Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
(2) Definitions-As used in this rule, unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms also mean:
(A) Applicant-A person who has applied for
services from the division and/or that person's representative;
(B) Assessment-The process of identifying an
individual's health status and intellectual, emotional, physical,
developmental, and social functioning levels for use in determining eligibility
or developing the service plan;
(C)
Assessment team-Professionals employed by the Division of Developmental
Disabilities with specialized training and experience in the field of
developmental disabilities who determine the applicant's eligibility for
services;
(D) Client-Any person who
is placed by the department in a facility or program licensed and funded by the
department or who is a recipient of services from a Regional Office (RO).
Clients will be referred to as individuals throughout this rule;
(E) Cognitive or physical impairment-An
impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological
abnormalities which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and
laboratory diagnostic techniques;
(F) Comprehensive evaluation-A study,
including a sequence of observations and/or examinations of an individual,
and/or a review of records such as medical and other relevant records, leading
to conclusions and recommendations regarding eligibility.
1. For children from birth through age four
(0-4), a comprehensive evaluation may include, but not necessarily be limited
to, an assessment team's-
A. Assessment of
the child using First Steps eligibility criteria, or review of evidence of one
(1) of the at-risk factors set out in paragraphs (3)(A)1.-3. of this rule,
coupled with a review of scores on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
(Vineland);
B. Review of available
educational and medical information;
C. Review of additional individualized
assessment and interview results to provide evidence of cognitive or physical
impairments likely to continue indefinitely, evidence of substantial functional
limitations caused by cognitive or physical impairments, and evidence of a need
for sequential and coordinated special services which may be of lifelong or
extended duration; and
D.
Formulation of conclusions and recommendations.
2. For individuals ages five (5) and older, a
comprehensive evaluation may include but not necessarily be limited to an
interdisciplinary assessment team's-
A.
Review of the results of the Missouri Adaptive Abilities Scale
(MAAS);
B. Review of available
vocational and medical information, and educational information;
C. Review of additional individualized
assessment and interview results to provide evidence of cognitive or physical
impairments likely to continue indefinitely, evidence of substantial functional
limitations caused by cognitive or physical impairments, and evidence of a need
for sequential and coordinated special services which may be of lifelong or
extended duration; and
D.
Formulation of conclusions and recommendations.
E. Designated representative-A parent,
relative, or other person designated by an adult who does not have a guardian.
The designated representative may participate in the development of the
individual support plan at the request of, and as directed by, the
individual;
(G)
Developmental delay-
1. A delay, as measured
and verified by appropriate diagnostic measures and procedures, which results
in a child having obtained no more than approximately fifty percent (50%) of
the developmental milestones and skills that would be expected of a child of
equal age and considered to be developing within normal limits. The delay must
be identified in one (1) or more of the following five (5) developmental areas:
cognitive, speech or language, self-help, physical (including vision and
hearing), or psychosocial; or
2.
Demonstrated atypical development in any one (1) of the five (5) developmental
areas, based on professional judgment of an assessment team and documented by-
A. Systematic and documented observation of
functional abilities in daily routine;
B. Developmental history; and
C. Other appropriate assessment procedures
which may include but are not necessarily limited to parent report,
criteria-referenced assessment, and developmental checklist;
(H) Developmental
disability-A disability which-
1. Is
attributable to-
A. Intellectual developmental
disorder, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, head injury, autism, or a learning
disability related to a brain dysfunction; or
B. Any other cognitive or physical impairment
or combination of cognitive or physical impairments;
2. Is manifested before the person attains
age twenty-two (22);
3. Is likely
to continue indefinitely;
4.
