Human Services News

From Education Newsfeed:

The U.S. Department of Education today proposed regulations to ease bureaucratic burdens, increase flexibility and assure accountability by states in helping prepare America's infants and toddlers with disabilities for success in school.

In proposed rules for Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to be published in the May 9 Federal Register, the department sought to ensure that states provide early intervention services to children birth through age 2 in a timely and effective manner.

This organization creates a freestanding document that will be helpful to parents, lead agencies, early intervention service providers, and the public -- both in reading the regulations, and in finding the direct link between a statutory requirement and the regulation related to that requirement.

INCREASE STATE FLEXIBILITY AND OPTIONS by incorporating new provisions from IDEA that permit mediation to be available to parents at any time -- even when a due process hearing is not requested -- and requiring that settlement agreements reached as a result of mediation be valid and enforceable in a court of law.

ENSURE STATE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHILD FIND AND PROVISION OF EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES by incorporating new provisions from the IDEA requiring that states have in place referral, public awareness or other child find policies for children under the age of 3 who are: (1) involved in a substantiated case of abuse and neglect; (2) identified as affected by illegal substance abuse, or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure; (3) homeless; (4) in foster care; (5) wards of the state; and (6) for states that choose to allow parents to continue early intervention services for children age 3 and older, children who experience a substantiated case of trauma due to exposure to family violence.

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