New Mexico Family Infant Toddler Program
Checklist forNew Coordinators
When you need help call… / Name / Phone Number / E-mail AddressYour FIT ProviderCoordinator
Your ECLN Consultant
Transition Team Coach
Transition Team Leader
FIT website:
FIT Training and Resource Portal: / Early Childhood Learning Network (ECLN) website:
WEEK 1
√ TA/ Training needed / Activity/Task / Resources /
- Schedule time to meet with your Provider FIT Coordinator to identify priority areas for your agency.
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- Subscribe toFITCOORDINATORS listserv. This listserve is the primary mode of communicating important matters to all FIT programs.
- Subscribe to the Provider listserve that your program is a part of (I, II, III, or IV).
- Send message to listserv introducing yourself once you subscribe.
Contact ECLN at for any problems with access.
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- Participate in the FIT Part C Orientationonline course.
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- Review the section on Service Coordination in the DOH Service Definitions and Standards.
- Register for NM FIT Service Coordination training modules, as time will allow you to attend. These modules are required if you will be providing service coordination to families and will be important to attend if you will be supervising service coordinators.
You will find the NMFITIFSPform in both Spanish and English on the FIT Training & Resource Portal by clicking the Child Record Forms and Related materials button.
Go to FITWebCalendarfor schedule and link for online course registration. Contact your FIT Provider
Coordinator for clarification and schedule for SC training.
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- Although not required, it is highly recommended for EI staff, coordinators, and contractors to complete the FIT Core workshops provided by ECLN as time allows.
- IFSP: Overview of the Individualized Family Service Plan
- The Developmental Evaluation: Evaluation as Intervention
- It’s Only Natural: Supports & Services in Everyday Routines
- Family Visiting Relationship Based Early Intervention
To sign into IFSP: Overview of the Individualized Family Service Plan and scroll down. You will do the same if you would like to sign into The Developmental Evaluation: Evaluation as Intervention
Go to FITWeb Calendar for schedule and information on registration. Call your ECLN Program Consultant if you need more information about the training topics.
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- Read through current DOH Service Definitions and Standards – pay particular attention to the sections addressing: evaluation, early intervention services, service coordination, child find and public awareness; also read section on respite services if your program/agency contracts with DOH to provide respite services.
- ReviewNM regulations regarding early intervention services.
- Review federal IDEA regulations related to early intervention services.
- Review Medicaid Regulations.
- Review the NM-FIT Key Principles for Providing Early Intervention Services
DOHService Definitions and Standards
Requirements for Family Infant Toddler Early Intervention Services Title 7, Chapter 30, Part 8, New Mexico Administrative Code
IDEA Regulations
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
MAD Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Services
MAD General Provider Policies including Regulations onTelehealth
NM FIT KeyPrinciples for Providing Early Intervention Services
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- Review your program's contracts with DOH-FIT andother funding sources, if any.
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- Review the FIT Annual Report to the Public. This report is based on individual provider’s performance on reportable indicators.
- You will receive instructions and guidance throughout the year to complete data cleanup in FIT-KIDS. Completing data cleanup on an annual basis can be time consuming for both providers and the FIT program.
Instructions for Data Cleanup is available here and a FIT-KIDS APR Cleanup Training Video is also available.
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- Review previous year’s FIT Annual Performance Report and guidelines, including any corrective action plans; understand the necessary data collection and requirements for accurate reporting.
The NM FIT General Supervision Manualwill support you in understanding the way in which the FIT Program monitors for compliance and quality, identifies non-compliance and ensures timely correction. It is also important to understand how the Local Determination Ratings are assigned to each agency based on their APR results.
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- Review Focused Monitoring, Community Based Assessment, Billing Audit or any other program audits and associated corrective action plans; Ensure that necessary data collection is ongoing and effective to allow for accurate reporting.
Information relating to QualityAssurance can be found on the NMFIT Training and Resource Portal.
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- Schedule time to meet with your agencies TTApproach Core Team, this team can support you in identifying how the agency provides services using a Transdisciplinary Team Approach.
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- Meet with your ECN Consultant to review your agency’s training process and/or framework for new staff, such as Family Service Coordinators (FSC) and Direct Service Staff, such as Developmental Specialists and Therapists.