Results in substantial functional limitations in two (2) or more of the
following six (6) areas of major life activities: self-care, receptive and
expressive language development and use, learning, self-direction, capacity for
independent living or economic self-sufficiency, and mobility; and
5. Reflects the person's need for a
combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary or generic care,
habilitation, or other services which may be of lifelong or extended duration
and are individually planned and coordinated;
(I) Eligible-Qualified through a
comprehensive evaluation by the Division of Developmental Disabilities to
receive services from the division, but not necessarily entitled to a specific
service;
(J) First Steps- A program
of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) offering
coordinated services to Missouri families of children, birth to age three (3),
who have delayed development or diagnosed conditions that are associated with
developmental disabilities. First Steps is governed by
5 CSR
25-100.120 in accordance with Part C of the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
(K) Individual support plan (ISP)-A document
directed by the individual, with assistance as needed from a representative, in
collaboration with a planning team. The ISP identifies strengths, capacities,
preferences, needs, and desired outcomes of the individual. The ISP shall
encompass a personalized mix of paid and nonpaid services and supports that
will assist him/her to achieve personally defined outcomes. Training, supports,
therapies, treatments, and/or other services to be provided for the individual
become part of the ISP;
(L)
Individual support plan team (ISP team)-The individual, the individual's
designated representative(s), the support coordinator, and representatives of
services required or desired by the individual;
(M) Initial Plan-A document that notifies the
individual of eligibility for services and facilitates referral to case
management;
(N) Intellectual
developmental disorder- Significantly subaverage general intellectual
functioning, at or below two (2) standard deviations below the mean, including
a margin for measurement error when appropriate, as measured by an individually
administered, comprehensive, and psychometrically sound test of intelligence.
Intellectual developmental disorder originates before age eighteen (18) and is
associated with significant impairment in adaptive behavior as assessed by both
clinical evaluation and culturally appropriate, psychometrically sound
measures;
(O) Intake-The process
conducted prior to determination of eligibility by which data is gathered from
an applicant;
(P) Legal
representative-Parent of a minor child or legal guardian;
(Q) Logging-Recording in a uniform,
consistent manner those dates and activities related to application,
comprehensive evaluation, and other eligibility determination procedures as
well as dates and activities related to applicant and individual
appeals;
(R) Major life activities-
1. Self-care-Daily activities which enable a
person to meet basic needs for food, hygiene, and appearance; demonstrated
ongoing ability to appropriately perform basic activities of daily living with
little or no assistance or supervision;
2. Receptive and expressive
language-Communication involving verbal and nonverbal behavior enabling a
person to understand and express ideas and information to the general public
with or without assistive devices; demonstrated ability to understand ordinary
spoken and written communications and to speak and write well enough to
communicate thoughts accurately and appropriately on an ongoing
basis;
3. Learning-General
cognitive competence and ability to acquire new behaviors, perceptions, and
information and to apply experiences in new situations; demonstrated ongoing
ability to acquire information, process experiences, and appropriately perform
ordinary, cognitive, age-appropriate tasks on an ongoing basis;
4. Mobility-Motor development and ability to
use fine and gross motor skills; demonstrated ongoing ability to move about
while performing purposeful activities with or without assistive devices and
with little or no assistance or supervision;
5. Self-direction-Management and control over
one's social and personal life; ability to make decisions and perform
activities affecting and protecting personal interests; demonstrated ongoing
ability to take charge of life activities as age-appropriate through an
appropriate level of selfresponsibility and assertiveness; and
6. Capacity for independent living or
economic selfsufficiency-Age-appropriate ability to live without extraordinary
assistance from other persons or devices, especially to maintain normal
societal roles; ability to maintain adequate employment and financial support;
ability to earn a living wage, net (determined by the assessment team for each
individual), after payment of extraordinary expenses caused by the disability;
demonstrated ability to function on an ongoing basis as an adult independent of
extraordinary emotional, physical, medical, or financial support
systems;
(S) Markedly
disturbed social relatedness-A condition found in children from birth through
age four (0-4) and characterized by-
1.
Persistent failure to initiate or respond in an age-appropriate manner to most
social interactions; for example, absence of visual tracking and reciprocal
play, lack of vocal imitation or playfulness, apathy, little or no spontaneity,
or lack of or little curiosity and social interest; or
2. Indiscriminate sociability; for example,
excessive familiarity with relative strangers by making requests and displaying
affection;
(T) Missouri
Adaptive Abilities Scale (MAAS)-A standardized, normative, and criterion-based
instrument used to determine the existence and severity of substantial
functional limitations of major life activities;
(U) Screening-Initial evaluation services,
possibly including review by an assessment team of information collected during
the intake and application processes to substantiate that the applicant is
developmentally disabled or is suspected to be developmentally disabled and
requires further assessment for eligibility determination;
(V) Substantial-At least two (2) or more
standard deviations below the mean, taking into consideration the standard
error of measure, on a standardized, norm-referenced measure;
(W) Substantial functional limitation-An
inability, due to a cognitive or physical impairment, to independently perform
a major life activity within expectations of age and culture; and
(X) Temporary action plan-A written plan
authorizing additional time for the purpose of completing the comprehensive
evaluation.
