Indicator 8 - Early Childhood Transition

The EI Monitoring Program notifies the CFC office of identified findings of noncompliance (i.e., transition steps and services are not included in 100% of toddler's IFSP that transitioned during a defined time period) within 30 days of the onsite monitoring visit. When a finding of noncompliance is identified, a corrective action plan (CAP) is required to address noncompliant policies, procedures, and practices. The CAP must be submitted and implemented 30 days from signature of the onsite visit report. Within six months, the Monitoring Program follows-up with the CFC office to determine the status of the CAP implementation. On an annual basis, if a finding is not verified as corrected, the CFC office must reassess policies, procedures and practices and develop and implement a new CAP.

Noncompliance with 8A is considered in making local determination scores. The following items are taken into consideration: 1) if an agency fails to submit a credible CAP for failure to have transition steps and services in the IFSP of a child exiting the system, fails to make adequate progress, or fails to implement major features of the plan and, 2) If the CFC office has more than one finding of longstanding noncompliance. CFC offices with determination scores of "Needs Intervention" or "Needs Substantial Intervention" have additional reporting obligations for CAPs. Those with a determination of "Needs Substantial Intervention" receive a focused verification monitoring visit.

The focused monitoring visit is conducted when longstanding noncompliance items are present and require that the CFC submit a CAP with specific strategies. They may include: new staff training for service coordinators specifically on transition requirements; technical assistance regarding documenting transition progress within the IFSP document and properly documenting transition planning. Other strategies may consist of introducing transition planning at an earlier age (between 27 and 33 months); hosting a free parent training to better prepare families in transition planning; and supervision of tracking data to monitor transition efforts, including providing technical assistance when needed.

A status report on each finding of noncompliance is sent to each CFC office and includes the following information: year of finding, CAP implementation, Prong 1 (child-specific correction) and Prong 2 (implementation of specific regulatory requirement). These reports are used to notify CFC offices when correction of noncompliance has been fully documented.

The CFC office is informed of the findings from the file review, including the identification of children without transition steps and services in their IFSPs at least 90 days, and at the discretion of all parties not more than nine months, prior to their third birthday. When a finding of noncompliance is identified, a CAP to address noncompliant policies, procedures, and practices must be submitted and implemented. On an annual basis, if a finding is not verified as corrected, the CFC office must reassess policies, procedures and practices and submit and implement a new CAP.

A status report on each finding of noncompliance is sent to each CFC office and includes the following information: year of finding, CAP implementation, Prong 1 (child-specific correction) and Prong 2 (implementation of specific regulatory requirement). These reports are used to notify CFC offices when correction of noncompliance has been fully documented.

The CFC office is informed of the findings from the file review, including the identification of children without transition steps and services in their IFSPs at least 90 days, and at the discretion of all parties not more than nine months, prior to their third birthday. When a finding of noncompliance is identified, a CAP to address noncompliant policies, procedures, and practices must be submitted and implemented. On an annual basis, if a finding is not verified as corrected, the CFC office must reassess policies, procedures and practices and submit and implement a new CAP.

A status report on each finding of noncompliance is sent to each CFC office and includes the following information: year of finding, CAP implementation, Prong 1 (child-specific correction) and Prong 2 (implementation of specific regulatory requirement). These reports are used to notify CFC offices when correction of noncompliance has been fully documented.

The CFC office is informed of the findings from the file review, including the identification of children without transition steps and services in their IFSPs at least 90 days, and at the discretion of all parties not more than nine months, prior to their third birthday. When a finding of noncompliance is identified, a CAP to address noncompliant policies, procedures, and practices must be submitted and implemented. On an annual basis, if a finding is not verified as corrected, the CFC office must reassess policies, procedures and practices and submit and implement a new CAP.

A status report on each finding of noncompliance is sent to each CFC office and includes the following information: year of finding, CAP implementation, Prong 1 (child-specific correction) and Prong 2 (implementation of specific regulatory requirement). These reports are used to notify CFC offices when correction of noncompliance has been fully documented.

The CFC office is informed of the findings from the file review, including the identification of children without transition steps and services in their IFSPs at least 90 days, and at the discretion of all parties not more than nine months, prior to their third birthday. When a finding of noncompliance is identified, a CAP to address noncompliant policies, procedures, and practices must be submitted and implemented. On an annual basis, if a finding is not verified as corrected, the CFC office must reassess policies, procedures and practices and submit and implement a new CAP.

A status report on each finding of noncompliance is sent to each CFC office and includes the following information: year of finding, CAP implementation, Prong 1 (child-specific correction) and Prong 2 (implementation of specific regulatory requirement). These reports are used to notify CFC offices when correction of noncompliance has been fully documented.

The CFC office is informed of the findings from the file review, including the identification of children without transition steps and services in their IFSPs at least 90 days, and at the discretion of all parties not more than nine months, prior to their third birthday. When a finding of noncompliance is identified, a CAP to address noncompliant policies, procedures, and practices must be submitted and implemented. On an annual basis, if a finding is not verified as corrected, the CFC office must reassess policies, procedures and practices and submit and implement a new CAP.

