Screening

Arizona Early Intervention Program

-Assessment Part II-

Read the Slide

Welcome to the Arizona Early Intervention Programs presentation on Assessment, this is the second of two presentations. It is important that you not skip the first presentation. There have been important changes to assessment process as result of federal requirements for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C.

Purpose of AssessmentFamily AssessmentChild AssessmentTo identify the familys resources, priorities and concerns and the supports and services necessary to enhance the familys capacity to meet their childs needsTo identify the childs unique strengths and needs, within context and routines, and the early intervention services appropriate to meet those needs Must be:Family directedVoluntary on the part of each family member participatingBased on the use of an assessment tool and family interviewMust include:Review of evaluation results, if an evaluation for eligibility was conductedPersonal observations of the childIdentification of the childs needs in each of the five developmental areas

Read the slide.Child and Family AssessmentInitial assessment of the child and family conducted prior to childs initial Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting. The assessment occurs after the evaluation and eligibility has been determined.The Child and Family Assessment is conducted prior to each Annual Review, and may be conducted prior to any IFSP update to gather additional information.Requires consent prior to the child assessments (GCI-1083A or GCI-1083AS).

3Read the slide noting these are the new regulations within the law and follow AzEIPs new policies and procedures.

Written consent is needed for the child assessment. A new consent is required prior to each Child and Family Assessment conducted. 4Child and Family AssessmentUnless not clearly feasible to do so, family assessments must be conducted in the native language of the family members involved in the assessment.Be voluntary on the part of each family member participating in the assessment.Family assessment includes the use of an assessment tool and interview with family members that elect to participate.

5In continuation Read screenPreparing for Initial AssessmentAt the Initial visit the SC will: Provide and explain the Child and Family Assessment Guide for FamiliesFamilies can take time between this visit and the next to think about what areas they would like early intervention to help withInformation from the guide will help the team develop outcomes and identify strategies

At the initial visit, after screening activities have been completed and if the family is interested in proceeding, the SC provides information about the assessment process to the family and give them the Child and Family Assessment Guide for Families. It is important to explain the assessment process, what the process will look like for this specific child and family, and how gathering information about how the child participates and engages in everyday routines and activities can assist the team in helping the family to identify outcomes.

The child and family Assessment Tool is given to the family to review and complete if desired. Families can choose to share as much or as little of the information theyve gathered in completing the tool. The SC should note the purpose of this tool as stated in the top paragraph:Everyday interactions and routines are opportunities for children to learn and practice new skills. By understanding your child and familys everyday interactions and routines, interests and activities, your team can start to identify how early intervention can support your child and family. This Guide is designed to assist you in helping your team understand how Early intervention can be most helpful to you.

Presenter should take the time to read the paragraphs located at the top of this assessment guide.

The family can share as much information as they are comfortable sharing. They can make additional copies of this page, or use plain piece of paper, if they want to document more routines and activities.

At the bottom of the page, a family can indicate other areas of interest, such as what they may want more information about, like child care, housing etc.

It also asks the family to share what resources they currently have within their family, extended family and community members and other kinds of resources they may want to share with the EI team.

8Initial Assessment ProcessChild Eligible by record review Child Eligible by evaluationAssessment visit occurs as a separate visit between the initial visit and before the IFSP meetingAssessment visit may be combined with the evaluation visit or occur just prior to the beginning of IFSP meeting.One core team member and an AzEIP or ASDB Service Coordinator; if SC is dual role, he/she can only count as one of the team members One core team member and an AzEIP or ASDB Service Coordinator; if SC is dual role, he/she can only count as one of the team members

If a child is made eligible by record review, the assessment visit occurs as a separate visit between the initial visit and before IFSP If a child is made eligible by evaluation, the assessment may be combined with the evaluation or occur prior to the beginning of the IFSP meeting.

The assessment is conducted by the SC and one core team member. Core team members are a speech-language pathologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and a developmental special instructionist, Psych, Social Work, Teacher of the Deaf, Teacher of the visually impaired. If the SC is a dual role SC, The SC must be accompanied by another team member.

If the family and the evaluation team members determine that another team member, who did not participate in the evaluation, would be more appropriate to conduct the child and family assessment, the other team member can participate in place of the evaluation member. The evaluation team members should ensure this team member has the information gathered this far.

If the child is potentially eligible for DDD, the Service Coordinator should invite the DDD SC to participate at this meeting. DDD may or may not obtain ongoing SC responsibilities, however this is not known until the IFSP meeting.

Conducting the Initial AssessmentThe Team members involved with assessment:

Meet with the family and review the purpose of assessment Obtain consent for the Child and Family AssessmentAsk the family if they had time to look at or complete the guideOffer a copy of the Guide if the family does not have one to guide the discussionDocument discussion with the family on the Child and Family Assessment Pages of the IFSP

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If the family does not have a guide, one is given not to complete but to reference during the discussion.

