As we transition to the BDI-3 for assessment, we will provide periodic procedural updates. Please review the information about ending the administration of the AEPS.

AEPS-3 kits were distributed to all EIRA agencies on January 23, 2023.
AEPS-3 training is scheduled for February 9th and 10th. Individuals participating in this training will receive the training materials and link to the meeting by Friday, February 3rd.
Evaluation Agencies continue to transition to the BDI-3 for initial eligibility evaluations and are preparing for full implementation of the BDI-3 by February 14th.
Service Coordinators will receive the BDI-3 Score Reports, which contain the scores, family report that includes items assessed, description of domains, and a Help Your Child Learn and Grow section. 
The link to the BDI-3 presentation shared during the January 4th TEIS Provider Office Hours can be found on our Information for Vendors and EIRAs webpage: https://www.tn.gov/didd/for-consumers/tennessee-early-intervention-system-teis/vendors---early-intervention-resource-agencies.html

The TEIS Assessment Fact Sheet can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/didd/for-consumers/tennessee-early-intervention-system-teis/vendors---early-intervention-resource-agencies.html

Thank you for your attendance at the EIRA director’s meeting last week. As a result of a question raised at the meeting, the following clarification has been made to communication from 10/17/22:

Original information (10/17/22)

Initial IFSPs

The AEPS will not be administered for children with an Initial IFSP after 10/1/22. This applies to children who are new referrals. Children who are returning to TEIS who previously had an initial IFSP (the file is being reopened) will still need the AEPS after 10/1/22.

6-Month Reviews and Annual IFSPs

EIRAs will administer the AEPS until 2/10/23 for ongoing assessment. This means an assessment will be completed for any child with a 6-month or annual IFSP that is due as late as 3/12/2023 (given that the assessment is completed 30 days prior to the IFSP due date). All AEPS assessments should be entered into AEPSi before the close of business on 2/10/23. TEIS will be working with Brookes Publishing to export data from AEPSi on 2/13/2023 and 2/14/2023.

Update: TEIS service coordinators should discontinue adding any AEPS assessments to IFSPs after 1/31/23. EIRAs should continue to plan to complete and enter any outstanding AEPS assessments by close of business on 2/10/23. If any AEPS assessments are unable to be completed, the EI should notify the child’s Service Coordinator and document in the contact log.

EIRAs should also download any reports from AEPSi the agency wishes to retain before 2/13/23.

As part of the next scheduled TEIDS update, the end date for all current planned services for AEPS assessments for children not receiving developmental therapy will be changed to 2/14/23.

Provider Lunch and Learns

Thank you to all who attended our first Lunch and Learn of 2023! Lydia Barry and Katlin Steese presented “Let’s Talk About Talking” to over 130 participants. If you missed the webinar, the link to the recording and slides can be found below.

Our next Lunch and Learn will be on February 15th from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. CST.

Jane Wilson-Moses, M.Ed., BCBA, Outreach Director for the Susan Gray School at Vanderbilt University will be presenting on Strategies for Coaching Adults (Colleagues and Caregivers).

Jane attended graduate school to become a BCBA and became an early childhood special educator while she was at it. She was a classroom teacher and an autism consultant before she became an early interventionist. She thinks a lot about how to make systems better. She loves to talk about how people learn.

Join here: https://bit.ly/3wNhvJG

Upcoming Lunch and Learns

Wednesday, March 22nd
Wednesday, April 26th
Wednesday, May 24th
Wednesday, June 21st
Wednesday, July 26th
Wednesday, August 23rd
Wednesday, September 20th
Wednesday, October 25th
Wednesday, November 29th

Save the Date - Professional Development Opportunity

Please save the dates for an exciting professional development opportunity to learn alongside Dana Childress in a five-week webinar series:

It’s a Balance: Supporting Caregiver & Child Learning during (and between!) Early Intervention Visits

This series will build awareness of early intervention practice and a balanced perspective to facilitating learning for both caregivers and children during visits. These sessions will also offer participants opportunities to reflect on their practices, practice using specific strategies between sessions, and learn from others during interactive chat conversations that engage participants during each webinar.

