N.J. Admin. Code § 8:17-4.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 8:17-4.1 - Prior notice

(a) The service coordinator shall provide written notice containing the information provided in (c) below in the form and manner provided in (d) through (f) below to the parents of an eligible child 10 calendar-days before a provider agency proposes, or refuses, to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or placement of the child, or the provision of appropriate early intervention services to the child and his or her family.

(b) Neither a practitioner providing early intervention services pursuant to an IFSP nor the practitioner's provider agency shall revise services or eligibility without the service coordinator's issuance of the notice described in (a) above.

(c) The notice shall contain the following information:

1. The action(s) being proposed or refused;

2. The reasons for taking the action;

3. All procedural safeguards to which the parents are entitled; and

4. A description of the dispute resolution options that are available pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:17-13.

(d) The notice shall be:

1. Written in language understandable to the public; and

2. Provided in the primary language of the parents, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, such as, for example, if the family's primary language or other mode of communication is prohibitively costly as to make it unreasonable for the NJEIS to communicate with the family in that fashion.

(e) If the service coordinator cannot reasonably provide the notice in writing or other mode of communication in the parent's primary language, the service coordinator shall ensure:

1. The translation of the notice orally or by other means to the parent in the parent's primary language or other mode of communication;

2. That the parent understands the notice; and

3. That there is written evidence in the child's early intervention record that these requirements have been met.

(f) If a parent is deaf or blind, or has no written language, the mode of communication shall be that normally used by the parent (such as sign language, Braille, or oral communication).

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:17-4.1