Utah's Medically Complex Children's Waiver

Here is the link to apply for the Medically Complex Children's Waiver. http://health.utah.gov/ltc/mccw/ The requirements to be eligible for the waiver are:

*Be 0 through 18 years of age; (the individual is eligible until turning 19)
*Have 3 or more specialty physicians in addition to their primary care physician
*Show medical complexity involving 3 or more organ systems
*Demonstrate a level of medical complexity based on a combination of need for device-based supports, high utilization of medical therapies, treatments and frequent need for medical intervention
*Have a level of disability determined by the Social Security Administration or the State Medical Review Board. As part of the Medicaid eligibility determination process, the State will work with families to arrange to have a disability determination completed through the State Medical Review Board

Applications will be accepted until midnight on October 29th.

Share Your Story! Help Early Intervention Be Recognized!

State Government Information:

I am compiling a "book" of stories about how Early Intervention has impacted the families in our community.  Please share your story and a picture of your family.  These stories will be used to promote the importance of Early Intervention services to our state legislators.  A large chunk of our funding comes from state money and I think it is important to keep those who award us that funding informed about the good that it does.

Please write a paragraph or two about the impact of early intervention services on your family and your little ones.  You can email your story to me at mzeschke@dsdmail.net.

Federal Government Information:

We are once again dealing with the threat of sequestration.  Sequestration is the 2011 law that mandates $1 trillion in automatic, across the board annual budget cuts, when congress can't agree on a budget plan.  In 2013, the "Murray-Ryan" deal temporarily stopped these cuts from occurring, but that deal expires in fiscal year 2016.

These cuts would be devastating for special education and early intervention because our programs are part of the Non-Defense Discretionary category which includes education, special education, all disability services, Head Start, veterans, rehab, housing assistance, WIC, etc.  Non-Defense Discretionary funding is only about 17% of the federal budget, but these are the only programs where cuts can be made because the remained of the budget (defense, social security, health care, etc.) is mandatory.  If Congress doesn't stop sequestration, we are going to be in pretty bad shape.

You can write to your elected officials in Washington!  You can fill out the name/address contact information on the link below and letters to your congressional representatives and senator will be automatically populated.

http://capwiz.com/cek/home

Babies Don't Need Smartphones

This is a re-post of this article from 10/19/2015.  This is still great information!  In order to help our children learn social skills and communication, they need to experience social opportunities with adults and other children.  This happens best on the playground, during play dates, during family meal times, play times or any times.

The information in this post comes from an article on USAToday.com dated 5/8/2015 by Judith L. Page.

Increased technology use stands in the way of our children's speech and social development.

More than 2/3 of 2-year-olds are using tablets and more than 1/2 dawdle on smart phones.

Overuse of technology can translate to an underuse of speech and other forms of human-to-human communication.  Nothing substitutes for human interaction when it comes to speech and language development - not even technology.  Technology can cause damage to hearing if it is allowed to repeatedly emit unsafe sound levels close to the ear.

The early years are when children are most malleable, as the most rapid period of brain development takes place before age 3.  During this time, the primary way young children develop their speech and language abilities is through human communication, something technology simply cannot duplicate.  The less time they're conversing, the less opportunity these children will have to develop strong speech and language skills.

There is no substitute to developing vocabulary and communication skills through organic conversations and real exchanges.  Listening, talking, reading, and interacting with their parents and others is the best and only way children can build a sound foundation for a lifetime of communication.

If we allow technology to "rule our world" and starve our children of human interaction - society, and especially children, could well pay a terrible price in communication ability.

Parent Portal

I posted information about the Parent Portal in July.  Here is the post explaining what the Parent Portal is and how to access it.

Some of you may have already realized the benefit of the Parent Portal.  With our fully functioning, secure data base, you are able to have your child's Individual Family Service Plan and all the visit reports at your fingertips!  If you haven't logged onto the Parent Portal yet, give it a try and let us know what you think. 

