(a) Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) case management
may only be provided by an employee or subcontractor of an ECI contractor.
The contractor must comply with the Texas Health and Human Services
Commission (HHSC) ECI requirements related to minimum qualifications
for service coordinators.
(1) A service coordinator must meet one of the following
criteria:
(A) be a licensed professional in a discipline relevant
to early childhood intervention;
(B) be an Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) or meet
the qualifications for an EIS as defined in §350.313 of this
subchapter;
(C) be a Registered Nurse (with a diploma, an associate's,
bachelor's or advanced degree) licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing;
or
(D) hold a bachelor's degree or graduate degree from
an accredited university with a specialization in:
(i) child development, special education, psychology,
social work, sociology, nursing, rehabilitation counseling, or human
development or a related field; or
(ii) an unrelated field with at least 18 hours of semester
course credit in child development or human development.
(2) Before performing case management activities, a
service coordinator must complete HHSC ECI required case management
training that includes, at a minimum, content which results in:
(A) knowledge and understanding of the needs of infants
and toddlers with disabilities and their families;
(B) knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, Part C;
(C) understanding of the scope of early childhood intervention
services available under the early childhood intervention program
and the medical assistance program; and
(D) understanding of other state and community resources
and supports necessary to coordinate care.
(3) A service coordinator must complete all assigned
activities on the service coordinator's Individualized Professional
Development Plan within one year from the service coordinator's start
date.
(4) A service coordinator must effectively communicate
in the family's native language or use an interpreter or translator.
(b) A service coordinator who was employed as service
coordinator by a contractor before March 1, 2012 and does not meet
the requirements of subsection (a)(1) of this section may continue
to serve as a service coordinator at the contractor's discretion.
(c) The contractor must comply with HHSC ECI requirements
related to continuing education for service coordinators. A service
coordinator must complete:
(1) three contact hours of training in ethics every
two years;
(2) an additional three contact hours of training specifically
relevant to case management every year; and
(3) if the service coordinator does not hold a current
license or credential that requires continuing professional education,
an additional seven contact hours of approved continuing education
every year.
(d) The contractor must comply with HHSC ECI requirements
related to supervision of service coordinators.
(1) A contractor's supervision of service coordinators
must meet the requirements outlined in §350.309(e) of this subchapter
(relating to Minimum Requirements for All Direct Service Staff).
(2) A contractor's ECI program staff member who meets
the following criteria is qualified to supervise a service coordinator:
(A) has completed all service coordinator training
as required in subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section;
(B) has two years of experience providing case management
in an ECI program or another applicable community-based organization;
and
(C) is an active EIS or holds a bachelor's degree or
graduate degree from an accredited university with a specialization
in:
(i) child development, special education, psychology,
social work, sociology, nursing, human development or a related field;
or
(ii) an unrelated field with at least 18 hours of semester
course credit in child development or human development.
(e) Requirements for service coordinator active status
and inactive status are as follows.
(1) A service coordinator is on inactive status when
the service coordinator fails to complete required training activities
by the designated deadlines in subsections (a) and (c) of this section.
Service coordinator active status is reinstated after the required
training activities are completed and approved by the service coordinator's
supervisor.
(2) A service coordinator is on inactive status when
the service coordinator is no longer employed by a contractor.
(A) A service coordinator returns to active status
when the service coordinator:
(i) is employed by an ECI program within 24 months
or less from the last day of employment;
(ii) submits 10 clock hours of continuing education
for every year of inactive status; and
(iii) submits documentation of three clock hours of
ethics training completed within the last two years and not used to
meet previous training requirements.
(B) A service coordinator who has been on inactive
status for longer than 24 months must complete the training requirements
outlined in subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section.
(f) The contractor must comply with HHSC ECI requirements
related to ethics of service coordinators. Service coordinators must
meet the established rules of conduct and ethics training required
by their license or credential. A service coordinator who does not
hold a license or credential must meet the rules of conduct and ethics
established in §350.314 of this subchapter (relating to EIS Code
of Ethics).
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Source Note: The provisions of this §350.315 adopted to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5387; amended to be effective July 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 4621; amended to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 5524; amended to be effective March 7, 2015, 40 TexReg 939; amended to be effective June 30, 2019, 44 TexReg 3280; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 941; amended to be effective March 17, 2022, 47 TexReg 1277 |