Infant & Toddler
Connection of Virginia
UPDATE
December 2021
WELCOME TO EARLY INTERVENTION
Central Virginia Welcomes a New LSM
April Birchfield
Central Virginia LSM
April has 20 years of experience in working with children and families in various programs. In her previous role as Director of Mental Health & Behavioral Services of Lynchburg Community Action Group's Head Start program, April led a team of family advocates that assisted children and families with interventions, community resources, screenings, and care coordination. Additionally, April worked to eliminate gaps in services and built an intensive services team to serve children ages 0-5, and their families with mental health needs. As part of that role, April also worked through the Head Start program to recruit and identify children with developmental disabilities and ensure a coordinated approach to services between children, families, and service providers. 
Part C Office Welcomes a New Intern
My name is Kathleen Lash and I'm from Roanoke, VA. I love reading, when I get the chance, and going on walks. I am a first year MSW student. I graduated from VCU in May 2020 with a BS in Psychology and worked on several research projects there as a research assistant. Prior to grad school I worked as a Starbucks Barista and I worked with children with ID/DD, providing behavioral interventions. I am very excited to work with the Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia this year!
BE IN THE KNOW

As we move into the last few months of the SSIP year, here are a few things to look forward to in the first quarter of 2022:

  • Results from the recent Provider Implementation Survey;
  • A summary of coaching fidelity assessment results from the past year;
  • Demos of progress on our new statewide data system; and
  • Finalizing development and beginning implementation of our new SSIP with a focus on positive social-emotional skills, including social relationships.
The State Leadership Team for the new SSIP held its first meeting in November to work on the new plan....Learn more
State Performance Plan (SPP)/Annual Performance Report (APR)

Each state must submit to the U.S. Department of Education a State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) that specifies our annual performance on a set of federally required indicators. The next SPP/APR is due to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on February 1, 2022, and this year’s report also establishes the state targets for each indicator over the 6 years covered by the plan. A draft of this year’s report will be available by mid-December for your review in the “About ITCVA” section of our website, www.itcva.online, under Public Reporting. The SPP/APR data will be discussed with the Virginia Interagency Coordinating Council prior to posting it, and we will be accepting any additional written comments through December 31, 2021. Please submit any comments you have on the SPP/APR to Kyla Patterson at k.patterson@dbhds.virginia.gov. 
WE NEED YOUR THOUGHTS!

Virginia’s statewide results on all three global child outcomes decreased last year. Since our current data system does not give us a lot of data to use in analyzing our child outcome results, we would like to hear from you! Based on your experience supporting infants, toddlers and families over the past year (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021), what factors do you think contributed to the decreases in the percentage of children who significantly increased their rate of growth by the time they exited early intervention or exited within age expectations? Please submit your thoughts by December 15th to Kyla Patterson at k.patterson@dbhds.virginia.gov. 
SUPPORTING POSITIVE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SKILLS
Minimizing Anxiety and Stress for Your Child over the Holiday
As a community that wants to support our children it is important to use an Early Childhood Mental Health Tenet as you plan for this holiday season…”Keep the baby in mind”. What does this mean? This means that whenever you are planning for a holiday, or any other event, keep your child in mind as you plan the context of the experience. How will the child feel about the experience? What are the rules/expectations for the experience? What is the intention of the experience? These are extremely important considerations as you plan. Adults can easily forget that children do experience anxiety and stress… so please remember that there are a few easy steps you can incorporate to manage both your holiday stress and that of your child/children: Learn More
INFANT & TODDLER CONNECTION OF VIRGINIA
Looking for the most up-to-date version of the Part C Practice Manual...upcoming meeting dates...or even a new career opportunity? You'll find plenty of helpful information on the Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia's early intervention website! Be sure to visit and bookmark itcva.online!
MEDICAID ENROLLMENTS

If you have questions about enrollments for children with Medicaid please contact Keisha White at keisha.white@dbhds.virginia.gov.
EARLY INTERVENTION CERTIFICATION
For questions about certification of practitioners, contact David Mills • 804-317-7776
For questions related to completing the online application, contact DBHDS Production Support@cov.virginia.gov 
Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia is part of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
1220 Bank Street, 9th Floor, P.O. Box 1797, Richmond, Virginia 23219-1797
Main Office: (804) 786-3710 • Main Fax: (804) 371-7959
1220 Bank Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 664-2462