§ 143B-139.6A.  Secretary's responsibilities regarding availability of early intervention services.

The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services shall ensure, in cooperation with other appropriate agencies, that all types of early intervention services specified in the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA), P.L. 102-119, the federal early intervention legislation, are available to all eligible infants and toddlers and their families to the extent funded by the General Assembly.

The Secretary shall coordinate and facilitate the development and administration of the early intervention system for eligible infants and toddlers and shall assign among the cooperating agencies the responsibility, including financial responsibility, for services. The Secretary shall be advised by the Interagency Coordinating Council for Children from Birth to Five with Disabilities and Their Families, established by G.S. 143B-179.5, and may enter into formal interagency agreements to establish the collaborative relationships with the Department of Public Instruction, other appropriate agencies, and other public and private service providers necessary to administer the system and deliver the services.

As part of the permission to refer parents to services under the early intervention system for eligible infants and toddlers, the Secretary shall include the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, and the North Carolina School for the Deaf as agencies included on any permission to refer release form provided to parents for contact regarding services.

The Secretary shall adopt rules to implement the early intervention system, in consultation with all other appropriate agencies. (2001-437, s. 1.20(b); 2016-123, s. 5.8.)