For the Transition for Part C to Part B
First Steps North East Coordinating Council (NECC)
And
Joint Educational Services in Special Education (JESSE)
And
Mishawaka-Penn-Harris-Madison Joint Services
And
South Bend Community Schools
And
South La Porte County Special Education Cooperative
And
Elkhart and St. Joseph Head Start Consortium
And
TMC Migrant Seasonal Head Start
And
Elkhart Community Schools
And
Elkhart County Schools
And
East Noble Schools
And
Whitko Community Schools
And
Huntington Whitley Special Services
And
Smith Green Schools
And
Garrett Keyser Butler Head Start
And
Vistula Head Start
And
Community Action of Northeast Indiana Head Start
And
Northeastern Indiana Special Education Cooperative


By this memorandum, all parties agree to the following:


GOAL

This agreement relates to the implementation of P.L.108-446 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 2004, amending the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA), particularly those components addressing Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Title 511 Article #7, Indiana’s state special education laws. The entities participating in this agreement are working cooperatively to provide coordinated services to young children and their families, and to ensure implementation of the Federal and State regulations. This Memorandum of Understanding clarifies the procedures and responsibilities of the First Steps North East Coordinating Council (NECC) and the Local Head Start and Educational Agencies (LEAs) in DeKalb, Elkhart, LaGrange, Noble, St. Joseph, Steuben, and Whitley Counties in the transition of children with disabilities from the First Steps Early Intervention System to services under the administration of the Indiana Department of Education.


PROCEDURE AT 18 MONTHS

The System Point of Entry will forward a child find list of children to the Special Education Director within each district who are eighteen months of age in October and April via email.
This list will serve as the notification for planning purposes. Any preschool coordinator with the LEA who wishes a copy of this list should contact their school administrator.


PROCEDURE AT 30/33 MONTHS

1. At least six (6) months prior to the child’s third birthday, the First Steps Service Coordinator shall transmit the following information to the LEA, with informed, written consent:
A. The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
B. The most recent evaluation reports from any appropriate sources [Article 7,7-10-1(e)]
2. Pursuant to Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the First Steps Service Coordinator shall follow all the required procedures in transmitting information regarding children who may be eligible to the LEA of the child’s district of residence.


TRANSITION MEETING

1. The First Steps Service Coordinator shall convene, with the approval of the family, a Transition Meeting between the family, Early Intervention Providers, the LEA and any other community resource of the parent’s choice.
2. Before the Transition Meeting the family will receive a Transition Packet, this will prepare the family and child for the transition.
3. The Meeting shall convene no more than 270 days and no less than 90 days before the child turns three.
4. The purpose of the meeting is to:
A. Review the child’s community program options for the period from the third birthday through the remainder of the school year
B. Project services which may be needed at age 3
C. Determine what evaluation may be needed to establish eligibility for Part B services
D. Determine time lines for implementation of the transition plan
5. The First Steps Service Coordinators and the LEA shall have methods in place to ensure that the meeting, held at least 90 days but, not more than 270 days prior to the child’s third birthday, occurs while necessary personnel are available. If it is ascertained at the transition meeting, or at a later time, that additional evaluative data are necessary to establish eligibility for special education, the LEA shall make arrangements to conduct the appropriate evaluation.
The SPOE will schedule the transition meeting if the child is 31 months or older at Intake.
If a child turns three during the summer months, transitions meetings are to be scheduled as follows:

Child Turns 3 In: Transition Meeting Held No later than:
June February
July March
August March
September/October/November April
6. First Steps Service Coordinator will complete State Transition Forms and forward copies to attendees. The original will be retained in the individual child’s EI record.


LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY

1. The LEA shall be responsible for reviewing the documentation received through the First Steps Coordinator (with informed, written consent) to determine if it is appropriate or contains sufficient data to assist in determining the eligibility of the particular child for special education and related services. The LEA shall utilize this information whenever appropriate to avoid unnecessary re-assessment or delays in the provision of appropriate services.
2. The LEA shall be responsible for obtaining additional evaluation data, as necessary, including:
A. An individually administered standardized assessment including norm-referenced or criterion-referenced instruments
B. Identification as a student with a developmental delay and eligibility for special education shall be determined by the case conference committee based on, but not limited to, the following information:
i. A developmental and basic health history, including vision and hearing screening. The LEA will provide a list of standardized tests that are utilized by their psychologists and/or therapists. The LEA may use the results of these tests from First Steps providers if given within the last three months prior to transition.
ii. A systematic observation of the child in a daily routine setting or other appropriate setting by an appropriate professional
iii. Appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures that measure differences between expected level of development and current level of functioning. Where norm-referenced instruments do not accurately reflect a student’s performance because of the severity of the delay, other instruments or procedures shall be considered.
iv. Information from parents and other care givers
C. Additional evaluation data specific to the child’s suspected disability [Article 7-26-5]


LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY CASE CONFERENCE

1. The LEA shall convene a case conference committee to discuss the results of the evaluation data to determine eligibility for special education and related services. The First Steps Service Coordinator and/or other First Step providers may attend if requested to do so by the child’s parents.
2. Upon establishing eligibility, the case conference committee shall:
A. Develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP), or
B. With the concurrence of the family and the LEA, review the IFSP and revise accordingly to ensure that on the child’s third birthday the IFSP meets the component requirements of IEP that are specified in Article 7, Indiana Special Education Rules. Cooperative development of IEP’s between each agency is encouraged to ensure the children receive services, which meet their individual needs.
3. Services shall be offered in the least restrictive environment. All special education and related services included on the IEP of an eligible child become the financial responsibility of the LEA on the child’s third birthday.


NON-ELIGIBLE CHILDREN

If the LEA Case Conference determines the child is not eligible for special education and related services, the LEA will inform the First Steps Service Coordinator. First Steps Coordinators are responsible for coordinating the transition process for children under the age of three who have been found not eligible for Part B preschool services. This includes referral to existing community resources, child care programs, service providers and funding resources in order to ensure that appropriate and necessary services are continued for the child and family once the child turns age three. These activities shall be documented in the clinical plan maintained by each Service Coordinator and documented in the child’s early intervention record maintained at the System Point of Entry (SPOE) for First Steps.


OTHER AREAS OF COLLABORATION

1. Efforts will be made to increase collaboration with Head Start, LEAs and First Steps in the following areas:
A. Assuring confidentiality
B. Providing in-services, if appropriate
C. Implementing Child Find
2. First Steps provides families with formal written information about Transition Procedures and Family Rights prior to the Transition Meeting.
3. All families in Cluster B will have a discussion with their Service Coordinator regarding the transition process at each quarterly meeting. This discussion will be documented on the face to face sheet which the family signs and a copy will be left with the family.
Around 30 months the conversation with the family should include a discussion of the people who should be invited to share information with the family regarding available options.

The Transition meeting will be scheduled no later than 120 days prior to the child's third birthday, allowing time for cancellations and reschedules.
The Service Coordinator will provide each family with a Transition DVD and Folder for their school district at least one month prior to the scheduled Transition Meeting.
The SC will work with the family and the LEA on agreeable time.
The SC will send out a 10 day written notice to the family, LEA, providers and anyone the family wishes to be invited to the prearranged meeting a minimum of 15 days prior to the meeting.

The LEA will record this meeting as the Transition Meeting on the log they turn into the state.

If the family decides not to invite the LEA to the Transition Meeting the Service Coordinator will complete a 10 day written notice to the family and providers and anyone else the family requests to be invited to the prearranged meeting a minimum of 15 days prior.
The Service Coordinator will conduct the scheduled meeting and document in the Transition Packet the discussion of options, including the school as an option, and the family’s decision regarding the LEA. This meeting will serve as the official 270-90 day Transition Meeting out of First Steps.

If the family should change their mind at or after the Transition Meeting and they would like to hear what the school could possible offer their child the Service Coordinator will;
• have the parent sign a Release of Information,
• ask the family if they would like a meeting with the school representative,
• contact the LEA to schedule a meeting with the family and the Service Coordinator,
• forward all the necessary documentation, including the transition packet to the LEA,
• take minutes of the meeting,
• forward minutes of the meeting to the LEA and family.

The LEA will not record this meeting as a Transition Meeting on the log they turn into the state.


CONFIDENTIALITY

Each agency will protect the rights of young children with respect to records as created, maintained and used by the public agencies. It is the intent of this agreement to ensure that parents have the rights of access, rights of challenge and rights of privacy with respect to such reports and records, and that applicable state and federal laws for exercise of these rights be strictly followed.


CONFLICT RESOLUTION

All identified conflicts will be discussed honestly and openly with all interested parties at the local level. Should the identified issues not be resolved the issue may be brought to each involved parties supervisory level position. If a satisfactory result is still not achieved the issue will be directed to state and/or federal organization for direction.


CHILD FIND

Each agency that is a part of this agreement will continue to collaborate in locating and evaluating children with suspected disabilities and delays ages birth to five years.


EXECUTIVE OF THE MEMORANDUM

The LEA’s, Head Start and the First Steps North East Coordinating Council (NECC) pledge their support to cooperatively work together for the benefit of the children and families, and to allow all the regulations as specified in IDEA. All persons represented here are committed to the missions, goals, and objectives of the First Steps North East Coordinating Council (NECC). Should disputes regarding transitional issues arise, we agree to abide by the conflict resolution procedure outlined in the Council Interagency Agreement.


DURATION OF THIS AGREEMENT

This memorandum of Understanding shall become effective upon the signatures of the approving officials by 06-01-2009 and shall remain effective until 05-31-2011.