The Role of the Ongoing Service Coordinator in Early Intervention
Meet Our Ongoing Service Coordinators
An Overview
Your child has been approved to receive Early Intervention services and, at your next meeting, will be asked to pick an ongoing service coordinator. Who should you pick and why do you need anyone other than the therapist to help your child obtain his/her goals?
The ongoing service coordinator should help you have a smooth process while receiving your services and help alleviate any feelings of being overwhelmed by the information you may need to remember while receiving services.
How will you know who to choose?
One option is to ask the agency that provided the evaluations. They can provide you with the information on their own ongoing service coordinators, who are listed below. Also asking friends and families who have their own children could be helpful. Lots of families search the Internet to obtain information on Early Intervention Services. Another option is to speak with your pediatrician about your concerns and asking them to provide you with resources and choices to those agencies in your community that provide these services.
When do you actually formally choose your ongoing service coordinator?
Once your child is evaluated and qualifies for services, you will have a meeting with the county and the agency's evaluators. During this meeting, you will speak about the goals you would like your child to obtain over the next six months. Also at this meeting, you will be asked to pick an ongoing service coordinator. At this time, if you are still unsure who to pick, you can ask the evaluators and the county to help guide you. Once you have chosen this person, they should contact you a day or two later. They will set up a time for you to meet.
How does the ongoing service coordinator help?
The first task that needs to be addressed is to help you find a therapist who can provide the services for your child. They will ask you what time of day you would like the services to be provided and if you have any other requests in determining who your provider may be. The OSC is instrumental in making sure the team works together to help your child meet their goals. Once services start, the OSC will contact you to see how things are going, if you are happy with the services, and to see if any changes need to be made. The OSC should provide you with their contact number in case you have questions and/or concerns as well. At a minimum, monthly contact is made between the family, team and ongoing service coordinator.
The Therapy Center For Children
The Therapy Center for Children has staff members who are monolingual and bilingual, and are qualified to take on the role of ongoing service coordinator. For more information about child development, Early Intervention and preschool services, please call us at (631) 207-1053.
* Please note the E.I.O.D. is also knows as the initial ongoing service coordinator.
