N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 10 § 69-4.17 - Procedural Safeguards for Early Intervention Program

This regulation enforces various procedural safeguards to ensure the running of the Early Intervention Program.  The regulation requires that officials running the early intervention make reasonable effort to ensure that the parent is informed, in whatever their dominant language is, about their rights and entitlements afforded to them under the program including the rights to elect/decline services, confidentiality of personally identifiable information, review/amend records, etc.  The regulation requires that written notice be given to the parent about initiation or change of any services to the child or child’s family.  The regulation further requires that the notice include all the procedural safeguards mentioned in this regulation, and that the notice be translated orally or by other means to the parent in the parent’s dominant language. 
 
The regulation requires that all personally identifiable data, information or records pertaining to an eligible be kept confidential, and disclosed to only the parent of such child.  The regulation requires that each municipality and service provider adopt procedures (comparable to those set forth in 34 CFR part 99, sections 300.560-76) to preserve the confidentiality of records.  The early intervention official is required to make reasonable efforts to let the parents when maintenance of personally identifiable information is not necessary any more, and will remove such information from the record upon the request of the parent. 
 
The regulation further requires that early intervention officials and service providers ensure that parents are given the opportunity to review and inspect the records pertaining to their child.  The regulation requires that parents are given the opportunity to object to the contents of the record and have record amended by early intervention officials.  If the early intervention officials refuse to amend the record, there must be an administrative hearing to amend the record.
 
The regulation requires that parents of eligible or potentially eligible children have the right to access mediation services and/or an impartial hearing at no cost for the resolution of individual complaints about eligibility determination and the provision of services.  The regulation requires that the department of health establish and maintain impartial hearing and mediation processes for resolution of these complaints.  The regulation details the specifics of the mediation procedures, and the impartial hearing procedures.  The regulation states that all complaints alleging violations of law, rules and regulations by state early intervention agency, official or provider should be submitted by a parent to the department of health for investigation, and then states the procedure for such an investigation.