N.M. Admin. Code § 8.9.8.10

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 8.9.8.10 - CHILD IDENTIFICATION

A. Early intervention provider agencies shall collaborate with the New Mexico early childhood education and care department and other state, federal and tribal government agencies in a coordinated child find effort to locate, identify and evaluate all children residing in the state who may be eligible for early intervention services. Child find efforts shall include families and children in rural and in Native American communities, children whose family is homeless, children in foster care and wards of the state, and children born prematurely.

B. Early intervention provider agencies shall collaborate with the New Mexico early childhood education and care department and shall inform primary referral sources regarding how to make a referral when there are concerns about a child's development. Primary referral sources include: hospitals; prenatal and postnatal care facilities; physicians; public health facilities; child care and early learning programs, school districts; home visiting programs; homeless family shelters; domestic violence shelters and agencies; child protective services, including foster care; other social service agencies; and other health care providers.

C. Early intervention provider agencies in collaboration with the New Mexico early childhood education and care department shall inform parents, medical personnel, local education agencies and the general public of the availability and benefits of early intervention services. This collaboration shall include an ongoing public awareness campaign that is sensitive to issues related to accessibility, culture, language, and modes of communication.

D.Referral and intake:

(1) Primary referral sources shall inform parent(s) of their intent to refer and the purpose for the referral. Primary referral sources should refer the child as soon as possible, but in no case more than seven days after the child has been identified.

(2) Parents must give permission for a referral of their child to the FIT program.

(3) The child must be under three years of age at the time of the referral.

(4) If there are less than 45 days before the child turns three at the time of referral, the early intervention provider agency will not complete an evaluation to determine eligibility and will assist the family with a referral to Part B preschool special education and other preschool programs, as appropriate and with consent of the parent(s).

(5) The early intervention provider agency receiving a referral shall promptly assign a family service coordinator to conduct an intake with the parent(s).

(6) The family service coordinator shall contact the parent(s) to arrange a meeting at the earliest possible time that is convenient for the parent(s) in order to:

(a) inform the parent(s) about early intervention services and the IFSP process;

(b) review the FIT family handbook;

(c) explain the family's rights and procedural safeguards;

(d) if in a county that is also served by other FIT provider, inform the parent(s) of their choice of provider agencies and have them sign a "freedom of choice" form.

(e) provide information about evaluation options; and with the parent's consent, arrange the comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation.

(7) If the child is found eligible for FIT services, the family service coordinator with parental consent shall schedule and facilitate the initial IFSP meeting to be completed within 45 days of referral to the FIT program for early intervention services.

(8) Exceptions to the 45-day timeline for completion of the initial IFSP due to exceptional family circumstances must be documented in the child's early intervention record. Exceptional family circumstances include:

(a) The child or parent is unavailable to complete the screening (if applicable), the initial evaluation the initial assessments of the child and family, or the initial IFSP meeting.

(b) The parent has not provided consent for the screening (if applicable) the initial evaluation, or the initial assessment of the child despite documented repeated attempts by the early intervention provider.

E.Screening.

(1) A developmental screening for a child who has been referred may be conducted using a standardized instrument to determine if there is an indication that the child may have developmental delay and whether an evaluation to determine eligibility is recommended.

(2) A developmental screening should not be used if the child has a diagnosis that would qualify them under established condition or biological medical risk or where the referral indicates a strong likelihood that the child has delay in their development, including when a screening has already been conducted.

(3) If a developmental screening is conducted:

(a) the written consent of the parent(s) must be obtained for the screening; and

(b) the parent must be provided written notice that they can request an evaluation at any point during the screening process.

(4) If the results of the screening:

(a) Do not indicate that the child is suspected of having a developmental delay, the parent must be provided written notice of this result and be informed that they can request an evaluation at the present time or any future date.

(b) Do indicate that the child is suspected of having a developmental delay, an evaluation must be conducted, with the consent of the parent(s). The 45-day timeline from referral to the completion of the initial IFSP and all of the referral and intake requirements of this rule must still be met.

F.Evaluation.

(1) A child who is referred for early intervention services, and whose parent(s) has given prior informed consent, shall receive a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation to determine eligibility, unless the child receives a screening in accordance with the screening requirements of this rule and the results do not indicate that the child is suspected of having a developmental delay. Exception: If the parent of the child requests and consents to an evaluation at any time during the screening process, evaluation of the child must be conducted even if the results do not indicate that the child is suspected of having a developmental delay.

(2) The evaluation shall be:

(a) timely, multidisciplinary, evaluation;

(b) conducted by qualified personnel, in a nondiscriminatory manner so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory; and

(c) shall include information provided by the parent(s).

(3) If parental consent is not given, the family service coordinator shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the parent(s) is fully aware of the nature of the evaluation or the services that would be available; and that the parent(s) understand that the child will not be able to receive the evaluation or services unless consent is given.

(4) A comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation shall be conducted by a multidisciplinary team consisting of at least two qualified professionals from different disciplines.

(5) The family service coordinator shall coordinate the evaluation and shall obtain pertinent records related to the child's health and medical history.

