Illinois Early Intervention Technical Assistance and Monitoring

The Early Intervention Monitoring Program, provided by the Vander Weele Group, LLC. and funded through the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), Bureau of Early Intervention, is designed to:

Improve compliance with state and federal regulations in the delivery of Early Intervention services to infants and toddlers.
Review the provision of direct services, billing procedures, and filing of required documentation.
Check all Child and Family Connections (CFC) offices and credentialed/enrolled service providers to ensure appropriate service delivery.
Assist families, CFC offices and Early Intervention service providers in addressing issues and resolving conflicts.
Safeguard the rights of families to receive appropriate services and supports by investigating parent complaints regarding the appropriate billing of services

Families

Providers

CFC's

State of Illinois Early Intervention

Vander Weele Group analyzes billing information and, when warranted, employs data analytics to detect abnormalities in billing.

The Early Intervention Technical Assistance and Monitoring Program (EITAM), managed and implemented by the Vander Weele Group, has also systematically captured feedback from families enrolled in Early Intervention.

Offices in the state’s northern and southern regions, South Holland, Illinois, and Springfield, Illinois, respectively, afford Vander Weele Group bases of operation from which to fulfill its statewide mission and deploy highly trained staff. Strategically used in-person meetings, videoconferences, conference calls, and webinars enable us to communicate regularly with a statewide network of partner agencies, CFC managers, and other stakeholders and surmount challenges posed by an expansive service area and dual base of operations.

Each month, Vander Weele Group managers meet with CFC managers via teleconference or in-person to share policy and programmatic updates and respond to questions and concerns. In addition, our managers regularly meet with representatives from partner agencies, including the Early Intervention Training Program, Provider Connections and the Early Intervention Clearinghouse, to engage in planning efforts and review program data.

Vander Weele Group supports the Illinois EI network and system by working with EI Council partners to delineate policies and procedures that meet federal and state regulations and to create training programs that address statewide systemic concerns. The firm also lends critical support to DHS to calculate and analyze data included in Illinois’ Annual Performance Report, a report that highlights the strengths and challenges of the EI system.

During FY 2016, Vander Weele Group not only provided deliverables that exceeded contractual goals, but made a significant contribution to the development of the Illinois State Systemic Plan, a multi-year effort borne out of the call by the U.S. Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) for enhanced accountability and improved child outcomes in Early Intervention. Since 2015, Vander Weele Group staff has served on the State Systemic Plan working groups, which have developed resources for use in three state “Innovation Zones” selected as pilot sites for the initiative. In Fall, 2016, Vander Weele Group staff joined a cadre of state level staff that will equip intervention teams in pilot sites with requisite technical assistance and support to address barriers that impede improved child outcomes in Early Intervention.