Public Act 102-0962
 
HB4999 EnrolledLRB102 23769 KTG 32960 b

    AN ACT concerning children.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Early Intervention Services System Act is
amended by changing Section 11 as follows:
 
    (325 ILCS 20/11)  (from Ch. 23, par. 4161)
    Sec. 11. Individualized Family Service Plans.
    (a) Each eligible infant or toddler and that infant's or
toddler's family shall receive:
        (1) timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary
    assessment of the unique strengths and needs of each
    eligible infant and toddler, and assessment of the
    concerns and priorities of the families to appropriately
    assist them in meeting their needs and identify supports
    and services to meet those needs; and
        (2) a written Individualized Family Service Plan
    developed by a multidisciplinary team which includes the
    parent or guardian. The individualized family service plan
    shall be based on the multidisciplinary team's assessment
    of the resources, priorities, and concerns of the family
    and its identification of the supports and services
    necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the
    developmental needs of the infant or toddler, and shall
    include the identification of services appropriate to meet
    those needs, including the frequency, intensity, and
    method of delivering services. During and as part of the
    initial development of the individualized family services
    plan, and any periodic reviews of the plan, the
    multidisciplinary team may seek consultation from the lead
    agency's designated experts, if any, to help determine
    appropriate services and the frequency and intensity of
    those services. All services in the individualized family
    services plan must be justified by the multidisciplinary
    assessment of the unique strengths and needs of the infant
    or toddler and must be appropriate to meet those needs. At
    the periodic reviews, the team shall determine whether
    modification or revision of the outcomes or services is
    necessary.
    (b) The Individualized Family Service Plan shall be
evaluated once a year and the family shall be provided a review
of the Plan at 6-month 6 month intervals or more often where
appropriate based on infant or toddler and family needs. The
lead agency shall create a quality review process regarding
Individualized Family Service Plan development and changes
thereto, to monitor and help ensure assure that resources are
being used to provide appropriate early intervention services.
    (c) The initial evaluation and initial assessment and
initial Plan meeting must be held within 45 days after the
initial contact with the early intervention services system.
The 45-day timeline does not apply for any period when the
child or parent is unavailable to complete the initial
evaluation, the initial assessments of the child and family,
or the initial Plan meeting, due to exceptional family
circumstances that are documented in the child's early
intervention records, or when the parent has not provided
consent for the initial evaluation or the initial assessment
of the child despite documented, repeated attempts to obtain
parental consent. As soon as exceptional family circumstances
no longer exist or parental consent has been obtained, the
initial evaluation, the initial assessment, and the initial
Plan meeting must be completed as soon as possible. With
parental consent, early intervention services may commence
before the completion of the comprehensive assessment and
development of the Plan. All early intervention services shall
be initiated as soon as possible but not later than 30 calendar
days after the consent of the parent or guardian has been
obtained for the individualized family service plan, in
accordance with rules adopted by the Department of Human
Services.
    (d) Parents must be informed that early intervention
services shall be provided to each eligible infant and
toddler, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the natural
environment, which may include the home or other community
settings. Parents must also be informed of the availability of
early intervention services provided through telehealth
services. Parents shall make the final decision to accept or
decline early intervention services, including whether
accepted services are delivered in person or via telehealth
services. A decision to decline such services shall not be a
basis for administrative determination of parental fitness, or
other findings or sanctions against the parents. Parameters of
the Plan shall be set forth in rules.
    (e) The regional intake offices shall explain to each
family, orally and in writing, all of the following:
        (1) That the early intervention program will pay for
    all early intervention services set forth in the
    individualized family service plan that are not covered or
    paid under the family's public or private insurance plan
    or policy and not eligible for payment through any other
    third party payor.
        (2) That services will not be delayed due to any rules
    or restrictions under the family's insurance plan or
    policy.
        (3) That the family may request, with appropriate
    documentation supporting the request, a determination of
    an exemption from private insurance use under Section
    13.25.
        (4) That responsibility for co-payments or
    co-insurance under a family's private insurance plan or
    policy will be transferred to the lead agency's central
    billing office.
        (5) That families will be responsible for payments of
    family fees, which will be based on a sliding scale
    according to the State's definition of ability to pay
    which is comparing household size and income to the
    sliding scale and considering out-of-pocket medical or
    disaster expenses, and that these fees are payable to the
    central billing office. Families who fail to provide
    income information shall be charged the maximum amount on
    the sliding scale.
    (f) The individualized family service plan must state
whether the family has private insurance coverage and, if the
family has such coverage, must have attached to it a copy of
the family's insurance identification card or otherwise
include all of the following information:
        (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the
    insurance carrier.
        (2) The contract number and policy number of the
    insurance plan.
        (3) The name, address, and social security number of
    the primary insured.
        (4) The beginning date of the insurance benefit year.
    (g) A copy of the individualized family service plan must
be provided to each enrolled provider who is providing early
intervention services to the child who is the subject of that
plan.
    (h) Children receiving services under this Act shall
receive a smooth and effective transition by their third
birthday consistent with federal regulations adopted pursuant
to Sections 1431 through 1444 of Title 20 of the United States
Code. Beginning January 1, 2022, children who receive early
intervention services prior to their third birthday and are
found eligible for an individualized education program under
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.
1414(d)(1)(A), and under Section 14-8.02 of the School Code
and whose birthday falls between May 1 and August 31 may
continue to receive early intervention services until the
beginning of the school year following their third birthday in
order to minimize gaps in services, ensure better continuity
of care, and align practices for the enrollment of preschool
children with special needs to the enrollment practices of
typically developing preschool children.
(Source: P.A. 101-654, eff. 3-8-21; 102-104, eff. 7-22-21;
102-209, eff. 11-30-21 (See Section 5 of P.A. 102-671 for
effective date of P.A. 102-209); revised 12-1-21.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2022.