Infant & Toddler

Connection of Virginia

December 2023

ITCVA NEWS

Preparing for Full Implementation:

As we move closer to fully implementing TRAC-IT’s required fields on December 11, 2023, we have identified a few steps you can take now to help ensure TRAC-IT users are set up for success and all enrollments have the necessary datapoints. In addition to attending the training sessions in November, you may wish to use this opportunity to familiarize your team with the upcoming changes and update any Standard Operating Procedures or processes your organization may have to facilitate a smoother transition in December.

User Set-Up Tips: 

• If providers in your local system are not entering information in TRAC-IT at this time and will be doing so on December 11, 2023, we suggest getting the providers logging into TRAC-IT and getting used to entering information as soon as possible. 
• If a provider agency will be responsible for directly entering or completing an EHR upload of contact notes into TRAC-IT, the Local System must grant then access to each relevant enrollment using the Add Provider ad hoc task. 

For a more comprehensive list of preparation tips, please see:

https://www.itcva.online/trac-it-emails

State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP)

As we wrap up our second year implementing our new SSIP, focused on positive social-emotional skills and social relationships, we have a number of accomplishments to celebrate:

• We provided at least 5 professional development activities designed to ensure all practitioners know they have a role in supporting positive social-emotional development and a nurturing caregiver-child relationship and have the training and tools to do that;
• We will be going live with full implementation of required fields in TRAC-IT, which will provide the data and analysis necessary to more fully understand our child outcome results and identify targeted improvement strategies;
• We saw increased diversity among applicants for the Infant Mental Health endorsement; and
• We benefited from the research and recommendations from four stakeholder groups focused on various aspects of our SSIP, including screening and assessment tools and practices, implementation of the Pyramid Model and options for implementing reflective supervision in early intervention.

The State Leadership Team met in November to review specific progress on each SSIP activity and evaluate whether revisions to the plan are needed. The leadership team determined that we are on a good course and should continue with planned activities. A few new activities were added as well. State Leadership Team meeting notes are posted on our website, as are notes from the other SSIP stakeholder groups.

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, 2024. 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, 2023.

Please submit any comments you have on the SPP/APR to Richard Corbett at richard.corbett@dbhds.virginia.gov.

PROMOTING SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Pyramid Model Framework

Communication is Key

1. Tell a child what to do instead of what not to do.

2. Show the child by modeling or using a picture of the action.

3. Clearly and simply state what you expect the child to do.

4. Remember young children might have inappropriate behavior because they don’t understand the social rules of an activity or interaction.

5. Communicate, with words, signs, or pictures, using language they might understand.

6. Encourage children in a way that lets them know that they are exhibiting the desired behavior.

7. Be enthusiastic and generous with encouragement. Children can never get enough!

See Examples

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A GEM YOU MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN?

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED?

WHAT'S COMING

UP NEXT?

Early Childhood Inclusion: What it Looks Like and Doesn’t Look Like

Blog: The Family Gives You a Gift…What Do You Do?

Meaningful Moments Podcast: Connecting IMH to EI

Episode 5: Postpartum OCD with Valerie Abbott

https://youtube.com/shorts/6RMKejr3b5Q?si=ArGtaqllaaKGBHC1

Talks on Tuesday Webinar: It's all Interconnected: Sensory processing and social and emotional development for infants and toddlers (Part I) on November 14^th at 12 pm EST.

Register Now

Talks on Tuesday Webinar: Real Impacts of Sensory and Social Emotional Regulation: Everyday Experiences That Shape Our Tomorrows (Part II) on December 5^th at 12 pm EST.

Resource Pop-Up Webinar: Elevator Speeches: Utilizing for Professional Development

on December 6^th at 3 pm EST.

RESOURCES

Six ideas to ease the early intervention staffing crisis

Therapists who support young children with developmental delays

are at critically low levels 

Eighty-seven percent of states lack enough speech language pathologists to reach all the infants and toddlers in need. Eighty-two percent suffer from physical therapist shortages. And among the service coordinators who organize critical therapies for America’s youngest children, the turnover rate is a stunning 42 percent, according to information compiled by the IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association from a survey that had 45 state respondents. (The K-12 teacher turnover rate, by contrast, only reached a mere 10 percent during the pandemic.)

Full Article

This story about early intervention was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

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 Blue Ridge | EI Case Manager | Posted 2023-10-18 | PDF
• ITC Prince William | Physical Therapist | Posted 2023-10-17 | LINK
• ITC Prince William | Early Intervention Specialist (SLP/OT/PT/ECSE) Part-Time | Posted 2023-10-17 | LINK
• ITC Piedmont | Internship | Posted 2023-10-03 | DOCX
• ITC Fairfax / Benchmark Human Services | PT+ | Posted 2-23-09-18 | LINK
• | ITC Chesapeake | Clinician II Infant Program | Posted 2023-08-31 | LINK
• ITC Fairfax | Family Support Worker | Posted 2023-08-30 | PDF
• ITC Chesapeake | Clinician III Infant Program | Posted 2023-08-28 | LINK
• SOAR 365 | Private agency serving Richmond-area ITCs | Various OT/PT/SLP Vacancies | LINK

ITCVA DIRECT ACCESS

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.

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 RESOURCES