SERVICE POLICY GUIDELINES
EARLY INTERVENTION SUPPORTS, SERVICES AND PROGRAMS:
Tri-Counties Regional Center is committed to carrying out the mandated activities identified in the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act and the Early Intervention Services Act in a manner that is responsive and focused on the child and family.
Tri-Counties Regional Center believes that these early intervention supports, services and/or programs will provide a support system for the parents, family and/or primary care givers and help to foster a healthy family environment by building and reinforcing parental competency and confidence, educating the family to have realistic expectations for their child and helping parents acquire skills that will facilitate their child’s continued development.
Using a family centered planning process, Tri-Counties Regional Center will coordinate early intervention supports, services and/or programs that provide education and training for parents or care givers of infants and toddlers up to three (3) years of age in areas such as motor, social-emotional, adaptive, cognitive, receptive and expressive communication development. The supports and/or services also provide parents or care givers with periodic re-assessment of the infant’s and family’s needs. The supports, services and/or programs will be provided under the direction of appropriate professionals. Early intervention services may include developmental intervention and consultation and occupational, physical, or speech therapies. Services and outcomes shall be based on the identified needs of the infant or toddler and family pursuant to assessment. An Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP) will be written within 45 days of referral to document the supports, services, and/or programs that will be provided. The IFSP will be reviewed at three-month intervals or more frequently if service needs change, or if the parent requests such a review.
Early intervention supports, services and/or programs are intended to maximize an infant’s development within the existing family structure by:
Some infants and/or toddlers may not require a regional center purchased intervention when a generic resource is available. Generic resources may include the local education agency, the Medical Treatment Unit of the California Children’s Services, Medi-Cal, or private insurance or other third-party payers.
For children under the age of three (3), Tri-Counties Regional Center will assist a family in using their private insurance as a generic service for medical services identified on the child’s IFSP, as long as use of their private insurance does not result in cancellation of insurance, loss of benefits, or rate increases directly associated with the Early Start services. These services include occupational, physical, or speech therapies.
If a service or support is included in the IFSP and paid for by a health care plan or health insurance, Tri-Counties Regional Center will pay any applicable copayment, coinsurance or deductible associated with the service or support. And as long as there is no other third-party having liability for the cost of the service and the cost of the copayment, coinsurance or deductible does not exceed the cost of funding the services entirely.
Early intervention supports, services and/or programs will be provided in the child’s natural environment. Natural environments are settings that are natural or typical for the child or the child’s peers who have no disability, including the home and community settings in which children without disabilities participate.
Tri-Counties Regional Center will not authorize funding of any early intervention support, service and/or program that is considered experimental, optional or elective in nature. The expected result from the provision of any early intervention support, service and/or program must meet measurable outcomes as stated on the infant or toddler’s Individualized Family Services Plan. The provision of an early intervention support, service and/or program must be both clinically and fiscally an effective use of public funds.
Exception Policy:
Tri-Counties Regional Center recognizes that some individual needs are so unique that they may not be addressed in this Service Policy and may require an exception. Such requests for an exception to a Service Policy will be made through the Planning Team process.
Approvals:
