IFSP Collaboration

The IFSP process has five major components and those are referral, evaluation, IFSP

meeting, forms, and transition. It is considered evidence-based practice (EBP) to have family

involvement within the services under Part C of IDEA. Early intervention (EI) uses a

collaborative partnership between the EI service providers and the child’s family/caregivers. This

process uses a family-centered approach toward goals, outcomes, and strategies. The primary

service provider (PSP) will coach, model, and share strategies with the families to use throughout

their daily routines within the child’s natural environment. Parents are the backbone of early

intervention, and the main purpose is to build the parents’ capacity to meet the needs of their

child’s development.

A referral is normally made when a healthcare professional or caregiver notices a child is

not meeting developmental milestones as expected. Once a referral has been made to Early

Intervention a case coordinator is assigned to the family. The case coordinator’s job is to walk

the family through the referral process and answer any questions. The case coordinator will work

alongside the family to find a time that works best for the family to schedule an intake meeting.

This initial meeting will cover why the child was referred and may entail a short screening to

determine if the child is eligible for services. A more in-depth assessment like the Batelle may be

given at a later date to see which types of support would be most helpful and appropriate for the

child. During the initial visit, the case coordinator will share the parent’s rights and

responsibilities. During the first visit families can share their concerns regarding their child’s

development. They also partake in the Ecomap and Routines Based Interview (RBI), to give the

EI team information around their daily schedule to target which routines they can give strategies.
 During the evaluation process families are again utilised. Families also share with either

the case coordinator or PSP what their priorities are for their child during the process of services.

Evaluations are diagnostic and determine a child’s eligibility for services. While an assessment is

used to determine the IFSP goals (Jung & Grisham-Brown, 2006, p.3).

During the development of the IFSP which stands for Individualized Family Service

Plan, the families are active participants. The goals that they have identified for their child, can

be formed into realistic and attainable goals. These goals allow the team to collaborate for

strategies to embed within the families daily routines. The IFSP is a plan in place for how the

PSP and family and their child will interact throughout their visits. An IFSP can not go into

effect until the parents sign off and give consent. The IFSP is also reviewed and updated every 6

months to change or add new goals per the family's wishes that would help the child with

development. Since families are a part of the team, all together, we will jointly revise the goal to

continue progress toward achieving IFSP outcomes and address any new family concerns or

interests.

There are two major transitions that can occur with a child/family. One would be if a

child has met all goals and they are no longer delayed in their development and families think

they do not require services, they may exit the program. The other transition would be if the

child is 3 years old and would be requiring services in preschool and would transition to the

school team. The EI team would begin to prepare families for the transition out of Part C services

into Part B. It is the job of the team to explain the process and timelines to the family. They

would also complete an exit form for the child and close the case.
 References

Jung, L. A., & Grisham-Brown, J. (2006). Moving from assessment information to

IFSPs: Guidelines for a family-centered process. Young Exceptional Children, 9(2), 2-11.