(3)
Eligibility for services from the division is predicated on the applicant's
either having an intellectual developmental disorder or developmental
disability or being at risk of becoming developmentally delayed or
developmentally disabled. The following criteria is used in carrying out
comprehensive evaluations for determining eligibility for services from the
division:
(A) Children From Birth Through Age
Four (0-4). Individuals participating in the First Steps Program under DESE are
eligible for services under the Division of Developmental Disabilities. The
Division shall determine eligibility for those children not enrolled in First
Steps based on one (1) of the following at-risk circumstances, when coupled
with a score of at least one and one-half (1.5) standard deviations below the
mean, taking into consideration the standard error of measure, in any one (1)
area of a norm-referenced, standardized, and age-appropriate measure of
adaptive function:
1. Receipt by the division
of documentation, based upon an individualized assessment from a qualified
developmental disabilities professional, that there is markedly disturbed
social relatedness in most contexts which puts the child at risk of becoming
developmentally delayed or developmentally disabled; or
2. Determination by a regional office that a
child's primary caregiver has a developmental disability and that the
developmental disability could put the child at risk of becoming
developmentally delayed or developmentally disabled;
(B) Children Ages Five Through Seventeen
(5-17).
1. Children scoring as follows on the
MAAS shall be considered to have substantial functional limitations in two (2)
or more areas of major life activity:
A. One
and one-half (1.5) standard deviations below the mean in at least two (2)
developmental areas; or
B. Two (2)
or more standard deviations below the mean in only one (1) developmental area.
(C) Adults
Ages Eighteen (18) and Older. Adults whose comprehensive evaluations, including
results of the MAAS, indicate deficits in two (2) or more of the areas of major
life activity shall be considered to have substantial functional limitations in
those areas.
(4)
Eligibility Process.
(A) Regional offices
shall complete comprehensive evaluations within thirty (30) business days after
receipt of valid applications and sufficient supporting medical, psychological,
and/or educational reports. A Division of Developmental Disabilities staff
member shall be designated to help ensure the eligibility determination process
proceeds in a timely manner. The name of that individual shall be given to all
applicants. This staff member shall have access to all necessary information
relevant to the application for services.
(B) Individuals may apply for services only
on application forms provided by the division.
1. By the end of the next business day after
any referral, inquiry, or request for services, a regional office shall provide
application forms and information about services offered by the division unless
it is clearly evident that the inquiry, request, or referral has been made to
the division inappropriately or is for a person who is clearly ineligible for
services. In cases of evident ineligibility or inappropriate inquiries,
requests, or referrals, regional offices shall refer individuals for whom
services have been requested to appropriate agencies within five (5) business
days after the inquiry, request, or referral.
2. For an individual's request for services
to be considered, the regional office must receive a valid application for
services. An application shall be valid only if signed or marked by the
applicant. A mark must be witnessed.
3. Regional office staff shall contact the
individual within ten (10) business days of receipt of an invalid application
to obtain a valid application so that the eligibility process can
continue.
4. If the regional office
has not received an application within thirty (30) calendar days of the date it
was provided to the individual, regional office staff shall contact the
individual directly by telephone, electronic or regular mail, or in person to
determine if the individual desires to continue the application for services
and, if so, if assistance is needed in completing an application.
(C) A comprehensive evaluation
includes-
1. A norm-referenced, standardized,
and age-appropriate measure of adaptive function shall be used during
assessment of children up to age five (5) to determine if substantial
functional limitations exist; or
2.
The MAAS shall be used during comprehensive evaluation of individuals age five
(5) and older to determine if substantial functional limitations
exist.
(D) When
"in-person" meetings, including assessments, are required, the regional office
staff shall conduct such meetings in applicants' homes as feasible unless
applicants request other sites. If meetings are at the Regional Office, the
regional office staff shall work with applicants to secure transportation to
the offices.
