Below you will find information as it relates to the family's role in early intervention and rights in both early intervention and special education.
Page contains the following sections:
- Key Guides in Illinois
- EI (Part C of IDEA) Resources
- Special Education (Part B of IDEA)
- Online Training Modules
Key Guides in Illinois:
This resource is also known as "The Family Guide".
This guide answers questions that families ask such as how someone can request an evaluation, who may qualify for these services, and the parent's role in Early Intervention (including a family's legal rights). To order copies of this resource in English or Spanish, visit Child Find Public Awareness Materials.
This publication is also called "State of Illinois Infant/Toddler & Family Rights under IDEA for the Early Intervention System".
Parents need to be informed about their safeguards so they have a leadership role in services to their children. The family rights handbook can be found on the Illinois Department of Human Services website and it includes information on parental consent, prior notice, examination of records, confidentiality, complaints, and surrogate parents.
To order copies of this resource in English or Spanish, visit Child Find Public Awareness Materials.
These four family guides are designed to explain the dispute resolution options under Part C of the IDEA: mediation, written state complaints, and the due process complaint and hearing procedures specific to families with infants or toddlers with disabilities. In includes a list of Commonly Used Terms and Additional information about Part C Due Process.
These guides have been translated into the following languages other than English: Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese. Click on the link below to access the guides and related videos.
This companion resource to the IDEA EI Family Guides from CADRE offers a side-by-side look at dispute resolution options under Part C of the IDEA. This easy-to-use comparison chart looks at dispute resolution processes from a variety of perspectives. It is available in English and Spanish.
This tip sheet is also available in Spanish: El papel de la familia en la intervención temprana. Cómo puede ayudar usted a su hijo
It explains how parents and caregivers are critical members of the early intervention team and ways they can promote success for their child during and between visits.
In this resource list from the Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse, you will find a list of books, videos, web resources, organizations, and articles on the family's role in early intervention.
This resource provides a paper that synthesizes the practices and ideas for explaining procedural safeguards to families. Assuring families are fully informed supports their role in the early intervention process.
Special Education (Part B of IDEA) Resources:
Families have the right to request amendment of records under HIPAA and the Illinois Department of Human Services has provided procedures to amend protected health information.
This website from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provides additional resources to support parents when they leave Early Intervention and enter Part B services under IDEA.
PACER Center Action Information Sheet that provides information regarding parents' rights with school records.
Online Training Modules
EITP offers the following modules as a resource for individuals to review as needed. (No credit for viewing.) If you are interested in our online trainings for EI credit, please visit our EITP Online Events page.
- Referral to Illinois Early Intervention - this module from our Referral to IL EI training discusses eligibility determination and making referrals to the EI system.
- Early Intervention and Families - this module from the Online System Overview training reviews the principles of EI and the caring connection between providers and the families.
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Referral, Intake, and Child & Family Rights - this module from the Online System Overview discusses the process a family goes through when they are first referred to the Illinois Early Intervention System including referral, intake, and procedural safeguards.
This four-part, asynchronous learning module was created by the Military Families Learning Network's Early Intervention Team. The interactive course focuses on the rights of young children with disabilities in military families, eligibility for special education programs and services for children with disabilities available within military systems, and strategies to support military families as they navigate these systems in military contexts.
The Understanding Inclusion series was developed by EITP and Early CHOICES with families in mind! It contains 6 topics that explore key ideas about inclusion in early childhood. The series covers a range of topics from defining inclusion to understanding the benefits to advocating for inclusion. Developed for families with family input, it is just as meaningful and useful for practitioners working with families who have children from birth to 5. In each module topic, a topic guide is available for reflecting and applying what you learn to your own experience. The guide also has additional resources to explore the topic further. Our hope is that this series supports families on your journey of inclusion and provides you with resources that you can share and build upon.