When a document like the Individual Family Service Plan or visit report is completed, it is saved in our data base and you automatically receive an email with a link to access the document.  The email gives step-by-step directions to see the current document or all the available information.  You also have the option to no longer receive notification when something is finalized in BTOTS (the Baby Watch data base).  If you have chosen not to receive notification and then decide you would like to have access to the Parent Portal, let your service provider know and they can allow you access.

The process for accessing these documents is simple.  You will receive an email with options to look at the most recently finalized document, access all your child's documents or unsubscribe.  Once you choose which option you would like, you will be asked some security questions.  This is so that we can protect the confidentiality of your child's information.  However, once you have answered these security questions, the data base will recognize your device and next time you access the Parent Portal using that device, you won't be required to answer the security questions.

We are currently working to become as paperless as possible.  If you are currently receiving handwritten visit reports, please take a look at the Parent Portal.  The information is also available online.

So when you receive an email from do-not-reply-parent-portal@utah.gov, take a look and use the available information to help your child reach their goals.


Hopefully some of you have taken the initiative to look online for your child's visit reports or IFSP.  If not, here are a few more reasons to take a look.

• Do family or friends ever ask what they can do to support your little one's development?  You can access the visit report on your smart phone, tablet or computer to show them what you are currently working on.
• Forward the information to a child care provider so there is consistency from all the adults in your child's life.
• Look through the visit reports for ideas on specific issues or ideas to incorporate during play time.
• You will have a little extra time next weekend with older kiddos (Fall Recess) so look for some ideas of things to do as a family or activities your older children can do with the little one.

As we move toward being paperless, visit reports and IFSP information will only be available online, so take the opportunity now to familiarize yourself with the Parent Portal.  You can also ask your service provider to help you access it while they are there!

October Community Events

October is the beginning of the busy season for community activities and there are a lot of activities to choose from!

October 1st - North Salt Lake Reads Fall Family Event - 6:00 - 8:30 pm at City Hall.  Activities for all ages.

Friday nights through October 23rd - Layton F.E.S.T. (Farmers, Entertainment, Shopping and Trucks) - 5:30 - 9:30 pm at Layton Commons Park (Inside Constitution Circle)

October 5th - Family First Monday at Fountain Square in Station Park - 5:30 - 7:30 pm.  Theme: Happy Harvest.  Meet the friendly witches and help them make Witch Brew.

October 10th - Monster Mash and Dash - 5:00 - 8:00 pm at Heritage Park in Kaysville.  Fun Halloween events.

October 16th - West Point Halloween Carnival - 7:00 pm at City Hall.

October 17th - Pumpkins in the Park - 6:30 - 8:00 pm at Hogan Park in Woods Cross.  Bring carved pumpkins to display.  Prizes for the best costumes and pumpkins.

October 17th - Free Haunted Train Ride - 3:00 - 7:00 pm at Canyon Meadows Park in South Weber.

October 22nd through 24th - Pumpkin Festival - 7:00 - 10:00 pm at Centennial Park in Syracuse.

October 23rd - Miss Farminton's Annual Halloween Event - 6:30 - 8:30 pm at the Farmington Community Arts Center.  Costumes are encouraged.

October 24th - Annual Davis School District Trunk or Treat 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Young Chevrolet (645 North Main Street, Layton).

October 24th - Mother and Sons Halloween Party - 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Family Activity Center in South Weber (1181 Lester Drive). Theme: Monsters.  Games, prizes and a costume party.

October 29th - Clearfield Community Band Halloween Concert - 7:00 - 7:45 pm.  Check www.clearfieldcity.org for the location.

October 29th - Trunk or Treat - 3:45 - 5:00 pm at Highmark Charter School in South Weber.

October 30th - Halloween Bash - 5:30 - 8:00 pm at Central Davis Jr. High Gym in Layton.  Carnival style games, pumpkin walk, costume parade, music and refreshments.