(E) If an applicant
who claims eligibility due to intellectual developmental disorder has not been
found to have substantial functional limitations in two (2) or more areas of
major life activity under this rule, the assessment team shall consider any
additional assessments or other relevant information provided by the applicant
to determine if the applicant has an intellectual developmental disorder. One
(1) or more standardized testing tools currently defined by the American
Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities shall be used in
conducting adaptive behavioral assessment.
(F) If within thirty (30) business days of
receipt of a valid application the assessment team finds the applicant
ineligible for services, the regional office shall-
1. Provide, to the applicant, within one (1)
business day of the decision, written notice of right to appeal the decision, a
statement of the legal and factual reasons for the denial, a notice of the
appeals process contained in
9 CSR
45-2.020, and a brochure which explains the appeals
process;
2. Orally provide to the
applicant, within one (1) business day of the decision, if possible, the
reasons for ineligibility and an explanation of the applicant's right to
appeal, along with information about how and to whom to request an appeal;
and
3. Make referrals within five
(5) business days of the decision to other agencies and monitor services
received by the applicant for at least thirty (30) calendar days from the date
of the ineligibility determination.
(G) If the assessment team cannot make an
eligibility determination within thirty (30) business days of receipt of a
valid application because the regional office has not received collateral data
or other information critical to the determination, the assessment team shall
develop a temporary action plan within that thirty- (30-) business-day period,
and the office may take up to thirty (30) additional business days to determine
eligibility.
1. For an applicant then
determined eligible during the additional thirty- (30-) business-day period,
the assessment team also shall develop the initial plan within the thirty (30)
business days of the determination of eligibility.
2. For individuals needing immediate
services, the service coordinator also shall develop an initial ISP within five
(5) business days after the eligibility determination unless an ISP has already
been developed.
3. For an applicant
determined ineligible during the additional thirty- (30-) business-day period,
the regional office shall provide written and oral notices as set out in
paragraphs (4)(F)1. and 2. of this rule and shall make referrals to other
agencies and monitor services received by the applicant as set out in paragraph
(4)(F)3. of this rule.
(H) If the assessment team has received
collateral data and all other information necessary for the determination and
does not make a determination within thirty (30) business days, they have an
additional five (5) business days to make a determination.
1. For an applicant then determined eligible,
the office shall proceed as set out in paragraphs (4)(I)1.-3. of this
rule.
2. For an applicant then
determined ineligible, the office shall proceed as set out in paragraphs
(4)(F)1.-3. of this rule.
(I) For an applicant determined eligible
within thirty (30) business days of receipt of valid application-
1. The regional office shall provide written
notice of eligibility and client status within three (3) business days of the
determination;
2. The planning team
shall develop an ISP within thirty (30) business days after the date of the
eligibility determination; and
3.
For individuals needing immediate services, the service coordinator also shall
develop an initial ISP within five (5) business days after the eligibility
determination.
(J) The
Regional Office (RO) shall reassess individuals through comprehensive
evaluation as needed. RO shall discharge individuals who are no longer eligible
for services and individuals for whom division services are no longer
appropriate.
1. Not later than sixty (60)
calendar days before a reassessment, the regional office shall provide to the
individual a written notice of the upcoming reassessment and of the possibility
that division services may be discontinued.
2. If, as a result of the comprehensive
evaluation, an individual is found ineligible or no longer in need of services,
the regional office shall provide written and oral notice as set out in
paragraphs (4)(F)1. and 2. of this rule and shall prepare a discharge plan
which shall provide at least sixty (60) calendar days from the date of that
plan for the individual to transition from division services into services from
other agencies. The regional office and the individual's support coordinator
shall monitor and assist with that transition.
(K) Regional office staff shall log the
disposition of all applications, including eligibility determinations, appeals,
and referrals to other agencies. Comprehensive evaluation activities noted
throughout this rule shall be logged immediately or on the same business
day.
(L) If an applicant or legal
representative disagrees with an ineligibility determination, the determination
may be appealed under procedures contained in
9 CSR
45-2.020.
*Original authority: 630.050, RSMo 1980, amended 1993,
1995, 2008.