Infant & Toddler

Connection of Virginia

June 2025



PART C UPDATES

Test your Knowledge with our Poll Feature

Pick your answer and scroll below to find the correct answer and explanation!

People often ask: How many children should our locality be serving?

There are (at least) two answers to this question… and nobody appreciates the lack of specificity of this first one: All of them. A locality should be identifying and serving all Part C eligible infants and toddlers. However, truth be told… nobody knows exactly how many all is.

For this reason we rely on statistics — global, national, state and local. How many infants do we think may have developmental delays or disabilities in any particular place? How many toddlers? How can we feel confident that we’re identifying and meeting the need?

As required by OSEP, U.S. states and territories set annual targets for two Part C child find indicators: C5 (birth-to-one) and C6 (birth-to-three). Targets can be adjusted over time, but states must show “meaningful” improvement over the course of a 6-year SPP/APR cycle.

When Virginia began...read more including what data source ITCVA now uses

Next ITCVA monthly monitoring community of practice: June 4 @ 3PM

Thanks to the 38 participants who were able to join us live for our first ITCVA monthly monitoring community of practice (MCOP) call in May. We look forward to sharing and engaging with you again soon!

As a reminder, MCOP calls are held on the first Wednesday of each month beginning at 3:00PM. Our next call will be held on June 4^th. ITCVA MCOP calls are open to anyone who is interested in the topic(s) being covered. Calls will be recorded for those who are unable to attend. Please visit the Monitoring Community of Practice page of the ITCVA website for a list of upcoming topics, corresponding Microsoft Teams meeting links and session resources.



SUPPORTING POSITIVE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SKILLS

Pyramid Model Framework

Supporting Your Child After Stressful Events (challengingbehavior.org)

When stress has overwhelmed your child, you can support healing. Your relationship with your child can help buffer the impact of trauma or stress.

Trauma occurs when frightening experiences, exposure, or events overwhelm a child’s ability to cope. Trauma can occur from one big event, like a storm or a car crash, or ongoing exposure and experiences that are frightening and harmful. 

Leading with Compassion: Building Trauma-Informed Pyramid Model Programs (challengingbehavior.org)

Children and families experience and process trauma in different ways. You may never fully understand a family’s story, and that is okay. Trauma-informed care does not require anyone to be a detective—it is about creating systems and relationships that foster safety, trust, and healing. As a leader, you are essential in creating systems and relationships that support all children and families.

Leading trauma-informed Pyramid Model programs is about how you consistently “show up” every day, asking yourself: “How can I ensure every child, family, and team member feels safe and valued?”

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A GEM YOU MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN?

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED?

WHAT'S COMING

UP NEXT?

The VEIPD team highlighted social-emotional development resources in our social media publications throughout the month of May. One resource we shared was a true gem - a Talks on Tuesday discussing Infant Mental Health in Early Intervention.

Interested in expanding your toolkit of strategies to use as you coach families and caregivers to support social-emotional development? We have what you need in this updated handout with 16 strategies! 

Don’t miss June’s Talks on Tuesday! We will share resources for preventing suspension and expulsion in early care and education programs. If you cannot make the webinar, please go ahead and download the toolkit here - scroll down to “Standing United”. We have resources to help families, early intervention providers, early childhood educators and leaders, as well as pediatricians. 

RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES

Family Member Roles in Informed Clinical Reasoning

One way to gather information to determine a child's eligibility for intervention services is through an assessment process called “informed clinical reasoning.” An evaluation team, which includes a child's parents and other family members, gathers the information using conversations with people who know the child best, direct observations of the child's engagement in everyday activities, and a review of results from developmental assessment instruments. This information provides the foundation for becoming “informed” about a child's developmental status and for making decisions about the presence of delays in the child's development.

See Family Practice Guide

From Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA)

POLL ANSWER AND EXPLANATION

The correct answer is e: b, c and d.



Generally, there will be enough information from ongoing assessment to complete the summary of the child’s functional status on the three child outcomes and unique strengths and needs when the annual IFSP is developed. Re-assessment at the time of the annual IFSP would only be necessary in a few circumstances, like if the child is receiving service coordination only, if there had not been an opportunity for ongoing assessment for an extended period of time, or maybe if there had been a major event (like surgery) that had recently had a significant impact on the child’s development. When a re-assessment (annual assessment) is needed, the assessment must be conducted by a multidisciplinary team. For more information including annual assessment scenarios, see Chapter 8 of the Practice Manual.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The Employment Opportunities page on the ITCVA website receives nearly 5,000 visits each year!

Practitioners: Early intervention needs you! Influence the future of infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families by putting your skills and expertise to work today! Please visit the Employment Opportunities page on the ITCVA website for links to current job openings.

LSMs and local contracted agencies: Let us help connect you to qualified applicants! Are you a Local System Manager (LSM) or the director of an agency that contracts with one or more local early intervention systems in Virginia? Are you looking to find qualified applicants to fill vacant positions? Please visit our Employment Opportunities page for instructions on how to submit a job posting.



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

Do you have colleagues who aren’t getting the Monthly Part C Update? Ask them to check their spam folder. If they're still not receiving it, have them email anne.brager@dbhds.virginia.gov.

DMAS RESOURCES