Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia May 2023 Update

Infant & Toddler

Connection of Virginia

May 2023

WELCOME

Ariel Chambers

Part C Monitoring Consultant

Ariel began her career in early intervention in 2014 as a Service Coordinator. She transitioned to the role of Developmental Specialist in 2018, providing services in and around the Richmond Area through 2 local early intervention systems as well as a private therapy group. She holds a master's degree in early childhood special education, and she continues to maintain her certifications as an Early Intervention Professional and an Early Intervention Case Manager. Ariel is also pursuing a Category II Infant Mental Health endorsement as an Infant Family Specialist. She is excited to serve her state as a monitoring consultant and is grateful for the opportunity to continue serving a program that does so much for so many.

When she isn't working, Ariel loves to spend as much time as she can with her family. She will celebrate 12 years of marriage in September and is the mother to an almost-4-year-old son who is full of energy and makes the occasional Zoom cameo, as well as a 21-year old daughter who is a junior at ECU majoring in Social Work. 2 lazy but adorable dachshunds also share a big piece of her heart. Ariel loves to work in her yard, watch her chickens poke around, and spend lots of time meandering around Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Toni Donati

Local System Manager

Toni has worked with the Infant and Toddler of Southside for 12 years. Prior to becoming LSM, she served as a service coordinator for Brunswick and Mecklenburg Counties.

Toni has a bachelor's degree in Recreational Therapy from Western Carolina University and master's degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Liberty University.

As part of her field experience at WCU as an undergraduate, she became a direct care staff for a family with a beautiful little guy who happened to be diagnosed with ASD, beginning her love for working in this field.

As a new LSM Toni is excited about all of the possibilities that are open to building their team at Southside and bringing together more community resources for their families.

Currently Toni lives at Lake Gaston NC with her son and daughter. She has two tiny mastiffs that claim the best seats in the house. Usually the family can be found out by the lake, hiking, or camping.

PART C NEWS

Service Coordination EI Certification Update

Many systems across the state have experienced difficulty filling open service coordination positions. In an effort to increase the number of available candidates, we have broadened the EI service coordination certification requirements to recognize applicants with a degree in criminal justice using the category of “other” qualifying degrees. Review of transcripts from recent applicants with degrees in criminal justice show course work included classes in psychology, sociology, advocacy, ethics, communication, and human development, all relevant to service coordination.

We hope this addition aids in finding qualified applicants.

TRAC-IT Need To Knows

Full Impleme ntation of TRAC-IT:

Phase 2 (full implementation) of TRAC-IT will launch on December 11, 2023. Beginning on that date, all required data must be entered either directly in TRAC-IT or through an electronic health record (EHR) upload.

Please note the following TRAC-IT updates and reminders:

Trac-It-Update-2023-04-21

Remember to Link Practitioners to Your Agency/Local System

Billing Extract Q&A

EHR Functionality Updates

TRAC-IT Update 2023.0 4.12

Children Over Three: Data Clean-up

Ensure All Required Information Is Entered into TRAC-IT Before Discharge

EHR Upload Updates and Resources

Tips and Reminders about the Medicaid-EI Benefit in TRAC-IT

Billing Extract Webinar: Recording and Slides Posted

Please Respond to the SSG Help Desk If/When Contacted

TRAC-IT SUPPORT:

EMAIL: VATRACITsupport@ssg-llc.com
PHONE: (804) 508-7229

Public Health

Emergency Ends

The federal public health emergency in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic will end on May 11, 2023. Immediately upon the end of the public health emergency, we must follow new DMAS telehealth rules. The most important news is that the option to deliver early intervention services via telehealth is not ending.

Click here for the new requirements associated with telehealth that will go into effect when the public health emergency ends.

Annual Family Survey

Calls begin to localities with less than 15 completes - 5/14-5/21

These calls are intended to increase each systems survey response to have a representative sample.

State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP)

ITCVA is committed to supporting the social-emotional needs of children and families. The ultimate goal of the current SSIP is to improve the percentage of infants and toddlers who substantially increase their rate of growth in the area of positive social-emotional skills (including social relationships) by the time they exit early intervention.

Check out meeting minutes for the current workgroups brainstorming sessions for supports, strategies and services.

