Questions/Answers from IFSP Trainings - 2005
Topic: Routines-Based Interviews
1. Due to duplication of Developmental History and the new IFSP, is the Developmental History that the POEs are filling out going to change or are we going to continue duplicating the same information?
A: This topic has been discussed at the POE quarterly meeting – most POEs have combined the Dev. Hist. with the RBI and new IFSP and are not duplicating the same information.
2. If the RBI is filled out at least a month prior to the IFSP meeting, what if the concerns change in that time period and how would we address that?
A: At the IFSP meeting new concerns can be added or old concerns changed.
3. Do POEs have to make a 2nd home visit or can the IFSP pages be conducted by phone interview? Can this be done at the initial home visit? If so, sometimes families don’t even know what their concerns are at this point because they haven’t even received the results of their PLE.
A: RBI can be done at the initial visit, but doing the interview over the phone is not recommended, it should be a conversation – a face-to-face dialogue. Any concerns that surface after the PLE can be added at the IFSP meeting.
4. If POEs fill out the IFSP pages prior to the initial meeting and then the child is found ineligible, what do we do with the unfinished document?
A. Keep them in the “closed” file – the child may come back at later time.
5. What if the family only wants contact with the PSC once per plan? How will you get them to complete the pre-IFSP interviews, etc.?
A. Schedule your one contact with the family to be when you need to complete those.
6. If a child attends daycare, does the PSC interview daycare workers as a part of the RBI? Do we need to get separate releases for everyone?
A. Yes, you can interview the daycare workers with the parent’s permission. You can get a release for the daycare with all workers’ names listed on it..
7. Can the RBI take the place of the part of the social history so that the ISC won’t be repeating and writing things twice?
A. Yes
8. The instructions state that the PLE can complete the RBI, but nowhere in the training is this stated. Can the PLE do the RBI? Would this not create problems as the PSCs have received more information on how to complete the interview?
A. The PSC or ISC should do the RBI and send summary to PLE with the referral. If the SC has not done the RBI the PLE can do one. If the PLE is going to do RBIs, he/she should contact the Program Consultant and get training on how to do those.
9. If this is a routine based approach – how well will this approach work with families with no routines?
A. Every family has routines, they eat, sleep, play, dress, etc. – they may not be regular routines – but whenever the activity occurs, they can implement the strategies you teach them.
10. If a family chooses not to participate in routines interview – what is the appropriate process for continuing with the IFSP development? i.e.: What other strategies should be used?
A. Just do a regular developmental history interview not centered on routines and try to get as much information as you can in that manner – have a conversation about their child/family.
Topic: Transition
1. If the Transition Conference is held at an IFSP review, why do we still only have one hour to complete both? Sometimes the school portion of the Transition Conference takes an hour?
A. If it is going to take a lot longer, those meetings can be scheduled on different days. Each case will be different, some families will want to “do it all at once” and only be off work one day – others would prefer to have two meetings. The mini-workgroups have made a recommendation that the one hour payment limit be reconsidered when the meeting combines transition and six-month review – administration is considering those recommendations – in the mean time, the alternative to get more time is to have two meetings on different days.
2. What pages make up the Transition Conference? In other words, what pages do we fill out for the Transition Plan?
A. Transition Plan, if held separate from the IFSP Review meeting must include pages A, H, and J – and can include other pages if needed. If the Transition is held in conjunction with an IFSP review the plan with have all regular IFSP pages plus page H.
3. Is the Transition Page (Page H) to be completed at each review even if there are no transitions to address at that particular meeting?
A. No
4. Does the transition page get used for transitions other than First Steps?
A. Yes, for any of the situations listed or others that might come up.
5. Do we create a transition Plan for every six-month plan or just at initial IFSP and Transition meeting?
A. You use the transition page any time there is a transition that needs to be addressed.
6. On the transition plan, do we have to wait until the next IFSP meeting to list a “date completed”?
A. No, you can write those in as they occur and then share/affirm those dates at the next IFSP meeting with the team.
7. Is it still OK to separate the Transition Conference and IFSP since we are under the time constraint of one hour?
A. Yes, but not two meetings on the same date.
8. If all therapists are unable to attend transition conference is the PSC required to contact them by phone – verbal approval?
A. You do need to get approval, but it can be verbal, face-to-face, or written (letter, FAX or e-mail that is encrypted or does not contain identifiable information.)
9. If the family does not want to receive any Part B information at the transition conference, but changes their mind 2 months later and wants to receive part B information, was the transition conference that did occur valid?
A. Yes, but you will need to have an Amendment to add the new outcome of getting information about Part B.
10. How does Part C help Part B meet their record keeping requirements? Further clarification of question: Part B is getting dinged by feds for not having their conference. If the family in Part C doesn’t want to meet with Part B, how will Part B meet their federal requirements?
A. First Steps is working with Part B through a federal GSEG grant on ways to share data. That project ends in late 2005 and recommendations from the project will be considered for implementation to help with this issue.
11. Do you only put outcomes on page H if its just transition to 3rd birthday or every amendment type change?
A. Any transition outcome goes there.
12. Does the POE need to schedule the mandatory transition conference for a child referred close to three pending eligibility or do they just go straight to preschool referral?
