MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare
By: Senator(s) Boyd, Williams
AN ACT TO RECONSTITUTE THE EARLY INTERVENTION TASK FORCE WITH A GOAL TO COLLABORATE WITH THE STATE AGENCY COORDINATING PART C OF IDEA TO DESIGN A NEW SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL AND MAKE CHANGES TO THE EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM; TO SET THE TASK FORCE'S DUTIES; TO REQUIRE THE TASK FORCE TO PREPARE A FINAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE; TO REQUIRE THE STATE AGENCY COORDINATING PART C OF IDEA TO PREPARE AND DELIVER A REPORT THAT PROVIDES FOR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS; TO DISSOLVE THE TASK FORCE UPON PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT; TO AMEND SECTION 41-87-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) To complete the work it commenced in 2023, the Early Intervention Task Force created by Chapter 487, Laws of 2023, and dissolved December 1, 2023, is hereby reconstituted to serve in an advisory capacity to assist the state agency coordinating Part C of IDEA in implementing a new service delivery model. The goal of the task force shall be to collaborate with the state agency coordinating Part C of IDEA to design a new service delivery model and make changes to the Early Intervention Program.
(2) The members of the task force shall be as follows:
(a) The Chairmen of the Education Committees of the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives, or his or her designee from their respective committee membership;
(b) The Chairmen of the Appropriations Committees of the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives, or his or her designee from their respective committee membership;
(c) The Chairmen of the Public Health Committees of the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives, or his or her designee from their respective committee membership; (d) One (1) member of the Mississippi State Senate, to be named by the Lieutenant Governor; and one (1) member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, to be named by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who are interested in early intervention issues;
(e) The State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health or a designated deputy;
(f) One (1) designee who is a direct service provider in the First Steps Early Intervention Program, to be named by the State Health Officer;
(g) One (1) faculty member from the Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Mississippi State University, to be named by the Director of the SSRC;
(h) One (1) developmental-behavioral pediatrician with expertise in early childhood systems building, to be named by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center; (i) One (1) general pediatrician, to be named by the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics;
(j) One (1) clinical psychologist with expertise in social-emotional health of infants and toddlers, to be named by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center;
(k) One (1) school psychologist employed by a school district, to be named by the Mississippi Association of Psychologists in the Schools;
(l) One (1) early interventionist/development therapist, to be named by the State Health Officer;
(m) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance;
(n) One (1) family advocacy representative to be appointed by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities;
(o) One (1) parent representative with current experience with early intervention to be appointed by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities;
(p) One (1) faculty member from the College of Health Sciences at Jackson State University, to be named by the president of such university;
(q) One (1) pediatrician, to be named by the Mississippi Region of the National Medical Association;
(r) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor, or the executive director's designee; and (s) The Director of the State Department of Education's Early Childhood Education Office, or such director's designee.
(3) A faculty member from each of the universities within the institutions of higher learning with an early childhood development program or early intervention program may be named by the president of each university to assist the task force. In addition, the Executive Director of the Center for Mississippi Health Policy shall aid the task force.
(4) The task force shall meet within forty-five (45) days of the effective date of this act and shall commence its responsibilities set out in subsection (5) of this section.
(5) Specifically, in collaboration with the state agency coordinating Part C of IDEA, the task force shall:
(a) Review billing and reimbursement processes and rates for early intervention services in Mississippi and in other states, to ensure a timely receipt of payment to providers. In performing this function, a recommendation shall be made to the Legislature by January 1, 2025, on a more efficient system for providing compensation to providers and for billing and collecting from third-party payors;
(b) Evaluate early intervention service delivery models, including a hub or hybrid model involving university participation and determine how this model may impact the training of students and delivery of services to members of the eligible population. In performing this function, a recommendation shall be made to the Legislature that will offer a service delivery structure to enhance the efficient and effective delivery of quality services to the eligible population; and
(c) Review any other matters related to the above issues or related to early intervention services.
(6) The state agency coordinating Part C of IDEA and the task force may request the assistance of the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University, the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance or any other related entity or organization with expertise in early intervention services.
(7) The members of the task force shall elect a chair from among the members. The task force shall develop and report its findings and recommendations for proposed legislation to the Legislature in response to the proposal of the state agency coordinating Part C of IDEA to make changes to the service delivery structure for the program and changes to the way the state pays service providers and recoups payments from third-party payors, which shall be due to the task force and Legislature by December 1, 2024. A quorum of the membership shall be required to approve any final report and recommendation. Members of the task force shall be reimbursed for necessary travel expense in the same manner as public employees are reimbursed for official duties from any available funds and members of the Legislature shall be reimbursed in the same manner as for attending out-of-session committee meetings.
(8) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review shall provide necessary clerical support for the meetings of the task force and research support as needed for the preparation of the report. Proposed legislation shall be prepared by the Legislative Services Offices of the Senate and House as requested.
(9) The task force shall be dissolved upon presentation of its report.
SECTION 2. Section 41-87-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-87-9. (1) A statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs providing appropriate early intervention services to all eligible infants and toddlers and their families, including eligible Indian infants and toddlers and their families on reservations, shall include the following minimum components:
(a) Eligibility criteria and procedures including a definition of the term "developmentally delayed" that will be used by the state in carrying out programs under this chapter;
(b) Timetables for ensuring that appropriate early intervention services will be available to all eligible children in the state, including Indian infants and toddlers on reservations;
(c) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation of the functioning of each infant and toddler with a disability in the state, and a family-directed assessment of the resources, priorities and concerns of the family and the identification of the supports and services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of their infant or toddler with a disability;
(d) For each eligible child, an individualized family service plan including service coordination (case management) services in accordance with such service plan. The individualized family services plan shall be in writing, done in accordance with Part C regulations, and contain a statement of the natural environments in which early intervention services shall appropriately be provided, as well as all components listed in the Part C regulations;
(e) A comprehensive interagency child find system that includes a system for making referrals to service providers that includes timelines and provides for participation by primary referral sources;
(f) A public awareness program focusing on early identification of infants and toddlers with disabilities, including preparation and dissemination by the lead agency to all primary referral sources of information materials for parents on the availability of early intervention services, and procedures for determining the extent to which primary referral sources, especially hospitals and physicians, disseminate information on the availability of early intervention services to parents of infants with disabilities;
(g) A central directory which includes early intervention services, resources and experts available in the state and research and demonstration projects being conducted in the state;
(h) A comprehensive system of personnel development, including the training of paraprofessionals and the training of primary referral sources respecting the basic components of early intervention services available in the state, that is consistent with the comprehensive system of personnel development described in Part B of IDEA and that may include:
(i) Implementing innovative strategies and activities for the recruitment and retention of early intervention service providers;
(ii) Promoting the preparation of early intervention providers who are fully and appropriately qualified to provide early intervention services under this chapter;
(iii) Training personnel to work in rural areas; and
(iv) Training personnel to coordinate transition services for infants and toddlers with disabilities from an early intervention program in the early intervention system to a preschool program under Section 619 of IDEA;
(i) A single line of responsibility in the lead agency for carrying out:
(i) The general administration and supervision of programs and activities receiving assistance under Part C of IDEA, and the monitoring of programs and activities used by the state to carry out this chapter, whether or not such programs or activities are receiving assistance made available under Part C, to ensure that the state complies with Part C;
(ii) The identification and coordination of all available resources within the state from federal, state, local and private sources;
(iii) The assignment of financial responsibility in accordance with state and federal law to the appropriate agencies;
(iv) The development of procedures to ensure that services are provided to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in a timely manner pending the resolution of any disputes among public agencies or service providers;
(v) The resolution of intra- and interagency disputes; and
(vi) The entry into formal interagency agreements that define the financial responsibility of each agency for paying for early intervention services (consistent with state law) and procedures for resolving disputes and that include all additional components necessary to ensure meaningful cooperation and coordination;
(j) A policy pertaining to contracting or making arrangements with service providers to provide early intervention services in the state as a part of the early intervention system in accordance with state law, state regulation and Part C of IDEA;
(k) A procedure for timely reimbursement of funds used in accordance with Section 41-87-15;
(l) Procedural safeguards with respect for programs participating in the early intervention system;
(m) Policies and procedures relating to the establishment and maintenance of standards to ensure that personnel necessary to implement the early intervention system are adequately and appropriately prepared and trained including:
(i) The establishment and maintenance of standards which are consistent with any state-approved or recognized certification, licensing, registration or other comparable requirements which apply to the area in which such personnel are providing early intervention services; and
(ii) To the extent such standards are not based on the highest requirements of the state applicable to a specific profession or discipline, the steps the state is taking to require the retraining or hiring of personnel that meet appropriate professional requirements in the state;
(n) A system for compiling data on the number of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in the state in need of appropriate early intervention services, the numbers of such infants and toddlers and their families served, the types of services provided, and other information required by the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state regulation.
(2) By December 1, 2024, the state agency coordinating Part C of IDEA shall prepare and deliver to the Mississippi Legislature and Early Intervention Task Force a plan for service delivery of IDEA Part C services that shall (a) recommend to the Legislature a more efficient system for providing compensation to providers and for billing and collecting from third-party payors; and (b) recommend a service delivery model which includes a hub or hybrid model that could include university participation and evaluate how this model may impact the training of students and delivery of services to members of the eligible population. In performing these functions, the agency shall collaborate with the Early Intervention Task Force in developing the recommendations required by this subsection.
This subsection (2) shall stand repealed on December 1, 2024.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.