1998. Please speak with your Family Resources Coordinator (FRC) if you have any questions regarding your rights under this law or wish the entire description as stated in the law.

The time between birth and three years of age is one of very rapid growth and change. Every child is unique. Every family is unique. Services are designed to respect your family’s concerns, interests, and values. If you have concerns about your child’s development, you have a right to the following:

FAMILY RESOURCES COORDINATION:
A Family Resources Coordinator (FRC) is available to help your family identify concerns, priorities, and resources related to your infant or toddler’s developmental needs. The FRC will assist you in getting early identification screening and evaluation to determine if your child is eligible for early intervention services.

EARLY IDENTIFICATION SCREENING:
This is a screening done by people trained to determine if your child is developing like other children. If there is a concern, further testing will be done.

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT:
An evaluation finds out how a child is developing. An assessment tells what kind of help the child needs. The evaluation and assessment can determine if your child is eligible and may need services in Washington.

ELIGIBILITY:
Any child birth to three with a 25% or 1.5 standard deviation in one or more of five areas or who has a condition, which may result in a developmental delay, may be eligible. The five are cognitive development, physical development including fine motor, gross motor, vision and hearing, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development.

INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN (IFSP)
If your child is eligible, you may choose to have an Individualized Family Service Plan. This plan is developed with you and the professional you choose. It should identify your child and family’s priorities, concerns, and resources; a Family Resources Coordinator (FRC), and the needed early intervention services that are provided to the extent appropriate, in natural environments. A justification must be part of the IFSP for early intervention services, which are not provided, in natural environments.

ADDITONAL EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES:
A child who is eligible may receive one or more of the following services to meet the developmental needs of the child based on their IFSP: assistive technology devices and assistive technology services (an item to assist child’s functional needs), audiology (hearing), family training, counseling, and home visits, health services necessary to enable the infant or toddler to benefit from the other early intervention services, medical services only for diagnostic or evaluation purposes, nursing services, nutrition services, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological services, social work services, special instruction, speech-language therapy, transportation and related costs necessary to enable a child and family to receive early intervention services, and vision services.

PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS:
You have the right to:

• An evaluation and assessment for your child
• Agree to or refuse evaluations, assessments, and services
• Confidentiality of personal and identifiable information
• Review and correct records
• An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) based on your family’s concerns, interests, and values
• Be invited and participate in meetings concerning your child’s placement in early intervention services and assessments or changes in those services

MEDIATION:
You may choose to use mediation in any matter relating to the identification, evaluation or placement of your child or the provision or early intervention services to your child and family. Medication will be provided at no cost to you. The mediation process is voluntary and does not deny you the right to a due process hearing or any other procedural safeguard under Part C of IDEA.

DUE PROCESS:

• Due process is right of each citizen to be treated fairly, to receive the benefits the law provides.
• If you feel your or your child have not received the services in this letter, you may ask for a hearing. This is called the right to due process.

CITIZEN’S COMPLAINT PROCESS:
Any personal or organization may file a citizen’s complaint if they feel the agency or early intervention service provider is violating a requirement of the law. The complaint must be written, signed and include the facts regarding the complaint. Send the complaint to the Department of Social and Health Services, Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program at P.O. Box 45201, Olympia, WA 98504-5201. The program shall review, write a response, and take appropriate action within 60 days after the complaint is received. The phone number is (360) 902-7864.

Progress Center Attendance Policy

The Progress Center encourages good attendance for it’s Early Intervention services. When you miss an appointment, not only does your child miss the service he/she needs, it costs the Progress Center money. Your service providers are waiting for you during your appointment time. At each Individual Family Service Plan meeting, staff will remind families of our attendance policy and procedure.

Ongoing monitoring of attendance will include the following:

1. Direct service staff will keep an attendance log for therapy and educational services monthly.
2. Progress Center staff will call the day prior to your appointment to assist with attendance to the appointment. Please call the center if you have any questions regarding the appointment time at (360) 425-9810.

NO SHOW/NO CALL is defined as a not calling at least 4 hours prior to a scheduled appointment or failing to show completely and becomes a concern when there are 2 or more episodes in a 4-week period of time. Our answering machine is on after hours; please leave a message if you are unable to attend.

CANCELLATON is defined as a call more than 4 hours prior to a scheduled appointment, and becomes a concern when there are 2 or more cancellations in a 4-week period of time due to illnesses or schedule conflicts.

To Parents,
If 2 or more NO SHOW/Cancellations occur within a 4-week block of time the following action(s) will be implemented:

1. Attendance Letter- Family will receive an attendance letter that will include the dates of the missed appointments from the Family Resource Coordinator. The letter will ask the family to contact the Family Resource Coordinator within 7 business days regarding the attendance concern in order to avoid their child being removed from the therapy schedule.
2. Therapy Discontinuance Letter- If a family fails to respond to the Attendance Letter within 7 days, the child will be removed from the therapy schedule and the family will receive a Notice of Termination/Inactive Status Letter regarding the possibility of the child being played on inactive status and terminated from Progress Center services. The letter will be sent asking the family to contact their Family Resource Coordinator within 7 business days in order to continue active status in Early Intervention services.
3. Notice of Termination/Inactive Status Letter- If the family does not respond to the Termination/Inactive Status Letter a notice of termination will be sent to the family indicating that your child has been removed from all Early Intervention services and will be placed on inactive status.

? By signing below, I indicate that I understand and agree with Progress Center’s attendance procedure and policy.

Date:__________________________

Parent Signature:_____________________________________________

Family Resource Coordinator:___________________________________________________

Family Resource Coordinator

Lori Carpenter
Mint Valley School
575-7585

What is the Family Resource Coordinator?
The Family Resource Coordinator’s role is to build a partnership between families and the many service providers by introducing them to existing services and assisting families in understanding and accessing the service delivery system. Care will be taken to offer coordination and assistance, but not to intrude upon a system which is working well.

Who does the Family Resource Coordinator serve?
Families with children who experience, or are at risk for, a developmental delay between the ages of birth to 36 months old. Service providers serving young children with disabilities, including but not limited to: school districts, therapy centers, physicians, DD case managers. Families and service providers in the Cowlitz/Wahkiakum county areas.

What is the role of the Family Resource Coordinator?

Service Providers

Establish and maintain a working relationship with primary service providers. Receive and coordinate referrals from child find efforts.

Offer coordination with families and agencies, schedule the IFSP and invite participants, identify responsible agencies and individuals, develop time lines.

In coordination with families and agencies, schedule the IFSP and invite participants, identify responsible agencies and individuals, develop time lines.

Meet with providers and agencies to identify resources, information and referral systems, and collaborate with providers on how to access resources

Families

Assist families in understanding their options for evaluation and assessment, development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), transition to case management, and procedural safeguards.

To assist families in identifying and accessing formal and informal community and fiscal resources to meet individual child and family needs.

Assist families in developing the family statement for the IFSP.

Maintain contact with families as necessary to assure a continuum of need services. Establish a tracking system of families to establish transition points.

If you would like more information, or if the Family Resource Coordinator may be of assistance to you, contact Lori Carpenter at the above address and phone.



POLICY MANUAL

Family Financial Participation Policy

Progress Center is required to access a parent’s private insurance for all therapy services. This funding source assists us greatly in providing quality services to your child and family. This is a requirement for Washington State’s approved grant to the Federal Government for Early Intervention Services and the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) Part C. To implement local procedures, Progress Center will follow this policy:

1. Upon intake, Progress Center will inform the parent(s) in writing, of our requirements to access private insurance for services provided for your child. This form will be signed and kept on file at Progress Center with a copy of the policy and signature page to the parent.
2. Progress Center will accept co-pay, co-insurance, or payment as required by the parent’s private insurance contact for the service, at the time of service delivery or Progress Center will bill parent monthly.
3. If paying the insurance co-pay or co-insurance constitutes a financial hardship for you, please discuss this with our Executive Director, Administrative Assistant, or Medical Coordinator. In these situations, Progress Center will need the parent’s assistance to document evidence of financial hardship (inability to pay co-pay or co-insurance). We are eager to work with you in this endeavor. Your child will not be denied any services based on parents inability to provide any insurance co-pays or co-insurance.

MEDICAID (MEDICAL COUPONS)

The Center is able to access Medicaid funds for therapy (often referred as Title XIX because of its authorizing legislation). More information on this source is available from the medical coordinator at Progress Center. Progress Center will accept Medicaid as payment in full and no other fees will be collected.