A. For those “pending eligibility” – you must determine eligibility first. If the child is eligible for First Steps and enters our system, we need to plan for transition, even if the preschool referral occurs at the same time. The ISC will be doing some transition outcomes/activities with the family, and page H is the place to document those. Remember per 911 KAR 2:110 Section 1 (15)(b) “For all children who are 2 years 10 ½ months old to age 3, the POE shall facilitate the transition conference which would include representatives of available next referrals.” If the child is found not to be eligible, you do not have a transition conference.
Topic: IFSP Meeting
1. Are therapists who have done an initial assessment, but found the child not to need services in that area allowed to attend and bill for the IFSP meeting to share their results with the rest of the team?
A. Yes, if they have information the team will need to plan for the child/family. They should have already shared any information with the family before the meeting.
2. If the PLE establishes eligibility and the need is noted for 2 assessments (PT and DI), then the DI assessment indicates no need for that service. The RBI is done and the parent agrees with the DI and sees no need for DI services. Is the DI invited to the IFSP meeting, does the DI approve the plan, and does the DI get a copy of the IFSP?
A. The DI can be invited and attend the IFSP meeting as a member of the team, especially if he/she has some information to share with the team that will help them plan services. If the DI attends and is on the team he/she gets a copy of the IFSP. The parents should decide if they want the DI to be invited to the IFSP Review meeting. If the DI does not attend the IFSP meeting and thus is not on the IFSP team, there is no need to get approval from the DI or send an IFSP to the DI. (note: sometimes the RBI is done before the evaluation/assessments)
3. For the pages that the service coordinators complete prior to the IFSP meeting, do they date them with the day of the discussion with the family or wait and put the date of the IFSP meeting on all pages.
A. The date of the meeting goes on the pages – as that is the date that all information is reviewed and finalized by the team.
4. What happens if we start writing outcomes and it takes more that the allotted hour for the IFSP? Therapists will leave after one hour, finished or not.
A. Not all dedicated, professional therapists will leave – many will probably stay and finish the meeting. As all teams get more familiar with the new form and process, meetings probably will not take as long. Over time, if it looks like data shows that most teams need more than an hour that regulation can be revised as needed when it is next opened for review.
5. This model will work fine with involved families, but uninvolved families will not do well with this model. Will therapists have any professional recourse to stop therapy? Or will we have to wait until the “team and family” decide it is of no benefit?
A. Therapists should always share their data and professional opinions about when to discontinue their services with the team and family – they are an integral part of the “team” that makes decisions – and team members value each other’s professional judgments.
6. Since some of these pages will need to be completed two months ahead of time is it able to give accurate information at the IFSP?
A. Update those pages at the IFSP if any of the information has changed.
7. With all of the information being presented and discussed after initial assessments are completed, we as therapists & PSCs are finding that one hour is never enough for the initial IFSP mtg!!!! Especially for the families where you’re having to spend time to educate them on areas of concern that they might not initially have been aware of (ex: child whose speech skills are being affected by sensory processing dysfunction)?
A. At this time one hour is the limit for payment. Try to shift the “family education” part to your assessment time rather than do that at the IFSP meeting.
8. Since we are now using an “approved” consultative model, will the number of units available for IFSP meetings be re-evaluated? With multiple therapists involved, one hour is not enough time to prioritize write parent-specific outcomes and strategies. Also, therapists who attend the entire IFSP meetings often have to cancel other therapy sessions to attend a meeting that lasts over an hour.
A. We will be re-evaluating the one hour limit over time, however that is the limit at this time. When regulations are opened again we will reconsider that limit.
9. Do we write up frequency after meeting as opposed to in the report?
A. Frequency and intensity are determined during the IFSP meeting by the team, not in the evaluation or assessment.
10. If there is only one provider, may that provider go to both the referral meeting (ARC meeting – when the referral is initiated to Part B) and the IFSP meeting?
A. Yes
11. Any talk or discussion about increasing overall units for IFSP meetings? Having a rushed meeting may not adequately serve family needs.
A. That was discussed at the mini-workgroup meetings and those recommendations are under consideration.
Topic: Team Approval Page J
1. What does “written approval” on page J mean? Could you accept a faxed approval?
A. It could be a fax, letter or e-mail. Be cautious about e-mail – it should not contain “personally identifiable information” unless it is encrypted.
2. Can e-mail approval be accepted from a provider who was unable to attend a child’s IFSP meeting? Our e-mails have confidentiality statements on them.
A. If you use e-mail do not have personally identifiable information in it. Use only the CBIS number, not a child’s name.
3. When would “written approval” be given on page J? (This seems to indicate that the plan would be mailed to a team member and they would sign it and return it…)
A. No, after the team member gets a copy of the IFSP, they could send a letter, fax or encrypted e-mail (if it has identifiable information) to give approval.
Topic: Technical Assistance Teams
1. Why are Parent Consultants still part-time? If they cannot work full time, how are we to encourage more parent-to-parent support?
A. If the Parent Consultant in a particular area is needed more than the allotted hours, the University should re-negotiate that at contract renewal time. Those contracts are rewritten each year.
2. Many of the resources at the bottom of page E are hard to locate in rural areas. How are we supposed to provide information on these if asked? Some just aren’t available. Are we supposed to help the family find a new home, etc.?
A. You should use your local DEIC and your University Technical Assistance Team to help you locate and develop a list of resources in your area. You don’t necessarily need to help the family find a new home, but you should know what state and/or local agencies can help them with housing issues.