/ Agency specific tasks:
WEEK 2 and 3
√ TA/ Training needed / Activity/Task / Resources /
- Become familiar with the FIT-KIDS database (the billing system for all early intervention services).
- Request a Provider Manager user account be created for you in FIT-KIDS
- Complete all five online training modules for FIT-KIDS. The online training modules are located at the link in the box to the right.
- Download the FIT-KIDS User Guide from the same website and become familiar with it’s contents.
- Confirm with other staff in your agency what your specific role will be in FIT-KIDS (ie: will you approve the billing, or will another staff member do this? etc.)
- Request that you be added to the FIT-KIDS listserv by contacting the FIT Data Manager.
Information and training modules for the FIT-KIDS database is available here: FIT-Key Information Data System
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- Review the budget for the EI program and your agency’s billing process including private insurance reporting and billing rates.
- Identify the sources of revenue for your program.
- Determine productivity/billing expectations for your agency.
- Identify the financial reporting requirements for your agency.
Contact your agency’s billing/accounting person for additional guidance.
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- Review your agency’s early intervention policies and procedures. If these need to be developed or revised, obtain technical assistance to help.
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- Schedule time to observe a homevisit, evaluation, IFSP meeting, playgroup and other program activities as time allows.
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- Become familiar with other provider supports by visiting their websites: Parent Reaching Out (PRO),andEducation for Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs (EPICS). As time allows schedule time with these programs to learn more.
- Become familiar with other state wide specialized early intervention providers: NM School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NMSBVI), NMSchool for the Deaf (NMSD/ Parent Infant Child Program),
- Familiarize yourself with the Medically Fragile Case Management Program, and Children’sMedical Services (CMS).
- Become familiar with the Early Childhood Evaluation Program (ECEP) this program provides evaluations for children ages birth to three.ECEP addresses concerns regarding developmental delay, complex medical conditions, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, behavioral/regulatory issues, and other specialized evaluation questions for very young children.
To learn more about ECEP and schedule the opportunity to observe an ECEP evaluation in your agency or community contact ECEP at:
(505) 272-9846 or toll-free: 1-800-337-6076
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- Find out when the next meeting for your region (I, II, III, or IV) is scheduled.
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- NOTE: A FIT Annual Providers Meeting is held each year in June. All EI Coordinators are expected to attend, sometimes with the agency executive directors or the database/billing person for your program.
/ Agency specific tasks:
WEEK 4
√ TA/ Training needed / Activity/Task / Resources /
- Review all certification and/or licensure requirements for each service provided by your agency.
- All personnel, including Service Coordinators and Developmental Specialists, must meet the requirements noted in the DOH Service Definitions and Standards.
This document provides a brief overview of many of the basic concepts and requirements for the FIT Program and may support contracted staff when they initially begin.
/ Developmental Specialist Certification:
- Apply for certification in order to provide supervision to DS staff andto provide direct early intervention services if this will be part of your role;
- Review current DS certification and re-certification requirements;
- Review the requirements and timelines for any DS exemptions granted to your staff by the FIT Program;
Contact Jeanne DuRivage for additional information at
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- Make sure all DS staff have completed the Self-Assessment that will inform the Individualized Professional Development Plans (IPDP)in competencies and areas of training to focus on
- Make sure all DS staff have current IPDP on file and are being implemented;
- Ensure that each DS is working within the scope of practice appropriate for the certification level, DS I Basic, DS I Advanced, DS II, DS III;
- Ensure that monthly supervision of all DS staff occurs and is documented;
- Review how reflective supervision is implemented within the program;
- Ensure that each Service Coordinator has the required educational background and experience (see DOH Service Definitions and Standards). Request a SC waiver, if SC does not meet standard;
- Ensure that all Service Coordinators have attended SC module training within one year of hire;
- Every year early intervention agencies submit a Staff Development Planto DOH-FIT, this is generally due by August 30th. In order to drop down the funds available to your agency, you must review and update the plan quarterly and submit it to DOH-FIT.
ZERO TO THREE has several publications that can provide information on the topic of reflective supervision. To order, go to
You can also review materials available on the NMFIT Training and Resource Portal relating to reflectivepractice and reflective supervision
Contact your FIT ProviderCoordinator for a copy of the Staff Development Plan template.
/ Agency specific tasks:
MONTH 2
√ TA/ Training needed / Activity/Task / Resources /
- Familiarize yourself with the Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) process and procedures.
