§ 2554 — Local early intervention coordinating councils

§ 2554. Local early intervention coordinating councils. 1. A local\nearly intervention coordinating council shall be established in each\nmunicipality. The council shall consist of members appointed by the\nearly intervention official. At least four members of each council shall\nbe parents of infants or toddlers with disabilities or of children aged\nthree through twelve with disabilities. Each council shall also include\nat least three public or private providers of early intervention\nservices, at least one child care provider or representative of child\ncare providers, the chief executive officers or their designees of the\nmunicipality's departments of social services, health and mental\nhygiene, a representative from the local developmental disabilities\nservices office and a representative from one or more committees on\npreschool special education of local school districts in the\nmunicipality. A local body which has been previously constituted may\nserve this purpose if it has the appropriate members. The commissioner,\nin his or her discretion, may waive one or more of the foregoing\nmembership composition requirements in those municipalities where such\nrequirements cannot reasonably be met.\n 2. The local early intervention coordinating council shall meet, in\nopen forum, at least four times a year for its first two years of\nexistence.\n 3. The council shall advise the early intervention official regarding:\n (a) the planning for, delivery and assessment of the early\nintervention services for eligible children and their families,\nincluding the transition from early intervention services to services\nand programs under section forty-four hundred ten of the education law\nand other early childhood programs;\n (b) the identification of service delivery reforms needed to promote\nthe availability of early intervention services within natural\nenvironments;\n (c) the coordination of public and private agencies; and\n (d) such other matters relating to early intervention policies and\nprocedures within the municipality as are brought to its attention by\nparents, providers, public agencies or others.\n 4. The council will report annually to the early intervention official\non the adequacy of the early intervention system to ensure the\navailability of family centered, coordinated services; and interface\nwith other existing planning bodies that serve like populations.\n