As you complete the Child and Family Assessment, make sure that all areas of development are addressed within the context of the childs activity settings and routines.

Discussion with the family regarding activities and routines that are going well, and those in which they would like support are documented here. The team member facilitating the assessment discussion ensures that all areas of development are discussed. By the end of the assessment, the team should have the following;A rich description of the familys routines and activities (whether they are going well or not)A description that includes a detailed description of how members of the family participate in these activities or routinesA clear picture of how the family would like support within the context of these activitiesThe focus is on engagement and participation, and not on discrete skill development

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Natural Resources are resources that a family already has in place, that support the enhancement and development of their child- e.g., childcare, neighbors and house of worship. Our objective is to support existing resources, not to replace them.

Areas of Interest are resources that the family would like support in obtaining for their family. The team will assist the family in identifying and accessing any needed resources to make these interests enjoyable and accessible to the child and family. It is important to note that our overall goal is to build the familys capacity in all areas identified. The team lead will assist the family in acquiring these resources and interests, not necessarily do it for them.

Priorities are determined by the family. These are taken directly from the discussion that took place during the Child and Family Assessment. 12Child IndicatorsThe information gathered during the evaluation and Child and Family Assessment is used to complete the Child Entry Indicator Summary Explain the purpose of completing the Child Entry IndicatorsEnsure that you have a Decision Making Tree and Definitions of the RatingsComplete Child Indicators Entry Form with the family

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The purpose of the Child Indicator Entry form is to measure progress of every child that participates in Early Intervention Services. Each of the three indicators is explained to the family. Familys input along with information from the evaluation and Child and Family Assessment, are used to rate the child in each of these indicators.

The entry child indicator summary should be completed with the family DURING THE INITIAL CHILD ASSESSMENT VISIT. And again 90 days before exit from the AzEIP program. The Service Coordinator must fill out the rating sheets and enter the information into ITEAMS.

This is a copy of the Child Entry Indicator Summary form which gives a rating of the childs abilities in:Positive Social Emotional SkillsAcquiring and using knowledge and skills and Taking appropriate action to meet their needs

Initial Assessment ProcessSummarize the assessment visit:

Review the information gathered during the assessment to support the development of the IFSP Priorities identified may become outcomesNatural Resources are considered when developing steps and services necessary to meet the outcomes

15At the end of the initial assessment we summarize the visit with the family. We review the information gathered during the assessment to support the development of the IFSP, the priorities identified drive the outcomes, and the natural resources may be considered when developing strategies and services.

Annual Assessment Planning Prior ( 1-2 weeks) to the annual assessment meeting, the Team Lead or Service Coordinator will: Provide and explain the Child and Family Assessment Guide for Families Ask the family which family members they would like to participate

Annual Assessments are required to support the development of the annual IFSP.

Read the slide.

Helping families understand the early intervention process is an important role of the Service Coordinator. By spending time providing a copy and explanation of the Child and Family Assessment Guide for Families, the parent and other families members have time to prepare for, and fully participate in, the annual assessment process, which is a federal requirement. The Guide is for them to use in whatever way works for their family. The SC must obtain Consent for Child Assessment PRIOR to the Assessment being conducted. Annual AssessmentThe Child and Family Assessment:Must include the service coordinator and at least one IFSP team memberMay be conducted as a separate visit or prior to the beginning of the Annual IFSP MeetingMust include Consent for Child Assessment Unless clearly not feasible, must be provided in the language normally used by the parents; for the purposes of the child assessment, the language normally used by the child, if determined developmentally appropriate

The Annual assessment must include the family, the on-going SC and at least one IFSP team members. In team-based early intervention, all children and families have a team available to them. All children have a team lead identified at initial IFSP. If the childs team lead had not been identified previously, this should be corrected as part of the annual assessment and IFSP process; a team member should be pulled in for the annual assessment and a team lead identified at the annual IFSP.Read the remainder of the slideAnnual Assessment ProcessTeam members Review the purpose of assessment and explain the process.Ask family if they had time to look at or complete the Child and Family Assessment Guide and wish to use it in the discussionOffer a copy of the Guide if the family doesnt have it (not to complete but to reference during the discussion)Document the discussion on the Child and Family Assessment Pages of the IFSP

Read the slide.

Child Assessment Tool: The team may use additional assessment tool(s), in whole or in part, to ensure they have enough information to be comfortable in understanding the childs developmental skills and abilities. Information from the tool:may be used as a reference andis documented on the child and family assessment pages of the IFSP within the context of the familys routines and activitiesThe scores and specific skills from the tool are not reported

IFSPIf held as a separate meeting, the annual IFSP can be scheduled with the family at the conclusion of the annual assessmentIf combined, the team continues the discussion and completes the annual IFSPAll team members required for each meeting should arrive together and not leave until the end of the meeting, unless there is a break between the two.

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Thank You!Questions?Submit to allazeip2@azdes.gov

For more information: www.azdes.gov/azeip

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