Past Tips of the Week
| WEEK | TIP |
| December 26, 2010 | Check the Date of Birth and spelling of the child’s name for each child before completing documentation. It is essential that the early intervention record contain accurate information on each child. Double checking your documentation also helps the RAU to accurately maintain the child’s records. |
| December 12, 2010 | Become familiar with WVBTT service definitions before working with children and families; they will help you to understand your role and responsibilities as well as the role and responsibilities of other team members. If you do not have a copy of the service definitions, please contact your Regional Technical Assistance Coordinator. |
| December 5, 2010 | To stay abreast of policy and procedure clarifications, check the Technical Assistance Bulletins, under the professionals tab on the website, on a regular basis. You can also link to the Technical Assistance Bulletins by clicking |
| November 28, 2010 | It is important for students to get an understanding of family centered practice and the philosophy of WVBTT, and the system is experiencing more interest from students wishing to complete internships/practicum in WVBTT. If you are serving as an internship/practicum supervisor, permission must be obtained from families prior to students visiting. |
| November 14, 2010 | Unable to contact a family? WV BTT has a process in place to protect the procedural safeguards of families as well as protecting team members. You need to review the Inability to Provide IFSP Services Technical Assistance Bulletin -dated 4-12-05. This process outlines the steps the team must take to resolve any outstanding issues with the family. |
| November 7, 2010 | To ensure that the child’s team maintains an open style of communication the SC should make sure that the team discusses, and documents, the best mode of communication, email or phone, for WVBTT team members at the initial IFSP. It’s also a good idea to review this information any time there is a change in the team and annually. |
| October 31, 2010 | Complete the Consent for WVBTT to Release Information when discussing families with community partners during transition planning. |
| October 31, 2010 | When planning for the 90 day face to face transition meeting, the Service Coordinator should mail the Transition Planning Notice to all team members and community partners the family has requested attend the meeting. |
| October 17, 2010 | Visit the WVBTT website weekly for updates! It is a wealth of information on WVBTT as well as other training opportunities across the state. |
| October 10, 2010 | Services should be provided at a child care provider location based on an identified concern with daily routines and activities in that setting. Consultation with the classroom teacher should be the focus of the intervention not one on one time with the child, and the family should be an integral part of these interventions as well. The child care providers should also be invited and be active participants through the IFSP process. |
| September 26, 2010 | Complete the Change of Information form in a timely manner to keep the child’s record up to date. |
| September 19, 2010 | Remember to review transition procedures from Part C to Part B for the county(ies) that you serve. They are posted on the Law and Regulations tab of the WVBTT website. |
| September 5, 2010 | Remember to plan ahead for annual enrollment updates. Renew licensure, liability insurance and CIB check at least a month prior to annual enrollment update deadline. Submission of your packet will be so much easier! |
| August 29, 2010 |
Contact your regional
Technical Assistance Coordinator with any questions! They will be able
to provide you with the most up to date information available. You can
find their contact information at: http://www.wvdhhr.org/birth23/files/TA_Coordinator_Map_2012.pdf |
| August 22, 2010 | If unable to serve an entire county, adjust the zip codes on your service directory page to reflect availability. You can find the WV zip codes at : http://www.555us.com/555WV/555wv_zipcodes.htm |
| August 15, 2010 | Correspondence, email or phone calls, should be returned within 48 hours. |
| August 8, 2010 | Meeting notices should be mailed 10 days prior to the meeting. This should be a confirmation of the meeting date, time and location; not the first time you are aware of the meeting. This should also be a notation in the Correspondence Phone Contact Log, whether sending the notice or receiving the notice. |
| August 1, 2010 | Services must be provided as stated in the IFSP. This means the intensity and frequency on the IFSP must be provided as identified in the document. If over time, the team determines that intensity and frequency are no longer appropriate, the Service Coordinator should schedule an IFSP Review for the team to discuss changes. |
| July 25, 2010 | In following the Tip from last week, not only should parents be signing and dating all documentation as required, they should also never be asked to sign a blank or incomplete document. Please see Technical Assistance Bulletin dated March 10, 2004. |
| July 18, 2010 | Parents should sign and date all documentation as required. |
| July 11, 2010 | Be sure you are communicating with your teams. That includes putting an ‘away message’ on your email and voice mail so when families or team members are trying to contact you, they will know why they aren’t getting return calls. |
| June 27, 2010 | Carry blank copies of all forms and a copy of the service directory in your car at all times. You’ll be ready for anything! |
| June 20, 2010 | Carry blank copies of all forms and a copy of the service directory in your car at all times. You’ll be ready for anything! |
| June 13, 2010 | Transition planning begins nine months prior to a child’s third birthday. Transition planning includes pages T1 and T2 of the IFSP. |
| May 30, 2010 | Evaluation and Assessment reports MUST be provided to the family, team and service coordinator prior to the meeting and no later than 15 days after your confirmation. |
| May 23, 2010 | Evaluation and Assessment reports MUST be provided to the family, team and service coordinator prior to the meeting and no later than 15 days after your confirmation. |
| May 16, 2010 | There is no I in team. |
| May 9, 2010 | The IFSP start date should be the date of the eligibility/IFSP meeting. Start dates for the services on the IFSP should also be the meeting date except for those rare instances when a service will begin at a later date due an upcoming practitioner or family vacation, scheduled hospitalization or surgery or other viable reason. |
| May 3, 2010 |
Federal law requires
that each eligible child have Transition Planning occur when exiting the
system. A copy of the Transition Plan may be found at this link:
http://www.wvdhhr.org/birth23/sdform/sdforms_Transition_Plan_2009.pdf
|
| April 25, 2010 | Practitioners and Service Coordinators should always submit required documentation to the RAU prior to billing WV Birth to Three for services rendered. Practitioner Confirmation, IFSP and IFSP reviews are due to the RAU within two calendar days of completion. All other forms except the Correspondence/Phone Contact Log which is due each month are to be to the RAU within 5 calendar days of completion. |
| April 18, 2010 | Make certain you have the newest version of all forms. All required forms are available on the WV BTT website under Standard Documentation Forms. Only print out a few at a time, so you don't end up with a lot of unusable or outdated forms. |
| April 5, 2010 | Part C of IDEA requires that eligible children receive services in a timely manner, and at the intensity and frequency as per their IFSP. In WV, “timely” receipt of services is identified as within 30 days of parent consent/start date on the IFSP. |
| March 29, 2010 | Tips for effective documentation of a home visit. (Click here) |