Section 500.20  Definitions

 

"Act" means the Early Intervention Services System Act [325 ILCS 20].

 

"Child find" means an activity that identifies potentially eligible infants and toddlers.

 

"Council" or "IICEI" means the Illinois Interagency Council on Early Intervention established under Section 4 of the Early Intervention Services System Act.

 

"Credential" means an official documentation from the Department's credentialing office that an individual has met pertinent licensing, degree, and certification requirements as set forth in Appendix C, as well as the applicable education, experience, continuing professional education, and ongoing professional development requirements as set forth in Section 500.60.

 

"Day", for purposes of this Part, means calendar day.

 

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Human Services.

 

"Early intervention services" or "EI services" means services that:

 

are designed to meet the developmental needs of each child eligible under the Act and the needs of his or her family;

 

are related to enhancing the child's development;

 

are selected in collaboration with the child's family;

 

are provided under public supervision;

 

are provided at no cost except where a schedule of sliding scale fees or other system of payments by families has been adopted in accordance with State and federal law;

 

are designed to meet an infant's or toddler's developmental needs in any of the following areas:

 

cognitive development;

 

physical development, including vision and hearing;

 

language, speech and communication development;

 

social-emotional development; or

 

adaptive self-help skills development;

 

meet the standards of this Part, including the requirements of the Act;

 

include one or more of the services set forth in Section 500.55;

 

are provided by qualified personnel, as set forth in Section 500.60;

 

are provided in conformity with an Individualized Family Service Plan;

 

are provided throughout the year; and

 

are provided to the maximum extent appropriate in natural environments, including the home and community settings that are natural or normal for the child's age peers who have no disability.

 

"Early Intervention Services System" or "System" means the system of service delivery described in this Part that implements Part C of IDEA in Illinois and the Illinois Early Intervention Services System Act.

 

"Eligible children" or "eligible child" means infants and toddlers under 36 months of age with any of the following conditions:

 

Developmental delay;

 

A physical or mental condition that typically results in developmental delay; or

 

At risk of having substantial developmental delays, according to informed clinical judgment.

 

"Developmental delay" means a Department determined eligible level of delay (30% and above) in one or more of the following areas of childhood development:  cognitive; physical, including vision and hearing; language, speech and communication; social-emotional; or adaptive self-help skills, as measured by Department approved diagnostic instruments and standard procedures or as confirmed through informed clinical judgment of qualified staff based upon multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment if the child is unable to be appropriately and accurately tested by the standardized measures available.

 

"Physical or mental condition that typically results in developmental delay" means a medical diagnosis (see Appendix E) approved by the Department as an eligible condition or confirmed by a qualified family physician, pediatrician or pediatric sub-specialist as being a condition with a relatively well known expectancy for developmental outcomes within varying ranges of developmental disabilities.  Pediatric subspecialists included are those such as pediatric neurologists, geneticists, pediatric orthopedic surgeons and pediatricians with special interest in disabilities.

 

"At risk of substantial developmental delay, according to informed clinical judgment" means that there is consensus of qualified staff based upon multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment that development of a Department determined eligible level of delay is probable if early intervention services are not provided, because a child is experiencing either:

 

a parent who has been medically diagnosed as having a severe disorder as set forth under axis I and axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM IV) (1994; American Psychiatric Association, 1400 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005) or a developmental disability; or

 

three or more of the following risk factors:

 

current alcohol or substance abuse by the primary caregiver;

 

primary caregiver who is currently less than 15 years of age;

 

current homelessness of the child;

 

chronic illness of the primary caregiver;

 

alcohol or substance abuse by the mother during pregnancy with the child;

 

primary caregiver with a level of education equal to or less than the 10^th grade, unless that level is appropriate to the primary caregiver's age;

 

an indicated case of abuse or neglect regarding the child and the child has not been removed from the abuse or neglect circumstances.

 

Services for children determined to be "at risk" shall not be funded under Federal Part C funding, nor subject to its requirements, unless Part C funding for "at risk" services is requested by the lead agency.

 

"Enroll" means to enter into a Service Provider Agreement that establishes duties, expectations and relationships between the Department and the individual or agency provider that provides early intervention services to eligible children and their families.  A provider must be enrolled to bill and receive payment for services from the Early Intervention Program.

 

"Evaluation/Assessment" or "Evaluation" means the initial and ongoing procedures used by appropriate qualified staff to determine:

 

a child's eligibility under this Part in accordance with the definition of "eligible infants and toddlers";

 

the child's status in each of the developmental areas set forth in "early intervention services";

 

the child's unique strengths and needs;

 

the services appropriate to meet those needs;

 

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 its infant or toddler with a disability.

 

"HIPAA" means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 USC 1320(d) et seq.) and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 45 CFR 160, 162 and 164 (Transaction, Privacy and Security).

 

"Individualized Family Service Plan" or "Plan" or "IFSP" means a written plan for providing early intervention services to an eligible child and the child's family, as set forth in Subpart C.

 

"Lead agency" means the State agency, as designated by the Governor and the Act, responsible for administering the Act and this Part in accordance with federal laws and rules.  The Illinois Department of Human Services has been so designated.

 

"Local interagency agreement" means an agreement entered into by local community and State and regional agencies receiving early intervention funds directly from the State and made in accordance with State interagency agreements providing for the delivery of early intervention services within a local community area.

 

"Local interagency council" or "LIC" means a local advisory body established for each designated geographic intake region as set forth in Section 6 of the Early Intervention Services System Act.

 

                        "Local service area" means a local interagency council region.

 

"Multidisciplinary team", sometimes referred to as the IFSP team, means a group of people concerned with the developmental needs of the child, including the child's parent/guardian and service coordinator and members from pertinent disciplines involved in the provision of integrated and coordinated services, including evaluation and assessment activities, who determine appropriate EI services by consensus as set forth in this Part. 

 

"Natural environment" means home and community settings that are natural or normal for the child's age peers who have no disability.

 

"Parents" means a parent, a guardian, a person acting as a parent of a child or a surrogate parent appointed as set forth in this Part.

 

"Part B" means Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 USC 1400 et seq.) (IDEA) governing "Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities".

 

"Part C" means Part C of IDEA (20 USC 1400 et seq.) governing "Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities".

 

"Protected health information" means the health information governed by the HIPAA Privacy and Security regulations at 45 CFR 164.501.

 

"Regional intake entity" means the Department's designated entity responsible for implementation of the Early Intervention Services System within its designated geographic area as set forth in Section 500.45.

 

"Service Provider Agreement" means the binding written agreement that establishes the duties, expectations and relationship between the Department and the provider of service pursuant to the Illinois Early Intervention Services System Act [325 ILCS 20], Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 USC 1431 et seq.), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and EI administrative rules.

 

"Transition" is the process of transferring eligible children receiving early intervention services under this Part out of such services to Part B services or to other appropriate developmental or educational services.

 

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 2161, effective January 23, 2008)