- Review enrolled children’s records to ensure that the required ECO form is on file.
- Ensure that the ECO data is entered into the FIT-KIDS data base system at the initial and at exit.
Your ECLN Consultant and/or FIT ProgramCoordinator can provide training and technical assistance.
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- Review your agency’s Child Find/Public AwarenessPlan and all activities in the community to identify children who are eligible to receive early intervention services.
- Submit revised plan every year by or on August 30, and then quarterly, thereafter, to FIT Program in order to draw down the amount stated in your contract.
- Contact community partners to ensure that collaboration and ongoing Child Find activities are effective.
- Review the DOH Service Definitions and Standards in this section for all requirements.
FIT public awareness materials may be ordered by downloading the form “Public Awareness and Materials Order Form”.
/ Develop or review your agency’s forms for the following:
- Intake Form (needs referral date to ensure compliance with 45-day timeline for evaluation and initial IFSP, and referral source for database).
- Progress Note forms (must indicate time in/time out, location where service was provided and signature of service provider).
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- Review all requirements found in the Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Evaluation (CME) section of the DOH Service Definitions and Standards.
- Review each child’s file for compliance with the 45-day timeline and required components of the CME and evaluation reports.
- Meet with the IDA Leads within your agency. Become familiar with how the IDA Lead(s) support effective evaluation of young children.
- Familiarize yourself with the CME billing requirements.
Other helpful resources are the Quick Guidance Template for CME
Consider taking the online course IDA: The Infant-Toddler Developmental Assessment
Contact Jason Lavy, FIT Data Manager at for CME billing questions.
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- Review the FIT TA Documentsand Guidance Documents as time permits.
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- Review Transition information under both Service Coordination and Early Intervention sections of the DOH Service Definitions and Standards.
- Access online Transition training and any other related training.
- Review your local Transition Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
- Assure the procedures within the MOU are being followed, including notification, transition planning, scheduling of transition conferences etc.
Transition is discussed in detail during the Service Coordination module training.
Contact your ECLN Consultant for the name of the Transition Coach for your area.
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- Review New Mexico’s State Performance Plan-a 6-year plan submitted to Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) based on 14 key indicators to guide quality of services.
- Review New Mexico’s latest Annual Performance Report to learn how New Mexico is performing on the OSEP Performance Plan. This, along with the included corrective action plan, will help you understand expectations and Ensure that necessary data collection and reporting is ongoing and effective.
- State Performance Plan and Federal Annual Performance Report
- Annual Report to the Public Statewide Performance FIT Provider Report Cards
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- Review currently enrolled children’s IFSPs to ensure that all services are being provided as needed to support the child and family outcomes, documentation is appropriate, and billing is occurring appropriately.
- Review FIT Requirements 7.30.8 NMAC for current DOH Service Definitions and Standards.
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- Review status of currently referred children who are not yet enrolled to determine:
- Evaluation needs and plan to address;
- Status of CME.
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- The FIT Program recommends that providers regularly audit records of children/families being served as part of their quality assurance activities. Review your agency’s Quality Assurance policies and procedures.
- Familiarize yourself with agency specific auditing tools and the following FIT tools and processes:
- Annual Performance Report auditing tools: the guidelines and tools used to complete this report may be used to learn how your agency has been performing the previous year.
- Child Record Review: a comprehensive tool that may be split up into segments to audit for smaller amounts of data, depending on where issues may arise. This tool is not required. It is a guide to use for future FIT record reviews.
- IFSP Quality Review:To increase the quality of services, a team reviews IFSPs of randomly selected agencies. This review emphasizes the importance of quality throughout the development of the IFSP and helps identify the agency’s strengths and areas of concern so appropriate resources and support can be provided.
- Focused Monitoring: providers are chosen for a review when an agency demonstrates poor performance in a specific service area, including 45 and 30-day IFSP timelines.
- Community Based Assessment: a CBA is scheduled for each provider once every three years. This is a routine survey that looks at all areas of compliance, including billing.
The FIT Community-Based Assessment Child Record Review Form can be found on the FIT website
Contact your FIT ProviderCoordinator to find out if your agency is scheduled for a Focused Monitoring or Community Based Assessment visit.
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- Review any DOH/DHICorrective Action Plans for progress and deadlines.
/ Agency specific tasks:
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