Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Health Services
DHS 30-100 - Community Services
Chapter DHS 90 - Early Intervention Services For Children From Birth To Age 3 With Developmental Needs
Section DHS 90.03 - Definitions

(1) "Assessment" means the initial and ongoing procedures used by qualified personnel and family members, following determination of eligibility, to determine an eligible child's unique strengths and needs and the nature and extent of early intervention services required by the child and the child's family to meet those needs.

(2) "Assistive technology device" means an item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capability of an eligible child.

(2m) "Assistive technology service" means a service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition or use of an assistive technology device.

(3) "Atypical development" means development that is unusual in its pattern, is not within normal developmental milestones, and adversely affects the child's overall development.

(4) "Birth to 3" means from birth up to but not including age 3.

(5) "Birth to 3 program" means the effort in Wisconsin under s. 51.44, Stats., and this chapter that is directed at meeting the developmental needs of eligible children and meeting the needs of their families as these needs relate to the child's individual development.

(6) "Child" means a person in the age group birth to 3 with a developmental delay or disability as determined in accordance with criteria under s. DHS 90.08(5) or (6).

(7) "Child find" means identifying, locating and evaluating children who may be eligible for the birth to 3 program.

(8) "Consent" means, in reference to a parent, that the parent:

(9) "Core services" means the interdisciplinary evaluation of a child to determine eligibility, the identification of a service coordinator, provision of service coordination, development of an individualized family service plan, and the protection of rights under procedural safeguards.

(10) "County administrative agency" means the s. 46.21, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42 or 51.437, Stats., department, the local public health agency or any other public agency either designated by a county board of supervisors or acting under contract or agreement with the county board of supervisors to operate the birth to 3 program in the county and provide or contract for early intervention services for eligible children in that county.

(11) "Department" means the Wisconsin department of health services.

(12) "Developmental delay" means development that lags behind established developmental milestones as determined in accordance with the criteria under s. DHS 90.08(5).

(13) "Developmental status" means the current functioning of a child in the areas of cognition, communication, vision and hearing, social interaction, emotional response, adaptive behavior and self-help skills, and the current physical condition and health of the child.

(14) "Diagnosed condition" means a physical or mental condition for which the probability is high, based on a physician's diagnosis and documenting report, that the condition will result in a developmental delay.

(15) "Early intervention record" means information recorded in any way by the county administrative agency or service provider regarding a child's screening, evaluation, assessment or eligibility determination, development and implementation of the IFSP, individual complaints dealing with the child or family and any other matter related to early intervention services provided to the child and the child's family.

(16) "Early intervention services" means services provided under public supervision that are designed to meet the special developmental needs of an eligible child and the needs of the child's family related to the child's development and selected in collaboration with the parent.

(17) "EI team" or "early intervention team" means the interdisciplinary team consisting of the parent, service coordinator and appropriate qualified personnel that conducts the evaluation or assessment of a child.

(18) "Eligible child" means a child eligible for the birth to 3 program.

(19) "Evaluation" means the process used by qualified professionals to determine a child's initial and continuing eligibility for early intervention services under s. 51.44, Stats., and this chapter.

(20) "Family-directed assessment" means the ongoing process by which the parent and service providers work together in partnership to identify and understand the family's strengths, resources, concerns and priorities including relevant cultural factors, beliefs and values, in order to provide support and services to increase the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of the child.

(21) "IFSP" or "individualized family service plan" means a written plan for providing early intervention services to an eligible child and the child's family.

(22) "IFSP planning process" means the process to develop the IFSP which begins with the family's first contacts with the birth to 3 program, includes the evaluation of the child's abilities to determine eligibility; identification and assessment of the eligible child's unique needs; at a family's option, family-directed assessment of the family's strengths, resources, concerns and priorities; development of the written IFSP; implementation of the plan; planning for transition to other programs or services; and ongoing review and revision of the written plan.

(23) "IFSP team" means the team that develops and implements the IFSP consisting of the parent, service coordinator, service providers, at least one professional who served on the EI team and any other person identified by the parent.

(24) "Interdisciplinary" means drawing from different disciplines, specialties and perspectives, including perspectives of parents, and using formal channels of communication that encourage members or contributors to share information and discuss results.

(24m) "Native language" means the language or other mode of communication normally used by the parent.

(25) "Natural environment" means settings that are natural or normal for the child's age peers who have no disability.

(26) "Parent" means the biological parents with parental rights or, if there is only one, the biological parent with parental rights; the parents by adoption or, if there is only one, the parent by adoption; a person acting as a parent such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives; a guardian; or a surrogate parent.

Note: The term "parent" is being used in the singular throughout this chapter for reasons of convenience of expression.

(27) "Parent facilitator" means the parent of a child with a disability, who is hired by the county administrative agency or a service provider on the basis of demonstrated skills in planning and communicating and in providing support to other parents.

(28) "Part C" means the federal grant program to help states establish statewide comprehensive systems of early intervention services for children in the age group birth to 3 and their families, 20 USC 1471- 1485, which was added to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC ch. 33, by PL 99-457 and amended by PL 102-119 and PL 105-17.

(28m) "Personally identifiable information" means the name of the child or the child's parent or other family member, the address of the child or the child's parent or other family member, any personal identifier such as the child's or parent's social security number, or a list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty.

(29) "Procedural safeguards" means the requirements under ss. DHS 90.12 and designed 90.13 to protect the rights of children and families receiving services through the birth to 3 program.

(30) "Public health agency" means a health department, board or officer under ch. 251, Stats.

(31) "Qualified personnel" means persons who have met Wisconsin approved or recognized certification, licensing, registration or other comparable requirements set out in s. DHS 90.11(6) for providing an early intervention service.

(32) "Screening" means the process for identifying children who need further evaluation because they may have a developmental delay or a diagnosed condition.

(33) "Service coordinator" means the person designated by a county administrative agency and responsible to that agency for coordinating the evaluation of a child, the assessment of the child and family and the development of an individualized family service plan, and for assisting and enabling the eligible child and the child's family to receive early intervention and other services and procedural safeguards under this chapter. A "service coordinator" is called a "case manager" for purposes of reimbursement for services under chs. DHS 101 to 108.

(34) "Service provider" means a public or private agency which by contract or agreement with a county administrative agency provides early intervention services under s. 51.44, Stats., and this chapter.

(35) "Surrogate parent" means a person who has been appointed in accordance with s. DHS 90.13 to act as a child's parent in all matters relating to s. 51.44, Stats., and this chapter.