A status report on each finding of noncompliance is sent to each CFC office and includes the following information: year of finding, CAP implementation, Prong 1 (child-specific correction) and Prong 2 (implementation of specific regulatory requirement). These reports are used to notify CFC offices when correction of noncompliance has been fully documented.

Illinois utilized a data sharing agreement the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the State Education Agency (SEA), to assure that every child who reached 27 months of age or who started EI services after the age of 27 months were made known to the local education agency (LEA). The Bureau of EI has confirmed that notifications were sent to the SEA and LEA at least 90 days prior to the toddler's third birthday, and who would be potentially eligible for Part B preschool services for all toddlers who reached 27 months of age. The calculation excludes children who were referred to the program less than 90 days prior to their third birthday.

In FFY14/SFY15, Illinois demonstrated 100 percent compliance. With full implementation of the data sharing agreement between the EI Bureau and ISBE and subsequent data sharing reports, the program has been able to maintain compliance.

To determine the denominator for the number of toddlers exiting Part C who are potentially eligible for Part B, Cornerstone data were used to determine all potentially eligible toddlers who had an active IFSP and exited the during the period of July 01, 2014 - June 30, 2015. The following cases were not included when determining potentially eligible children:

This identified 13,249 potentially eligible. Illinois had 910 families who did not consent to a transition conference; this number was subtracted from 13,249 to reach the denominator of 12,339. To determine the numerator, Illinois added the number of timely transition conferences 9,138 to the number of family exceptional circumstances 957, which equals 10,095 toddlers having transition meetings. We divided 10,995 by 12,339 then multiplied by 100 to reach 81.81%.

There is a slight increase in the percent of timely transition conferences from 78% in FFY13/SFY14 to 81.81% FFY14/SFY15 which reflects the Bureau's efforts to further drill down into its transition data and more accurately report timely transition conferences. CFC offices in Collar (83.47%) and Downstate Counties (90.08%) had higher performance than Cook County CFC Offices (75.86%). Data demonstrates that a significant reason for noncompliance is that transition conferences are held, but not within the required timeline (i.e., at least 90 days, and not more than nine months prior to the toddler's third birthday). Cook County CFC offices and the Bureau met with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) during this time to longstanding obstacles to holding timely transition conferences. The group acknowledged the better practices were implemented and agreed to allow offices to follow those practices and only meet in the future if issues arose.

The CFC office is required to submit a corrective action plan (CAP) and document its implementation. The Bureau of EI completes review and approval of these plans. CFC offices report on implementation of the plan in six months, or more frequently if the CFC office determination is "Needs Intervention" or "Needs Substantial Intervention." Noncompliance with holding transition planning conference is considered in making local determination scores. The following items are taken into consideration:

1. if an agency fails to submit a credible CAP, fails to make adequate progress, or fails to implement major features of the plan; and
2. if the CFC office has more than one longstanding finding of noncompliance. CFC offices with a determination of "Needs Substantial Intervention" receive a focused monitoring visit.

Illinois has several statewide and targeted efforts to identify and correct the root causes of continuing noncompliance that include the following.

Findings of noncompliance identified in FFY2013 involve several CFC offices located in Chicago. These CFC offices, along with the remaining CFC offices that serve families residing in Chicago, continue to work closely with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to identify and address barriers to full compliance to both Part C and Part B requirements. This collaboration has resulted in the development of new processes on the local-level to facilitate transition. In addition, new statewide procedures have clarified requirements regarding transition planning conferences.

Following a focused monitoring visit that resulted from longstanding noncompliance, CFC-specific strategies identified in the CAP included new staff training for service coordinators specifically on transition requirements; technical assistance regarding documenting transition progress within the IFSP document , properly documenting transition planning, and meeting transition conference timelines; strategies to introduce transition planning at an earlier age so that families have an opportunity to explore options and make informed decisions; hosting a free parent training to better prepare families in transition planning; co-training with CPS to clarify roles and expectation for meeting performance standards and measures; sending transition packets to CFS earlier; and management tracking of data to monitor transition efforts, including providing technical assistance when needed.

The CFC office is required to submit a corrective action plan (CAP) and document its implementation. The Bureau of EI completes review and approval of these plans. CFC offices report on implementation of the plan in six months, or more frequently if the CFC office  determination is "Needs Intervention" or "Needs Substantial Intervention." Noncompliance with  holding transition planning conference is considered in making local determination scores. The following items are taken into consideration: 1) if an agency fails to submit a credible CAP, fails to make adequate progress, or fails to implement major features of the plan and 2) if the CFC  office has more than one longstanding finding of noncompliance. CFC offices with a determination of "Needs Substantial Intervention" receive a focused monitoring visit.

Illinois has several statewide and targeted efforts to identify and correct the root causes of continuing noncompliance that include the following.

