What is an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)?

An Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a written plan for the child’s and family’s services in the early intervention program that the family develops with a team of qualified personnel and the Early Intervention Official. The IFSP includes goals and strategies to address priorities and concerns.

Your family’s IFSP will include a statement of the following:
– Child’s present level of functioning
– Family’s resources, priorities and concerns related to child’s development
– Early intervention services needed to meet your child’s and family’s needs
– Where services will be provided
– Outcome or goals expected from services
– Strategies, activities that will lead to the outcomes

What happens after an evaluation?

The evaluation team or a member of the team will discuss with you their findings. The evaluation team must write an evaluation report and summary. If your child is eligible, an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is developed.

How is eligibility determined?

All referred children receive a multidisciplinary evaluation to determine eligibility for services. The NYS definition of developmental delay means that a child has not attained certain milestones expected for the child’s age adjusted for prematurity. A developmental delay is a delay that has been measured by qualified personnel using appropriate diagnostic procedures which document:
– a 12-month delay in one functional area;
– 33% delay in one functional area or 25% in each of two areas;
– 2 standard deviations below the mean in one functional area or 1.5 standard deviation below the mean in each of two functional areas

What do I need to do if I want to have my child evaluated?

If your child is under three years of age, you may contact the Nassau County Department of Health at (516) 227-8661 or the Suffolk County Department of Health at (631) 853-3100. To access EI services within New York City, contact the NYC Help Line at 311. You may also call our office and we will assist you in completing a referral to the Early Intervention Program.

Who is eligible?

Children are eligible for the EIP if they are under three years of age and have a confirmed disability or developmental delay in one or more of the following areas of development: physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional and/or adaptive.

What is Early Intervention?

The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is a statewide program administered by the NYS Department of Health. The EIP provides many different types of services to infants and toddlers.