(6) The evaluation shall include information provided by the child's parents, a review of the child's records related to current health status and medical history and observations of the child. The evaluation shall also include an assessment of the child's strengths and needs and a determination of the developmental status of the child in the following developmental areas:

(a) physical/motor development (including vision and hearing);

(b) cognitive development;

(c) communication development;

(d) social or emotional development; and

(e) adaptive development.

(7) The evaluation team shall use the tool(s) approved by the FIT program. Other domain specific tools may be used in addition to the approved tool(s).

(8) The tool(s) used in the evaluation shall be administered by certified or licensed personnel who have received training in the use of the tool(s).

(9) The evaluation shall be conducted in the child and family's native language, in accordance with the definition of native language, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

(10) The evaluation team will collect and discuss all of the information obtained during the evaluation process in order to make a determination of the child's eligibility for the FIT program.

(11) An evaluation report shall be generated that summarizes the findings of the multidisciplinary evaluation team. The report shall summarize the child's level of functioning in each developmental area based on assessments conducted and shall describe the child's overall functioning and ability to participate in family and community life. The report shall include recommendations regarding approaches and strategies to be considered when developing IFSP outcomes. The report shall also include a statement regarding the determination of the child's eligibility for the FIT program.

(12) Parents shall receive a copy of the evaluation report and shall have the results and recommendations of the evaluation report explained to them by a member of the evaluation team or a member of the IFSP team, with prior consultation with the evaluation team.

(13) Information from the evaluation process and the report shall be used to assist in determining a rating for the initial early childhood outcome (ECO).

(14) If the child has a recent and complete evaluation current within the past six months from another Early Intervention Agency, the results may be used, in lieu of conducting an additional evaluation, to determine eligibility.

(15) If, based on the evaluation conducted the evaluation team determines that a child is not eligible, the evaluation team must provide the parent with prior written notice, and include in the notice information about the parent's right to dispute the eligibility determination through dispute resolution mechanisms such as requesting a due process hearing or mediation or filing a State complaint.

G.Eligibility.

(1) The child's eligibility for early intervention services shall be determined through the evaluation process as identified in Section F. A statement of the child's eligibility for the FIT Program shall be documented in the evaluation report.

(2) The child's age shall be adjusted (corrected) for prematurity for children born less than 37 weeks gestation. The adjusted age shall be used until a child is 24 months of age for the purpose of eligibility determination.

(3) Informed clinical opinion may be used by the evaluation team to establish eligibility when the approved evaluation tool(s) or other approved assessment tools are not able to establish developmental delay.

(a) If informed clinical opinion is used to determine the child's eligibility, documentation must be provided to justify the child's eligibility.

(b) A second level review and sign off shall occur within the early intervention provider agency by someone of equal or higher certification or licensure that was not part of the evaluation team.

(c) Informed clinical opinion may only be used to qualify a child for more than one year with review and approval of the FIT program.

(4) The child must be determined eligible under one of the following categories.

(a)Developmental delay: a delay of twenty-five percent or more, after correction for prematurity, in one or more of the following areas of development: cognitive; communication; physical/motor; social or emotional; adaptive.

(i) Twenty-five percent delay shall be documented utilizing the tool(s) approved by the FIT program.

(ii) If the FIT program approved tool does not indicate a twenty-five percent delay, a domain-specific tool may be used to establish eligibility if the score is one and one-half standard deviations below the mean or greater.

(iii) Developmental delay includes "significant atypical development" documented on the basis of informed clinical opinion.

(b)Established condition: a diagnosed physical, mental, or neurobiological condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay. The established condition shall be diagnosed by a health care provider and documentation shall be kept on file. Established conditions include the following:

(i) genetic disorders with a high probability of developmental delay, including chromosomal anomalies including Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome (in boys); inborn errors of metabolism including Hurler syndrome; and other syndromes, including Prader-Willi and Williams;

(ii) perinatal factors, including preterm newborn, 28 completed weeks or less

(iii) perinatal factors, including toxoplasmosis, rubella, CMV, and herpes (TORCH);

(iv) prenatal toxic exposures including fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS); and birth trauma, including neurologic sequelae from asphyxia;

(v) neurologic conditions, including congenital anomalies of the brain including holoprosencephaly lissencephaly, microcephaly, hydrocephalus; anomalies of spinal cord including meningomyelocele; degenerative or progressive disorders including muscular dystrophies, leukodystrophies, spinocerebellar disorders; cerebral palsy (all types), including generalized, hypotonic patterns; abnormal movement patterns including generalized hypotonia, ataxias, myoclonus, and dystonia; peripheral neuropathies; traumatic brain injury; and CNS trauma including shaken baby syndrome;

(vi) sensory abnormalities, including visual impairment or blindness; congenital impairments including cataracts; acquired impairments including retinopathy of prematurity; cortical visual impairment; and chronic hearing loss;

(vii) physical impairment, including congenital impairments including arthrogryposis, osteogenesis imperfecta, and severe hand anomalies; and acquired impairments including amputations and severe burns;

(viii) mental/psychosocial disorders, including autism spectrum disorders; and

(ix) conditions recognized by the FIT program as established conditions for purposes of this rule; a genetic disorder, perinatal factor, neurologic condition, sensory abnormality, physical impairment or mental/psychosocial disorder that is not specified above must be recognized by the FIT program in order to qualify as an established condition for purposes of this rule; physician, designated by the New Mexico early childhood education and care department, shall make a determination of whether a proposed condition will be recognized within seven days of the FIT program receipt of the request for review.

