Arizona Early Intervention Program -Assessment Part II-

Purpose of Assessment Family AssessmentChild Assessment To identify the family’s resources, priorities and concerns and the supports and services necessary to enhance the family’s capacity to meet their child’s needs To identify the child’s unique strengths and needs, within context and routines, and the early intervention services appropriate to meet those needs Must be: Family directed Voluntary on the part of each family member participating Based on the use of an assessment tool and family interview Must include: Review of evaluation results, if an evaluation for eligibility was conducted Personal observations of the child Identification of the child’s needs in each of the five developmental areas

Child and Family Assessment Initial assessment of the child and family conducted prior to child’s initial Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting. The assessment occurs after the evaluation and eligibility has been determined. The Child and Family Assessment is conducted prior to each Annual Review, and may be conducted prior to any IFSP update to gather additional information. Requires consent prior to the child assessments (GCI- 1083A or GCI-1083AS).

Child and Family Assessment Unless not clearly feasible to do so, family assessments must be conducted in the native language of the family members involved in the assessment. Be voluntary on the part of each family member participating in the assessment. Family assessment includes the use of an assessment tool and interview with family members that elect to participate.

Preparing for Initial Assessment At the Initial visit the SC will: Provide and explain the Child and Family Assessment Guide for Families Families can take time between this visit and the next to think about what areas they would like early intervention to help with Information from the guide will help the team develop outcomes and identify strategies

Initial Assessment Process Child Eligible by record review Child Eligible by evaluation Assessment visit occurs as a separate visit between the initial visit and before the IFSP meeting Assessment visit may be combined with the evaluation visit or occur just prior to the beginning of IFSP meeting. One core team member and an AzEIP or ASDB Service Coordinator; if SC is dual role, he/she can only count as one of the team members

Conducting the Initial Assessment The Team members involved with assessment: Meet with the family and review the purpose of assessment Obtain consent for the Child and Family Assessment Ask the family if they had time to look at or complete the guide Offer a copy of the Guide if the family does not have one to guide the discussion Document discussion with the family on the Child and Family Assessment Pages of the IFSP

Child Indicators The information gathered during the evaluation and Child and Family Assessment is used to complete the Child Entry Indicator Summary Explain the purpose of completing the Child Entry Indicators Ensure that you have a Decision Making Tree and Definitions of the Ratings Complete Child Indicators Entry Form with the family

Initial Assessment Process Summarize the assessment visit: –Review the information gathered during the assessment to support the development of the IFSP Priorities identified may become outcomes Natural Resources are considered when developing steps and services necessary to meet the outcomes

Annual Assessment Planning Prior ( 1-2 weeks) to the annual assessment meeting, the Team Lead or Service Coordinator will: –Provide and explain the Child and Family Assessment Guide for Families –Ask the family which family members they would like to participate

Annual Assessment The Child and Family Assessment: Must include the service coordinator and at least one IFSP team member May be conducted as a separate visit or prior to the beginning of the Annual IFSP Meeting Must include Consent for Child Assessment Unless clearly not feasible, must be provided in the language normally used by the parents; for the purposes of the child assessment, the language normally used by the child, if determined developmentally appropriate

Annual Assessment Process Team members Review the purpose of assessment and explain the process. Ask family if they had time to look at or complete the Child and Family Assessment Guide and wish to use it in the discussion Offer a copy of the Guide if the family doesn’t have it (not to complete but to reference during the discussion) Document the discussion on the Child and Family Assessment Pages of the IFSP

IFSP If held as a separate meeting, the annual IFSP can be scheduled with the family at the conclusion of the annual assessment If combined, the team continues the discussion and completes the annual IFSP –All team members required for each meeting should arrive together and not leave until the end of the meeting, unless there is a break between the two.

Thank You! Questions? Submit to For more information: