303.344—Content of an IFSP.

(a) Information about the child's status. (1) The IFSP must include a statement of the child's present levels of physical development (including vision, hearing, and health status), cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, and adaptive development.

(2) The statement in paragraph (a)(1) of this section must be based on professionally acceptable objective criteria.

(b) Family information. With the concurrence of the family, the IFS must include a statement of the family's resources, priorities, and concerns related to enhancing the development of the child.

(c) Outcomes. The IFSP must include a statement of the major outcomes expected to be achieved for the child and family, and the criteria, procedures, and timeliness used to determine—

(1) The degree to which progress toward achieving the outcomes is being made; and

(2) Whether modifications or revisions of the outcomes or services are necessary.

(d) Early intervention services. (1) The IFSP must include a statement of the specific early intervention services necessary to meet the unique needs of the child and the family to achieve the outcomes identified in paragraph (c) of this section, including—

(i) The frequency, intensity, and method of delivering the services;

(ii) The natural environments, as described in § 303.12(b), and § 303.18 in which early intervention services will be provided, and a justification of the extent, if any, to which the services will not be providied in a natural environment;

(iii) The location of the services; and

(iv) The payment arrangements, if any.

(2) As used in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section—

(i) Frequency and intensity mean the number of days or sessions that a service will be provided, the length of time the service is provided during each session, and whether the service is provided on an individual or group basis; and

(ii) Method means how a service is provided.

(3) As used in paragraph (d)(1)(iii) of this section, location means the actual place or places where a service will be provided.

(e) Other services. (1) To the extent appropriate, the IFSP must include—

(i) Medical and other services that the child needs, but that are not required under this part; and

(ii) The funding sources to be used in paying for those services or the steps that will be taken to secure those services through public or private sources.

(2) The requirement in paragraph (e)(1) of this section does not apply to routine medical services (e.g., immunizations and “well-baby” care), unless a child needs those services and the services are not otherwise available or being provided.

(f) Dates; duration of services. The IFSP must include—

(1) The projected dates for initiation of the services in paragraph (d)(1) of this section as soon as possible after the IFSP meetings described in § 303.342; and

(2) The anticipated duration of those services.

(g) Service coordinator. (1) The IFSP must include the name of the service coordinator from the profession most immediately relevant to the child's or family's needs (or who is otherwise qualified to carry out all applicable responsibilities under this part), who will be responsible for the implementation of the IFSP and coordination with other agencies and persons.

(2) In meeting the requirements in paragraph (g)(1) of this section, the public agency may—

(i) Assign the same service coordinator who was appointed at the time that the child was initially referred for evaluation to be responsible for implementing a child's and family's IFSP; or

(ii) Appoint a new service coordinator.

(3) As used in paragraph (g)(1) of this section, the term profession includes “service coordination.”

(h) Transition from Part C services. (1) The IFSP must include the steps to be taken to support the transition of the child, in accordance with § 303.148, to—

(i) Preschool services under Part B of the Act, to the extent that those services are appropriate; or

(ii) Other services that may be available, if appropriate.

(2) The steps required in paragraph (h)(1) of this section include—

(i) Discussions with, and training of, parents regarding future placements and other matters related to the child's transition;

(ii) Procedures to prepare the child for changes in service delivery, including steps to help the child adjust to, and function in, a new setting; and

(iii) With parental consent, the transmission of information about the child to the local educational agency, to ensure continuity of services, including evaluation and assessment information required in § 303.322, and copies of IFSPs that have been developed and implemented in accordance with §§ 303.340 through 303.346.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0550)

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(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1436(d) )

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Note 1: With respect to the requirements in paragraph (d) of this section, the appropriate location of services for some infants and toddlers might be a hospital setting—during the period in which they require extensive medical intervention. However, for these and other eligible children, early intervention services must be provided in natural environments (e.g., the home, child care centers, or other community settings) to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the child.

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Note 2: Throughout the process of developing and implementing IFSPs for an eligible child and the child's family, it is important for agencies to recognize the variety of roles that family members play in enhancing the child's development. It also is important that the degree to which the needs of the family are addressed in the IFSP process is determined in a collaborative manner with the full agreement and participation of the parents of the child. Parents retain the ultimate decision in determining whether they, their child, or other family members will accept or decline services under this part.

Code of Federal Regulations

Note 3: The early intervention services in paragraph (d) of this section are those services that a State is required to provide to a child in accordance with § 303.12 . The “other services” in paragraph (e) of this section are services that a child or family needs, but that are neither required nor covered under this part. While listing the non-required services in the IFSP does not mean that those services must be provided, their identification can be helpful to both the child's family and the service coordinator, for the following reasons: First, the IFSP would provide a comprehensive picture of the child's total service needs (including the need for medical and health services, as well as early intervention services). Second, it is appropriate for the service coordinator to assist the family in securing the non-required services (e.g., by (1) determining if there is a public agency that could provide financial assistance, if needed, (2) assisting in the preparation of eligibility claims or insurance claims, if needed, and (3) assisting the family in seeking out and arranging for the child to receive the needed medical-health services). Thus, to the extent appropriate, it is important for a State's procedures under this part to provide for ensuring that other needs of the child, and of the family related to enhancing the development of the child, such as medical and health needs, are considered and addressed, including determining (1) who will provide each service, and when, where, and how it will be provided, and (2) how the service will be paid for (e.g., through private insurance, an existing Federal-State funding source, such as Medicaid or EPSDT, or some other funding arrangement).

Code of Federal Regulations

Note 4: Although the IFSP must include information about each of the items in paragraphs (b) through (h) of this section, this does not mean that the IFSP must be a detailed, lengthy document. It might be a brief outline, with appropriate attachments that address each of the points in the paragraphs under this section. It is important for the IFSP itself to be clear about (a) what services are to be provided, (b) the actions that are to be taken by the service coordinator in initiating those services, and (c) what actions will be taken by the parents.

Code of Federal Regulations

[58 FR 40959, July 30, 1993, as amended at 63 FR 18295, Apr. 14, 1998; 64 FR 12536, Mar. 12, 1999]

CFR

303.344—Content of an IFSP.

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