August 14th, 2025 - Agenda and Meeting Report

Audience

Open to the general public

Time

9:30 am to 1:00 pm

Location

This meeting will be held via Zoom teleconferencing. To participate via Zoom teleconferencing, please utilize the link below provided by Illinois Early Intervention Training to register for the meeting.

IICEI Registration: Thursday, August 14, 2025

Once you register, you will be provided with an immediate confirmation, that will indicate Zoom participation information will be forthcoming. You will receive an email with specific access instructions and your unique Zoom link closer to the meeting date.

Agenda

  • Call to Order
  • Introduction of Council Members
  • Approval of April 10th, 2025 Draft Meeting Report and June 20th, Draft Special Meeting Report
  • Message from a Parent
  • Advocacy Update: Zareen Kamal
  • Workforce Workgroup Update 
  • EI Eligibility Estimate
  • Transition Updates and Co-Design Proposal
  • Telehealth Workgroup
  • Bureau Updates
  • Part C Annual Performance Report Determination
  • Public Comment Period
  • Adjournment of Meeting

Attendees

IICEI Members In Attendance
Alison Liddle, Provider Representative/Chairperson Yes
Aasma Tariq, Parent Representative No
Anastasios "Taso" Michalopulos, Provider Representative Yes
Angel Williams, Illinois Department of Child and Family Services Yes
Angela Lee, Head Start Representative Yes
Benny Delgado, IDHS, Chief, Bureau of Early Intervention Yes
Brittni Monreal, Parent Representative No
Carol Muhammad, Child & Family Connections (CFC) 10 Manager, Urban Representative Yes
Chuck Farr, Child & Family Connections (CFC) 13 Program Manager, Rural Representative Yes
Ginger Mullin, IL Dept. of Public Health Yes
Jennifer Gentile, IL Dept. of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities No
Kate Ulmer, ISBE, McKinney-Vento, Homeless Representative No
Kesha Harris, Parent Representative Yes
Kristy Doan, IL State Board of Education Yes
Lisa Betz, Child and Adolescent Services Div of Mental Health Yes
Lisa Karp, Parent Representative Yes
Lynnette DeGraffenreid, Provider Representative Yes
Matthew Pickett, IL Dept. of Insurance Yes
Meredith Barnes, Parent Representative Yes
Michael Garner-Jones, IL Dept. of Human Services, Bureau of Subsidy Mgmt. (Child Care) Yes
Shelly Roat, IL Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) Yes
Zareen Kamal, Advocate Representative Yes
Zee Parton, Provider Representative Yes
Kimberly Mercer-Schleider IL Council on Developmental Disabilities No
Tabilah Moore - Advocacy Yes
Amy Santos No

Council Packet Contents

  • Agenda
  • Draft Council Meeting Report - April 10th, 2025
  • Draft Special Council Meeting Report - June 20th, 0225
  • Workforce Workgroup Update
  • IICEI Training info
  • Early Intervention Caseload Summary Report

Minutes

1) Call to Order

Alison Liddle, Illinois Interagency Council on Early Intervention Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 9:34 am

2) Introductions of Council Members

Members introduced themselves and stated their agency/role on the Council. Quorum met.

3) Approval of the Draft Council Meeting Reports - April 10th, 2025 & June 20th, 2025

Lynette made a motion to approve the minutes. Keesha seconded. Motion passed.

Questions on June 20th minutes. Hold on approval until Afton, scheduled to present later in the agenda, can provide clarity.

4) Message from the Parent

This parent, Kelly, shared that she is grateful for the services her son currently receives through early intervention. Her family's journey began when her son, with no apparent cause, stopped using words at approximately 16 months of age. Having no other major health concerns, her pediatrician was not concerned with his speech and recommended to wait-and-see. Three additional follow-up visits with the pediatrician with no change in her son's speech and a continued wait-and-see approach from the pediatrician, resulted in Kelly referring her son to EI. Her pediatrician did not see the need but suggested that Kelly make the referral.

Found eligible for early intervention services, Kelly reported that her son began with speech and OT services. DT and nutrition services were later added.

Extremely appreciative and with the services received through early intervention. Her son is doing very well. Yet as a parent, Kelly shared that she wishes she knew then about early intervention what she now knows and continues to wonder if there was more she could have done sooner to help her son.

In addition to her gratitude, this parent expressed the significance of Illinois's early intervention for her family and the need for community/parent awareness. There is also a great need for therapists. Parents should not have to wait-and-see. Further assessment and evaluation is needed.

Ali shared her thankfulness for this parent story and asked the Council for feedback.

Comments/Discussion included:

  • Promoting public awareness continues to be needed.
  • Trust parent instincts.
  • Further work in outreach and public awareness was echoed.
  • Refreshing to hear a parent's positive experiences in early intervention.
  • More needs to be done to raise awareness among health professionals.
  • EI Clearinghouse was promoted as an excellent family resource.
  • A question was raised as to the purpose of families being told to 'wait-and-see' by their pediatricians and the outcomes of those families.
  • The need to educate main referral sources to early intervention of the need to refer families to early intervention.

