THE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL (ICC)
Vision Statement

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS has established a guiding vision for the role of the Council in supporting the implementation of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) through a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in Tennessee. This vision encompasses a number of key elements and is expressed as the following:

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system where families are supported, empowered, and connected with other families, parent advocates, and the child care system in order to fully participate in the decisions made regarding their child’s special needs. Every effort will be made to increase representation and involvement of families at every level, especially from underserved communities and culturally diverse backgrounds.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system that is effective in communicating the importance of early intervention and how early intervention works, by creating materials that are accessible to its target audience including legislators, medical practitioners, families, child care providers, businesses, and communities.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system where the local interagency coordinating council and state interagency coordinating council members work together to reach decisions and resolve differences using information and feedback from all active members.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system that involves health care, child care, and community practitioners who will utilize standard methods of identifying and referring children with, or at risk of having, emotional, psychological, physical, developmental, or medical disabilities to the early intervention system as early as possible.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system that provides comprehensive universally available services to families of children with special needs, including children with emotional/mental health needs, children in need of specialized therapies, and children in State custody through a variety of service options provided by a sufficient number of well-trained providers. Services will focus on the whole child in an accessible, user-friendly manner using people-first language.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system where all providers and stakeholders at the state and local levels participate in a comprehensive partnership to maximize outcomes for children and families. This collaboration and cooperation will result in a coordinated, flexible, accessible funding system that includes grant development, private partnerships, and resource sharing in order to maximize services, increase parent participation, and develop innovative services and delivery options.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system that prepares future professionals at all levels to serve infants and toddlers through both pre-service and in-service trainings. This will ensure that the system is able to recruit and train qualified professionals for underserved areas and train and support professionals already in the field.

The Interagency Coordinating Council for TEIS is committed to a Part C service system that has an effective and salient accountability structure to identify system needs and that institutes strategies to make improvements. This structure will ensure that the child and family outcome data informs the early intervention system regarding system effectiveness.