(c)Biological or medical risk for developmental delay: a diagnosed physical, mental, or neurobiological condition. The biological or medical risk conditionshall be diagnosed by a health care provider and documentation shall be kept on file. Biological and medical risk conditions include the following:

(i) genetic disorders with increased risk for developmental delay, including chromosomal anomalies including Turner syndrome, Fragile X syndrome (in girls), inborn errors of metabolism including Phenylketonuria (PKU), and other syndromes including Goldenhar neurofibromatosis, and multiple congenital anomalies (no specific diagnosis);

(ii) perinatal factors, including prematurity (less than 35 weeks and more than 28 completed weeks gestation) or small for gestational age (less than 1750 grams); prenatal toxic exposures including alcohol, polydrug exposure, and fetal hydantoin syndrome; and birth trauma including seizures, and intraventricular or periventricular hemorrhage;

(iii) neurologic conditions, including anomalies of the brain including the absence of the corpus callosum, and macrocephaly; anomalies of the spinal cord including spina bifida and tethered cord; abnormal movement patterns including severe tremor and gait problems; and other central nervous system (CNS) influences, including CNS or spinal cord tumors, CNS infections (e.g., meningitis), abscesses, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and CNS toxins (e.g., lead poisoning);

(iv) sensory abnormalities, including neurological visual processing concerns that affect visual functioning in daily activities as a result of neurological conditions, including seizures, infections (e.g., meningitis), and injuries including traumatic brain injury (TBI); and mild or intermittent hearing loss;

(v) physical impairment, including congenital impairments including cleft lip or palate, torticollis, limb deformity, club feet; acquired impairments including severe arthritis, scoliosis, and brachial plexus injury;

(vi) mental/psychosocial disorders, including severe attachment disorder, severe behavior disorders, and severe socio-cultural deprivation;

(vii) other medical factors and symptoms, including growth problems, severe growth delay, failure to thrive, certain feeding disorders, and gastrostomy for feeding; and chronic illness/medically fragile conditions including severe cyanotic heart disease, cystic fibrosis, complex chronic conditions, and technology-dependency; and

(viii) conditions recognized by the FIT program as biological or medical risk conditions for purposes of this rule; a genetic disorder, perinatal factor, neurologic condition, sensory abnormality, physical impairment, mental/psychosocial disorder, or other medical factor or symptom that is not specified above must be recognized by the FIT program in order to qualify as an medical or biological risk condition for purposes of this rule; department of health physician, designated by the FIT program manager, shall make a determination of whether a proposed condition will be recognized within seven days of the FIT program manager's receipt of the request for review.

(d)Environmental risk for developmental delay: a presence of adverse family factors in the child's environment that increases the risk for developmental delay in children. Eligibility determination shall be made using the tool approved by the FIT program.

(5) The families of children who are determined to be not eligible for the FIT program shall be provided with prior written notice and informed of their rights to dispute the eligibility determination. Families shall receive information regarding other community resources, such as home visiting and how to access specific resources in their area. Families shall also be informed about how to request re-evaluation at a later time should they suspect that their child's delay or risk for delay increases.

H.Redetermination of eligibility.

(1) The child's eligibility for the FIT program shall be re-determined annually in accordance with the eligibility determination requirements of this rule.

(2) The child's continued eligibility shall be documented on the IFSP.

(3) If the child no longer meets the requirements under the original eligibility category, the team will determine if the child meets the criteria for one of the other eligibility categories before exiting the child.

(4) If the child is determined to no longer be eligible for the FIT program the family shall be provided with prior written notice and informed of their rights to dispute the eligibility determination. The family service coordinator will assist the family, with their consent, with referrals to other agencies.

I.Ongoing assessment.

(1) Each eligible child shall receive an initial and ongoing assessment to determine the child's unique strengths and needs and developmental functioning. The ongoing assessment will utilize multiple procedures including the use of a tool that helps the team determine if the child is making progress in their development, to determine developmental levels for the IFSP and to modify outcomes and strategies, and to determine the resources, priorities, and concerns of the family.

(2) Assessment information shall be used by the team as part of the process of determining early childhood outcome (ECO) scores at the time of the initial IFSP and prior to the child exiting the FIT program.

(3) An annual assessment of the resources, priorities, and concerns of the family shall be voluntary on the part of the family. The IFSP shall reflect those resources, priorities and concerns the family has identified related to supporting their child's development.

N.M. Admin. Code § 8.9.8.10

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 14, July 20, 2021, eff. 7/20/2021