Procedural Safeguards in Early Intervention

Participating in evaluations of your child and developing an intervention plan are intimidating tasks for most parents. Many parents feel overwhelmed by the process and may feel that they do not have the knowledge and skills necessary to be a contributing member of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) team. Parents are experts on their children, however, and have much to contribute to the process, even if it seems foreign to them.

Federal law establishes guidelines that must be followed to ensure that parents are active participants in their child's evaluations and intervention plans. These guidelines are called "Procedural Safeguards” and exist in every state.

Procedural Safeguards in the Early Intervention (EI) system include the following:

• The parent's right to take part in decisions about Early Intervention for the child;
• The parent's right to consent (or refuse consent) for any evaluation or provision of services to the child;
• The parent's right to notice before any evaluation of his or her child or before services are provided;
• The parent's right to be fully informed about the EI process;
• The parent's right to keep information about the child and family confidential;
• The parent's right to request an IFSP meeting at any time;
• The parent's right to dispute resolution procedures, including mediation; and
• The child's right to continue to receive services while IFSP disputes are being resolved through mediation or a Due Process hearing.

In the Pennsylvania Early Intervention system, after you are given the chance to read the Procedural Safeguards, you will be given a Parents Rights Agreement (PRA). The PRA is used for a number of purposes. One purpose is to document that you have been given a copy of the Procedural Safeguards and given information explaining the Early Intervention system. The PRA is also used to document your consent to have your child evaluated by the Early Intervention agency and will be used later to document your consent to the provision of services to your child. Other states have similar documents and procedures.

Recommended Link

• CAR Resource Directory (Select Advocacy)

Additional Resources

• Pennsylvania Parents Rights Agreement
• Pennsylvania Procedural Safeguards Notice