Declining a Service After Already Initiated, Against PIC Team Advise

Parent’s Right to Decline Specific Services While Enrolled

Early Intervention services are voluntary. Parents may determine whether they, their child, or other family members will accept or decline any Early Intervention service. Parents may also decline such a service after first accepting it, without jeopardizing other Early Intervention services. If a parent accepts a service, it will be initiated, or at annual will continue a service. If a child no longer needs a service it will be discontinued. If a service is recommended however and the family declines, it will be documented as outline in the practice.

If a parent does not give consent, the program must make an effort to ensure:

1. that the parent is fully aware of the nature of the evaluation, assessment, or services that would be available, and

2. that the parent understands the child will not be able to receive an evaluation, assessment, or services without consent.

Early Intervention programs may not use a due process hearing to challenge a parent’s right to refuse consent for evaluations and assessments to determine eligibility, or to refuse any aspect of the infant or toddler’s Early Intervention services. A parent may withdraw his/her consent for Early Intervention services after initially providing it without jeopardizing other Early Intervention services.

Parent: As used in these standards, “parent” means:

1. a biological or adoptive parent of the infant/toddler,

2. a foster parent, however OCS will be contacted

3. a guardian generally authorized to act as the infant or toddler’s parent or make Early

Intervention, educational, health, or developmental decisions for the infant/ toddler,

4. another person acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, step-parent, or relative with whom the infant/ toddler lives) who is legally responsible for the infant or toddler’s welfare, or

5. a surrogate parent, but does not include any parent whose authority to make educational decisions has been terminated under state law.

An Early Intervention service provider or a service provider from a public child welfare agency (DCF) may not act as a parent for the purposes of Part C services

Exceptions: An adoptive or biological parent may exercise his/her option to provide or refuse consent for Early Intervention services (“parent acting as a parent”) if more than one of the above persons in Section 2, a–e meets the definition of parent, unless the biological or adoptive parent does not have the legal authority to make educational or Early Intervention decisions for