Sec.17a-248-1. Definitions

As used in section 17a-248-1 to section 17a-248-10, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies:

(1) “Administrative proceeding” means a formal procedure before an impartial decision maker appointed to hear evidence and render a decision final and binding on the parties unless reversed or modified on appeal.

(2) “Birth-to-three system” means the statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

(3) “Days” means calendar days.

(4) “Diagnosed condition expected to lead to a developmental delay” means those conditions, diagnosed by a physician, audiologist or speech pathologist, that are designated by the lead agency as having a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay.

(5) “Director” means the person designated by the commissioner of the lead agency as the person responsible for all statewide aspects of the birth-to-three system.

(6) “Impartial decision maker” means the person duly designated for the purpose of conducting an administrative proceeding pursuant to 34 CFR 303.430 to 303.432, inclusive.

(7) “Individualized Family Service Plan” or “IFSP” means a written plan for providing early intervention services to an eligible child and the child’s family.

(8) “Interim IFSP” means a temporary plan developed with parental consent for a child with a known developmental delay or disability who has apparent immediate needs for early intervention service delivery between initial identification of the child’s needs and the completion of the multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment. The interim IFSP shall include the name of the service coordinator and the early intervention services that have been determined to be needed immediately.

(9) “Lead agency” means the Department of Developmental Services, the public agency responsible for the administration of the birth-to-three system in collaboration with the participating agencies.

(10) “Mediation” means a voluntary, non-adversarial process by which a parent of a child and an early intervention program are assisted by a trained mediator who has been designated by the lead agency to provide mediation services to reach agreement regarding eligibility, the provision of early intervention services, or the failure of an early intervention program to act within a period required by 34 CFR 303.431.

(11) “Parent” has the same meaning as provided in section 17a-248 of the Connecticut General Statutes.

(12) “Personally identifiable” means information which includes, but is not limited to, (A) the name of the child, the parent, or other family member; (B) the address of the child, the parent, or other family member; (C) a personal identifier, such as the social security number of the child, parent, or other family member;

(D) a list or description of personal or physical characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child, the parent, or other family member with reasonable certainty.

(13) “Program” means an agency providing comprehensive, early intervention services to eligible children operated by, under contract with, or through an inter- agency agreement with the lead agency.

(14) “Record” means any information recorded in any way, maintained by a birth-to-three state-operated program, birth-to-three contractor or lead agency personnel. A record shall include any information recorded in any way including, but not limited to, handwriting, print, electronic, tape, film, microfilm, or microfiche.

(15) “Service coordination” means activities that assist and enable an eligible child and the child’s parent to understand a child’s rights and the procedural safe- guards afforded by the birth-to-three system and to receive services that are authorized by the birth-to-three system.

(16) “Significant developmental delay” means the child’s scores on an appropriate norm-referenced standardized diagnostic instrument are (A) two standard deviations below the mean in one area of development; or (B) one and one-half standard deviations below the mean in at least two areas of development. When the use of the standardized diagnostic instrument is not appropriate due to a child’s age or when a child requires significant adaptation to perform on a standardized instrument, the evaluator may substitute another procedure.

(17) “Surrogate parent” means a person appointed or designated to act as a parent for the child for the birth-to-three system when a child’s parents are unknown or unavailable.

(Effective June 29, 1998; Amended August 30, 2004; Amended April 19, 2010; Amended July 2, 2014)