Benny followed up the discussion by stating that we all have a responsibility towards public awareness and encouraged the Council to think about opportunities to share resources and connect families to early intervention.

5) Advocacy Update: Zareen Kamal

Since April meeting update. State Budget has been passed with no additional funding to EI.

However, efforts of public engagement were positive and continue to grow with a strong advocacy base.

Zareen quickly reviewed advocacy projects that have taken place earlier in the year.

Zareen asks for council members for continued support and requested that a letter of support of budget advocacy to be sent to the governor's office be drafted now.

Keesha highlighted the works of Illinois Families for Early Intervention and invited all to join the groups social media pages.

Talibah shared her role as an advocate representing COFI and a leader of Illinois Families for Early Intervention. She also mentioned a major goal of COFI is supporting modified service delivery.

Kesha made a motion to draft a letter of budget advocacy to the governor's office from IICEI to have ready for approval at the October meeting and sent to the governor's office by the end of October. Angel Williams seconded.

Discussion. Matt recommended that copies of the letter also be sent to the appropriate chairs in the House and Senate. He suggested it good that the congressional delegation and our two U.S. Senators be made aware as well.

Due to the potential for conflict-of-interest Lisa and Matt abstained. Motion passed.

Zareen and Talibah will draft letter for final approval at the October meeting.

6) Workforce Workgroup Update: Carol Muhammad and Chelsea Guillen

Before giving her update, Carol began with congratulations and recognition of the work of the Parent reps and advocates on the council and thanked them for their efforts.

Carol reported that the Workgroup continues to consistently meet monthly with members actively engaged. Updates included:

April - Focused on the Co-design feedback and opportunities for the group to meaningfully participate in the transition processes.

June - Discussions with Afton partners regarding potential changes to the coordination and credential requirements

July - Meeting focused on preparing for an Interim Program Report to the Bureau and begin moving forward with recommendations to be made. Recruitment strategies that had been gathered by the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center were also discussed.

August - Continued prepping for progress report. Set up a survey within the workgroup to help guide consensus, evaluate priorities, and identify recommendations to be made to the Bureau related to the charge of the workgroup.

Questions/Comments

As IDEC moves forward there are questions/concerns how the work of the Workforce Workgroup will coordinate with the work of IDEC.

Benny assured the Council that he is making every effort to work closely and remain engaged in the collaboration with IDEC so that recommendations from all sides are heard and considered in the decision-making processes.

Benny also expressed his gratitude to Carol and Chelsea for their leadership of this workgroup and to its members for their commitment to the charge of the group.

7) EI Eligibility Estimate: Afton Partners and Christina Krasov

Abby McCartney of Afton Partners presented a follow-up to their presentation in the April IICEI meeting regarding the eligibility data required to be reported in an Annual Report to the Legislature.

This Annual Report is to be confirmed by the Council and is to include:

  • Number of Eligible Infants & Toddler in the State
  • Number of Children Served and Associated Costs
  • Estimated Cost to Serve All Eligible Children

 The simplified estimates originally presented by Afton in April raised many questions and concerns regarding the  authenticity and overlap of data pools used in these estimates as well as how reflective  they are of  Illinois.

 A subgroup of Afton helped to further refine the eligibility estimates and offered input raising other questions. Afton  then collaborated with the new IDEC, including their Chief Data Officer, as well as the author of one  data study.  Abby and her team shared some of the challenges dealt with in this process and talked about next steps.

 Challenges include:

  • Finding data sources that were reflective of Illinois' three pathways to eligibility.
  • Much of the data on existing medical conditions was out-dated and did not include children birth - three.
  • Existing data does not reflect overlap of children meeting Illinois eligibility criteria in more than one pathway.
  • No current data to estimate children eligible based on 3 or more risk factors.

Christina Krasov, Chief Data Officer of IDEC, presented next steps.

Make the shift from data not just for reporting purposes, but a focus to using data to be proactive in being responsive to the needs of children and families.

Questions/Comments included:

  • Appreciation for a thoughtful approach to thinking how data can be reflective of what families are experiencing and the needs of children in or not in the system.
  • How could IDEC involve the work of other data systems to inform/reach families to make early intervention more accessible?
  • Current data is fragmented. Christina reported that there are currently 40 different data systems in place today. IDEC is working towards a shift to a unified data system. First charge is to unify/integrate, data from, EI, ISBE, IDHS.
  • IDEC Recognizes that children and families represented in current data sets is not the totality of those in need. Collective wisdom is needed to determine how to reach those not represented in the data.
  • It was asked if IDEC is working with the agencies of Birth to Five.
  • How will the New Yaha EI Data system in progress be used fitting into a new data system?
  • IDEC is looking across EI data systems (Cornerstone, YAHA) to upgrade/modernization of the data system. It is a process that evolves over time.
  • In terms of YAHA, Benny reported that EI continues to move forward. The challenges of Cornerstone continue. Tech support from Cornerstone no longer available.
  • CBO data system also to be integrated into the YAHA system. Currently estimated June of 2026 operational.
  • Will data with Cornerstone, ISBE, DHS be made available. Christina responded that any technologies used must respect confidentiality. IDEC will be collecting, unifying the data.
  • The need for a Customer Service piece that allows families to access information.
  • The need for children with hearing loss to be included and supported through data collection and data access.
  • It was asked if there is a timeline for submitting the Annual Report - Benny commented that because this report has never been submitted in the past it is high priority to continue to work with IDEC and Afton to ensure the report will be based in solid data and set a precedent of accurately reflecting Illinois.

 Christina shared her email address and encouraged Council Members with questions and/or specific concerns to reach  out.

8) Transition Updates and Co-Design Proposal: Ann Whalen

Quick process update presented included:

  • This redesign is committed to partner and build from existing works to align the system from State perspectives, Provider perspectives and Family perspectives with a heavy focus on the wants and needs of families.
  • Stakeholders Interviews are in process
  • Recruitment for the two co-horts is currently open. Co-hort 1: Chicago neighborhoods of Auburn Gresham/ West Garfield Park/South Austin; Co-hort 2: Southern/rural areas of Henry, Stark, Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties.
  • Workshops to kick off later in August

Focus of the 2nd workshops is Future Framing

Focus of the 3rd workshops is Policy Design

 Focus of 4th workshops is Prototyping Policy Infrastructures

  • Informational updates will be shared throughout the process.
  • Links to informational links/flyers have been shared with Benny and posted to chat.
  • Ann welcomed leads to other stakeholder groups to consider in this Co-Design
  • Families and Home Day Cares are provided compensation for participation.

9) Telehealth Workgroup: Alison Liddle

Benny and Alison have reached out to various EI communities to pull this workgroup together and membership has been selected. Members include a diverse representation from different types of professional disciplines and positions, parents, system stakeholders as well as others who might not have had the opportunity to serve on a workgroup in the past.

All applicants will be notified of their status. Co-Chairs are yet to be identified. One chair will be from IICEI.

Timelines of the charges have been adjusted to be completed in August of 2026.

10) Bureau Updates: Benny Delgado

Staffing updates included:

* New hires begin next week:

  •  Ariana Cisneros , CFC Specialist serving Chicago/Burbs begins on August 18
  •  Claudette Davis, CFC Specialist serving the Central Region begins on September 2
  •  Michael Benanti, Infrastructure Specialist, a new position with oversight of the EI Partners, begins on August 19
  •  Victoria Gonzales, Family Engagement Specialist in the new Strategic Planing Unit, begins on August 18
  •  Chris Sargent, not at the Bureau but will work directly with Early Intervention from the Division of Early  Childhood's Client Data Unit. He will be working with Sara Hahn who also works with this Unit.

 Positions still open included: Head of the EI Strategic Planning Unit, a Workforce Specialist, and a Contracts Manager.

* Family Fee implementation remains uncertain. Project Plan in process to reinstate Family Fee. That timeline is yet to be determined. Benny is planning at least a 60-day advance notice to families instead of the required 30-day notice. Preparing CFCs is part of the reinstatement process.

* Benny reminds Council Members of required trainings and shares weblink to information needed to meet these requirements.

* Language Line Solution update: Digital interpretation services have been made available through the EI Clearinghouse. Since implemented on April 1st, 2025, feedback has been positive. The month of April the service received 88 calls for support. In May 92 calls and in June 127. I can be concluded that this service is of some benefit and efforts are being made to collect data. The Clearinghouse is moving to another vendor for these services. A smooth transition is anticipated. Status updates will be given to CFCs.

Overall comments were positive.

However, a concern of potential misuse use of this service was brought to the table. For example, using the language line when enrolled EI interpreters are available.

* Benny acknowledged successes worth celebrating: 1) the last 2 out of 3 years saw provider rate increases, 2) an increase in the number of service coordinators since 2022, 3) Cleared a long-standing non-compliance issue in one CFC and moving forward in others. Benny expressed his pride of the joint efforts of all in moving this system forward.

Concerns shared regarding service coordinators were the status of service coordinator recruitment and  credentialing requirements and the fiscal agents' responsibilities to forwarding rate increases to the service  coordinators.

11) Part C Annual Performance Report Determination: Benny Delgado and Chelsea Guillen

Chelsea reported on the APR to increase understanding of this annual reporting processes.

A brief recap of the history of this process was presented along with a review of Illinois's current APR results data.

The full report had been issued to Council Members prior to this meeting. Chelsea also shared a link to the posting of the full APR report including determination information.

12) Public Comment Period - no requests for public comment received.

13) Adjournment

Chuck made a motion to adjourn. Meredith seconded. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 1:00 pm

Contact Information

Katie Jacobs

IDHS - Bureau of Early Intervention

823 East Monroe Street

Springfield, IL 62701

Ph: 217/299-7158

Email: Katie.Jacobs@Illinois.gov

If you are in need of special accommodations, please email or call Katie Jacobs.