Findings of noncompliance identified in FFY2012 involve several CFC offices located in Chicago. These CFC offices, along with the remaining CFC offices that serve families residing in Chicago, continue to work closely with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to identify and address barriers to full compliance to both Part C and Part B requirements. This collaboration has resulted in the development of new processes on the local-level to facilitate transition. In addition, new statewide procedures have clarified requirements regarding transition planning conferences.

Following a focused monitoring visit that resulted from longstanding noncompliance, CFC-specific strategies identified in the CAP included new staff training for service coordinators specifically on transition requirements; technical assistance regarding documenting transition progress within the IFSP document , properly documenting transition planning, and meeting transition conference timelines; strategies to introduce transition planning at an earlier age so that families have an opportunity to explore options and make informed decisions; hosting a free parent training to better prepare families in transition planning; co-training with CPS to clarify roles and expectation for meeting performance standards and measures; sending transition packets to CFS earlier; and management tracking of data to monitor transition efforts, including providing technical assistance when needed.

The CFC office is required to submit a corrective action plan (CAP) and document its implementation. The Bureau of EI completes review and approval of these plans. CFC offices report on implementation of the plan in six months, or more frequently if the CFC office determination is "Needs Intervention" or "Needs Substantial Intervention." Noncompliance with holding transition planning conference is considered in making local determination scores. The following items are taken into consideration: 1) if an agency fails to submit a credible CAP, fails to make adequate progress, or fails to implement major features of the plan and 2) if the CFC office has more than one longstanding finding of noncompliance. CFC offices with a determination of "Needs Substantial Intervention" receive a focused monitoring visit.

Illinois has several statewide and targeted efforts to identify and correct the root causes of continuing noncompliance that include the following.

Findings of noncompliance identified in FFY2011 involve CFC offices located in Chicago. These CFC offices, along with the remaining CFC offices that serve families residing in Chicago, continue to work closely with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to identify and address barriers to full compliance to both Part C and Part B requirements. This collaboration has resulted in the development of new processes on the local-level to facilitate transition. In addition, new statewide procedures have clarified requirements regarding transition planning conferences.

The SDA Workgroup has discussed Illinois' current policies and procedures for system components (i.e., intake/referral, evaluation/assessment, IFSP development, service implementation, and transition), identifying challenges in each component and developing a vision for improvements/changes. The Workgroup is currently developing a set of system recommendations.

Following a focused monitoring visit that resulted from longstanding noncompliance, CFC-specific strategies identified in the CAP included new staff training for service coordinators specifically on transition requirements; technical assistance regarding documenting transition progress within the IFSP document , properly documenting transition planning, and meeting transition conference timelines; strategies to introduce transition planning at an earlier age so that families have an opportunity to explore options and make informed decisions; hosting a free parent training to better prepare families in transition planning; co-training with CPS to clarify roles and expectation for meeting performance standards and measures; sending transition packets to CFS earlier; and management tracking of data to monitor transition efforts, including providing technical assistance when needed.

The CFC office is required to submit a corrective action plan (CAP) and document its implementation. The Bureau of EI completes review and approval of these plans. CFC offices report on implementation of the plan in six months, or more frequently if the CFC office determination is "Needs Intervention" or "Needs Substantial Intervention." Noncompliance with holding transition planning conference is considered in making local determination scores. The following items are taken into consideration: 1) if an agency fails to submit a credible CAP, fails to make adequate progress, or fails to implement major features of the plan and 2) if the CFC office has more than one longstanding finding of noncompliance. CFC offices with a determination of "Needs Substantial Intervention" receive a focused monitoring visit.

Illinois has several statewide and targeted efforts to identify and correct the root causes of continuing noncompliance that include the following.

Findings of noncompliance identified in FFY2010 involve a CFC office serving the North Chicago area. This CFC office, along with the remaining CFC offices that serve families residing in Chicago, continue to work closely with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to identify and address barriers to full compliance to both Part C and Part B requirements. This collaboration has resulted in the development of new processes on the local-level to facilitate transition. In addition, new statewide procedures have clarified requirements regarding transition planning conferences.

The SDA Workgroup has discussed Illinois' current policies and procedures for system components (i.e., intake/referral, evaluation/assessment, IFSP development, service implementation, and transition), identifying challenges in each component and developing a vision for improvements/changes. The Workgroup is currently developing a set of system recommendations.

Following a focused monitoring visit that resulted from longstanding noncompliance, CFC-specific strategies identified in the CAP included new staff training for service coordinators specifically on transition requirements; technical assistance regarding documenting transition progress within the IFSP document , properly documenting transition planning, and meeting transition conference timelines; strategies to introduce transition planning at an earlier age so that families have an opportunity to explore options and make informed decisions; hosting a free parent training to better prepare families in transition planning; co-training with CPS to clarify roles and expectation for meeting performance standards and measures; sending transition packets to CFS earlier; and management tracking of data to monitor transition efforts, including providing technical assistance when needed.