(a) Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) case management may only be provided by an employee or subcontractor of an ECI contractor. The contractor must comply with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) ECI requirements related to minimum qualifications for service coordinators.
  (1) A service coordinator must meet one of the following criteria:
    (A) be a licensed professional in a discipline relevant to early childhood intervention;
    (B) be an Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) or meet the qualifications for an EIS as defined in §350.313 of this subchapter;
    (C) be a Registered Nurse (with a diploma, an associate's, bachelor's or advanced degree) licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing; or
    (D) hold a bachelor's degree or graduate degree from an accredited university with a specialization in:
      (i) child development, special education, psychology, social work, sociology, nursing, rehabilitation counseling, or human development or a related field; or
      (ii) an unrelated field with at least 18 hours of semester course credit in child development or human development.
  (2) Before performing case management activities, a service coordinator must complete HHSC ECI required case management training that includes, at a minimum, content which results in:
    (A) knowledge and understanding of the needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families;
    (B) knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C;
    (C) understanding of the scope of early childhood intervention services available under the early childhood intervention program and the medical assistance program; and
    (D) understanding of other state and community resources and supports necessary to coordinate care.
  (3) A service coordinator must complete all assigned activities on the service coordinator's Individualized Professional Development Plan within one year from the service coordinator's start date.
  (4) A service coordinator must effectively communicate in the family's native language or use an interpreter or translator.
(b) A service coordinator who was employed as service coordinator by a contractor before March 1, 2012 and does not meet the requirements of subsection (a)(1) of this section may continue to serve as a service coordinator at the contractor's discretion.
(c) The contractor must comply with HHSC ECI requirements related to continuing education for service coordinators. A service coordinator must complete:
  (1) three contact hours of training in ethics every two years;
  (2) an additional three contact hours of training specifically relevant to case management every year; and
  (3) if the service coordinator does not hold a current license or credential that requires continuing professional education, an additional seven contact hours of approved continuing education every year.
(d) The contractor must comply with HHSC ECI requirements related to supervision of service coordinators.
  (1) A contractor's supervision of service coordinators must meet the requirements outlined in §350.309(e) of this subchapter (relating to Minimum Requirements for All Direct Service Staff).
  (2) A contractor's ECI program staff member who meets the following criteria is qualified to supervise a service coordinator:
    (A) has completed all service coordinator training as required in subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section;
    (B) has two years of experience providing case management in an ECI program or another applicable community-based organization; and
    (C) is an active EIS or holds a bachelor's degree or graduate degree from an accredited university with a specialization in:
      (i) child development, special education, psychology, social work, sociology, nursing, human development or a related field; or
      (ii) an unrelated field with at least 18 hours of semester course credit in child development or human development.
(e) Requirements for service coordinator active status and inactive status are as follows.
  (1) A service coordinator is on inactive status when the service coordinator fails to complete required training activities by the designated deadlines in subsections (a) and (c) of this section. Service coordinator active status is reinstated after the required training activities are completed and approved by the service coordinator's supervisor.
  (2) A service coordinator is on inactive status when the service coordinator is no longer employed by a contractor.
    (A) A service coordinator returns to active status when the service coordinator:
      (i) is employed by an ECI program within 24 months or less from the last day of employment;
      (ii) submits 10 clock hours of continuing education for every year of inactive status; and
      (iii) submits documentation of three clock hours of ethics training completed within the last two years and not used to meet previous training requirements.
    (B) A service coordinator who has been on inactive status for longer than 24 months must complete the training requirements outlined in subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section.
(f) The contractor must comply with HHSC ECI requirements related to ethics of service coordinators. Service coordinators must meet the established rules of conduct and ethics training required by their license or credential. A service coordinator who does not hold a license or credential must meet the rules of conduct and ethics established in §350.314 of this subchapter (relating to EIS Code of Ethics).

Source Note: The provisions of this §350.315 adopted to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5387; amended to be effective July 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 4621; amended to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 5524; amended to be effective March 7, 2015, 40 TexReg 939; amended to be effective June 30, 2019, 44 TexReg 3280; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 941; amended to be effective March 17, 2022, 47 TexReg 1277