The Pyramid Model for Promoting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children

Making Life Easier-Going to the Doctor/Dentist

Doctor and dentist visits can be very stressful for young children. Routine check-ups can cause anxiety, fear and distress in toddlers and preschoolers. In this Making Life Easier issue, adults are provided with tips to prepare the child for these appointments and make visits to the doctor or dentist less stressful for everyone.

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH ENDORSEMENT

Learn More

The Virginia Infant Mental Health Endorsement demonstrates that an individual has completed specialized education, work, in-service training, and reflective supervision/consultation that have led to competency in the promotion and/or practice of infant/early childhood mental health. Endorsement will inform prospective employers, agencies, and peers about culturally sensitive, relationship focused practice promoting infant/early childhood mental health.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Virginia

Early Intervention Professional Development

Ever wonder how the VEIPD team functions?

The VA EI Professional Development (VEIPD) Center and its team members, through a contract between DBHDS and VCU's Partnership for People with Disabilities, oversees the federally mandated Part C EI Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD).

The yearly contract includes deliverables from which a Scope of Work is developed that includes resources and materials such as webinars, videos, online modules, etc. These resources are all free of charge to support early interventionists' ongoing professional development.

The Integrated Training Collaborative (ITC) is the stakeholder group that supports VEIPD team members. Check out the VEIPD website for details or contact Cori Hill at cfhill@vcu.edu with any questions.

A GEM YOU MIGHT

HAVE FORGOTTEN

VEIPD Social Emotional Development Topic Page

WHAT DID

YOU MISS?

Unseen, but In Need: Identifying Girls with ASD in EI Part I & II

Presented by:

Dr. Subarna Dharia

WHAT'S COMING

UP NEXT?

Talks on Tuesdays

Neuro-Developmental Approach to Creating a Strong Foundation for Social-Emotional Learning in Infants and Toddlers

May 2nd and June 6th from 12-1 pm EST

RESOURCES

“Learn the Signs. Act Early”

Update (May 2023

Great news!

The long-awaited Milestones in Action photo and video library is now available in English (Spanish coming later next year) on the Learn the Sign. Act Early. website. Milestones in Action provides parents and caregivers with images and videos to help understand the developmental milestones that children should reach from 2 months to 5 years. This is an excellent resource for families to reference as they complete a milestone checklist for their child. Please share this FREE resource with families and partners in your community.

Milestones in Action webpage (English)

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Local early intervention system managers (LSMs) or their designees, or directors of programs that contract with one or more local early intervention systems in Virginia, are invited to submit employment opportunities for posting.

ITC New River Valley | Service Coordinator | Posted 2023-04-13 | LINK
ITC Western Tidewater | Service Coordinator | Posted 2023-04-10 | LINK
ITC Blue Ridge | Part C Service Coordinator | Posted 2023-04-03 | LINK
ITC of Western Tidewater | Speech Language Pathologist | Posted 2023-03-21 | PDF
ITC Arlington | Behavioral Health Therapist | Posted 2023-03-06 | LINK
ITC Chesterfield | Part C Service Coordinator/Intake Coordinator | Posted 2023-03-02 | LINK
ITC Virginia Beach | BH/DS Supervisor I | Posted 2023-02-28 | LINK
ITC Hanover County | Part C Services Support Coordinator | Posted 2023-02-28 | LINK

ITCVA DIRECT ACCESS

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 intial certification of practitioners, contact Anne Brager- 804-664-2462.

For questions about re-certification of practitioners, contact David Mills • 804-317-7776

For questions related to completing the online application, contact VATRACITsupport@ssg-llc.com or from 8AM-5PM ET by calling 804-508-7229.

PART C STAFF DIRECTORY

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia is part of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services

https://www.itcva.online/itcva-staff-1

1220 Bank Street, 9th Floor, P.O. Box 1797, Richmond, Virginia 23219-1797

Main Office: (804) 786-3710 • Main Fax: (804) 371-7959

DMAS RESOUCES

DMAS Early Intervention Support

For specific Medicaid questions related to billing and supports for Early Intervention, please use these emails:

M4EarlyIntervention@dmas.virginia.gov:

CCCPlusEarlyIntervention@dmas.virginia.gov

Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

1220 Bank Street

Richmond, VA 23219

(804) 664-2462