Audience
Open to the general public.
Time
10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location
United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago - Infinitec Southwest
7550 West 183rd Street
Tinley Park, Illinois
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Introduction of Council Members
- Approval of January 12, 2012- Draft Meeting Report
- Provider Connections Update
- Early Intervention Monitoring Program Update
- Service Delivery Approach Workgroup
- Telehealth/Teletherapy Follow-up Discussion
- Lead Agency Report
- Adjournment
Meeting Report
ATTENDANCE
Present
- J. Diane Adams-Alsberry, CALM, Inc.
- Bob Cammarata, ICG Health Care Services
- Beatrice Nichols, IICEI Chairperson, Head Start
- Deanna Pratscher, parent, Thornton
- Pam Reising-Rechner, IL State Board of Education
- Sandy Ryan, IL Council on Developmental Disabilities
- Kathy Schrock, Easter Seals DuPage and Fox Valley
- Glendean Sisk, Division of Family and Community Services
- Therese Wehman, Elmhurst College
- Robin York , IL Department of Children and Family Services
Absent
- Diane Blythe, parent, Crystal Lake
- Geri Clark Gerri Clark, Division of Specialized Care for Children
- Julie Doetsch, IL Dept of Healthcare and Family Services
- Cynthia Merritt, IL Department of Public Health
- Mary Petersen, Department of Insurance
- Dorelia Rivera Martinez, parent, Elmwood
- David Rubovits, PhD, Jewish Child and Family Services
- Gina Ruther, DHS, Bureau of Child Care and Development
- Connie Sims, DHS, Division of Developmental Disabilities
- Constance Williams, PhD, DHS/Division of Mental Health
Contents of Council Packet:
- Agenda
- Draft Meeting Report - January 12, 2012
- Provider Connections Update
- Information on Telehealth/Teletherapy - 3 documents
- Lead Agency Report - April 5, 2012
Call to Order
The Illinois Interagency Council on Early Intervention (IICEI) convened at 10:10 a.m.
Introduction of Council Members
Council members introduced themselves.
Approval of January 12, 2012 Meeting Report and Additional Agenda Items
The January 12, 2012 Meeting Report was approved as written. Bob Cammarata reminded members and attendants about the national week of the young child in April, encouraging the identification and support of local events. Kathy Schrock asked about Senate Bill 820 and the status of the Early Intervention Bureau Chief's position. Eileen DeRoze provided a summary of the bill, which involves additions to the Council membership, including participation from advocate agencies, CFC managers, and the Early Learning Council. Members discussed the proposed changes. If the bill becomes law, Kathy Schrock suggested that an orientation retreat/meeting be scheduled, to help bring the council together as a cohesive group. Glendean Sisk explained that a 75-day contract had been approved for Janet Gully. She is hoped that the paperwork for filling the position permanently will move forward soon.
Provider Connections Update
Rob Derry reviewed the following calendar 2011credential activities.
- Technical assistance phone calls
- Credential applications processed, including numbers of new providers credentialed in the top 4 categories, the amount of time it takes to process a application (3 weeks), All credentialed providers in the system have completed criminal background checks.
- Enrollment applications processed
- Newsletters distributed (twice per year to 5,000 E-mail list)
- Podcast use
- New policies, including random audit of new/renewal applications, the requirement to retake systems training if out of the system for more than 3 years, and requiring licensed social workers and licensed professional counselors to work for an agency, rather that in independent, private practice.
- Web site redesign, including new features, improved navigation, the addition of an online process to request EI credit for college/university coursework, and new "looking at EI as a career" and "new to EI" links
- Additional activities include participation in provider fairs, work to get new provider agreements signed and returned, and work with CBO and YahaSoft on the new data system.
Council members recommended that background checks be required for enrolled (but not credentialed) individuals, specifically interpreters and translators. Currently, only credentialed providers must complete these checks. Provider Connections was congratulated for its work.
Early Intervention Monitoring Program Update
Charlotte McAneney provided an update of EI monitoring activities including positive comments about the following:
- The completion of eight focused monitoring visits of CFC offices
- Initiation of compliance monitoring visits of CFC offices
- Processing of parent explanation of benefits (EOB) incident reports
- Work with the EI Training Program to develop EI monitoring web modules to be posted on the training website
Council members thanked the EI Monitoring Program, identifying that changes to the monitoring process have been good and that EOB incident report follow-up has been helpful.
Service Delivery Approaches Workgroup Report
Therese Wehman and Chelsea Guillen provided an update on the Service Delivery Approaches workgroup, which has had one call and met face-to-face once since the last council meeting. The workgroup composition and process were discussed, including current work on the evaluation/assessment process. Recommendations and potential solutions are generated by the workgroup to address identified challenges. The new Part C regulations are being considered. The evaluation/assessment tool list is being reviewed by the four core disciplines and other statewide groups to identify needed expansion or deletion.
Telehealth/Teletherapy Follow-up Discussion
Eileen DeRoze followed-up the discussion during the last council meeting by requesting information from NECTAC and talking with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) about telehealth/teletherapy. Three documents were included in the council packet. On a phone call with OSEP, its Office of General Council representative stated that the appropriateness of telehealth/teletherapy had not been addressed by OSEP. Her initial reaction was that she could not see a clear way to allow it. She raised concerns about assuring that services were provided and questioned whether it would meet natural environment requirements. She said that, although it may be an appropriate method for adult services, it would not be a typical way to provide services to children under the age of three. OSEP would need a written request with specific details about the provision of services using telehealth/teletherapy before an official determination could be made.
Kathy Schrock reviewed some of the information provided in the handouts, reviewing responses from other states' EI programs that are using teletherapy and discussed uses of this technology. Payment streams for services and main areas of concern were identified. The suggestion for a new council work group to explore this concept was made. Ms. DeRoze shared that compliance with the new Part C regs limited the program's ability to support a new work group at this time. Kathy Schrock and Sandy Ryan suggested getting a group of interested individuals together to continue this discussion, gain more information, and report back to the council. The topic will be included on the next council meeting agenda.
Lead Agency Report
Eileen DeRoze reviewed the lead agency report highlighting data reporting improvements, progress on the YEIDS system, status of payments, and efforts to come into compliance with the new Part C regulations. A change in the Lead Agency report regarding Medicaid deposits was noted. The hard work of Early Intervention was recognized and Glendean Sisk thanked staff for stepping up.
Colleen Cunningham provided an update on progress toward implementation of assistive technology (AT) recommendations. Several changes will be released as part of revisions to the CFC Procedure Manual. A workgroup continues to take a look at the use of tablet devices. Each CFC office will designated an AT coordinator. The letter of developmental necessity has been piloted in six sites and will be ready to go out with revision to the procedure manual. Criteria for representation on the ad hoc advisory committee need to be written.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 11:42 a.m.
