N.Y. Public Health Law 2542 – Comprehensive child find system and public awareness program
§ 2542. Comprehensive child find system and public awareness program. 1. The commissioner shall develop a comprehensive child find system that ensures that eligible children in the state are identified, located, referred to the early intervention official and evaluated. Such system shall:
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2542
- approved: as used in this title shall mean a provider who is approved by the department in accordance with department regulations and has entered into an agreement with the department for the provision of evaluations, service coordination or early intervention services. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2550
- Children at risk: means children who may experience a disability because of medical, biological or environmental factors which may produce developmental delay, as determined by the commissioner through regulation. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541
- Developmental delay: means that a child has not attained developmental milestones expected for the child's chronological age, as measured by qualified professionals using appropriate diagnostic instruments and/or procedures and informed clinical opinion, in one or more of the following areas of development: cognitive, physical, communication, social or emotional, or adaptive. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541
- Disability: means :
(a) a developmental delay; or
(b) a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay, such as Down syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities, sensory impairments, inborn errors of metabolism or fetal alcohol syndrome. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541 - Early intervention official: means an appropriate municipal official designated by the chief executive officer of a municipality and an appropriate designee of such official. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541
- Early intervention services: means developmental services that:
(a) are provided under public supervision;
(b) are selected in collaboration with the parents;
(c) are designed to meet a child's developmental needs in any one or more of the following areas:
(i) physical development, including vision and hearing,
(ii) cognitive development,
(iii) communication development,
(iv) social or emotional development, or
(v) adaptive development;
(d) meet the coordinated standards and procedures;
(e) are provided by qualified personnel;
(f) are provided in conformity with an IFSP;
(g) are, to the maximum extent appropriate, provided in natural environments, including the home and community settings where children without disabilities would participate;
(h) include, as appropriate:
(i) family training, counseling, home visits and parent support groups,
(ii) special instruction,
(iii) speech pathology and audiology,
(iv) occupational therapy,
(v) physical therapy,
(vi) psychological services,
(vii) case management services, hereafter referred to as service coordination services,
(viii) medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes, subject to reasonable prior approval requirements for exceptionally expensive services, as prescribed by the commissioner,
(ix) early identification, screening, and assessment services,
(x) health services necessary to enable the infant or toddler to benefit from the other early intervention services,
(xi) nursing services,
(xii) nutrition services,
(xiii) social work services,
(xiv) vision services,
(xv) assistive technology devices and assistive technology services,
(xvi) transportation and related costs that are necessary to enable a child and the child's family to receive early intervention services, and
(xvii) other appropriate services approved by the commissioner. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541 - Evaluator: means a team of two or more professionals approved pursuant to section twenty-five hundred fifty-one of this title to conduct screenings and evaluations. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Municipality: means a county outside the city of New York or the city of New York in the case of a county contained within the city of New York. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541
- Parent: means parent or person in parental relation to the child. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2541
(a) require early intervention officials to identify and locate eligible children within their municipality;
(b) be coordinated with efforts to identify, locate and track children conducted by other agencies responsible for services to infants and toddlers and their families, including the efforts in (i) part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, including early childhood direction centers, (ii) the maternal and child health program under title V of the federal social security act, including the infant health assessment program, (iii) medicaid's early periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment program under title XIX of the federal social security act, and (iv) the federal supplemental security income program; and
(c) provide for the identification, tracking and screening of children at risk of developmental delay, using resources available through the programs, identified in paragraph (b) of this subdivision and such other available resources as the commissioner shall commit to this purpose.
2. The commissioner shall develop, implement, and maintain a public awareness program to inform the general public and the professional community of the availability of the early intervention program and the benefits of services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. The program shall include materials which describe the normal developmental achievements of young children, identification and procedures for referral of children with disabilities, and how to gain access to early intervention services.
3. The following persons and entities, within two working days of identifying an infant or toddler suspected of having a disability or at risk of having a disability, shall refer such infant or toddler to the early intervention official or the health officer of the public health district in which the infant or toddler resides, as designated by the municipality, but in no event over the objection of the parent made in accordance with procedures established by the department for use by such primary referral sources, unless the child has already been referred: hospitals, child health care providers, day care programs, local school districts, public health facilities, early childhood direction centers and such other social service and health care agencies and providers as the commissioner shall specify in regulation; provided, however, that the department shall establish procedures, including regulations if required, to ensure that primary referral sources adequately inform the parent or guardian about the early intervention program, including through brochures and written materials created or approved by the department.
4. The commissioner shall provide each early intervention official with a list of all approved evaluators and service coordinators in the municipality or geographic area proximate to such municipality or, with respect to the city of New York, subdivisions of the city as prescribed by the commissioner.
Such list of approved evaluators shall be updated at least annually and shall describe the specific areas of expertise of each qualified evaluator, if known.