Dana Childress, PhD is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Special Education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk VA. She has worked in the field of early intervention (EI) for more than 27 years as an early interventionist, service coordinator, supervisor, training facilitator, author, and consultant. Prior to working in higher education, she was a member of Virginia's EI professional development team developing resources and conducting web-based and in-person training. She was the lead author on VA’s Early Intervention Strategies for Success blog and continues to co-host the EI on the Fly Podcast. Dana is the author of the book, Pause and Reflect: Your Guide to a Deeper Understanding of Early Intervention Practice (2021), and a co-author of the book, Family-Centered Early Intervention: Supporting Infants and Toddlers in Natural Environments (2015). Her interests include adult learning and EI service delivery, family centered practices, supporting family implementation of intervention strategies, elevating the identity and practices of special instructors and service coordinators, and finding ways to bridge the research to practice gap through interactive professional development for in-service EI practitioners. She regularly consults with state and local programs on EI professional development topics.

All providers are welcome to attend. Please keep your eye out for additional communication regarding this opportunity.

March 9th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST

March 23rd from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST

April 20th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST

May 11th from 11 to 12:30 p.m. CST

May 25th from 11 to 12:30 p.m. CST

Woman with blonde curly hair. S0he has on clear framed glasses and is wearing a white shirt. Text: It's a balance: supporting caregiver & child learning during (and between!) early intervention visits with Dana Childress.

EIRA Director Professional Development Survey

The EIRA Professional Development Committee continues to work towards developing training resources for providers. The committee recognizes there are many qualified experts in various training topics represented within early interventionist and administrators. Please complete the form linked below by February 10th and send it to the following email address: PLC@UTHSC.EDU

EIRA Director Professional Development Survey

TEIS Provider Office Hours

The next TEIS Provider Office Hours is Wednesday, February 15th at 10:30 a.m. Please pre-submit questions to Carly.Carlton@tn.gov by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14th.

Click the following link to join: https://bit.ly/3JuCmZQ

The dates for TEIS Provider Office Hours are scheduled through February. They can be found on the "Info for Vendors and EIRAs" section of the TEIS webpage: https://www.tn.gov/didd/for-consumers/tennessee-early-intervention-system-teis/vendors---early-intervention-resource-agencies.html. On this page, TEIS providers can access the meeting link, schedule, and previous recordings. We encourage everyone to bookmark this page as a resource for TEIS Provider Office Hours.

New District Administrator in East Point of Entry Office

We are so excited to announce Rachel Meyer as District Administrator for our East Point of Entry office!

Rachel began her career with TEIS in 2006 after two years of teaching Kindergarten and First grade. She began her work with TEIS as a Service Coordinator visiting families in their homes. Over the years, she has also worked as a Developmental Specialist with the TEIS evaluation team and as a Program Coordinator in the East Point of Entry office.

"I have loved being able to support families in different capacities with each position and am ready for this new opportunity to not only continue work with families, Service Coordinators, vendors, and community partners but to also be a part of the growth and development of TEIS," said Rachel.

Selfie of Rachel Meyer. She has dark brown hair and brown eyeys. She is wearing a lepord print shirt.

TEIS Digital Marketing Campaign

In December 2022, DIDD launched a targeted digital markting campaign focused on raising awareness to families about TEIS and on career opportunities within TEIS. The campaign will run from December 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Check out our TEIS ads starring TEIS families and professionals!

TEIS: https://youtu.be/FAD_bNxsvVc

TEIS Careers: https://youtu.be/U0pp8ljF9Fg

Photo of a woman and toddler sitting on the floor playing. A man is videoing their interaction for a commercial

Picture is taken down a hall way. A camera is set up pointed at a man sitting in a room being interviewed.

Little boy standing and look over smiling

BBP 2023 Registration

Join us for DIDD's 2023 Building Best Practice Conference! We are looking forward to two days with TEIS staff and early intervention professionals from across the state as we come together to grow as individuals, teammates, and caregivers. We have an exciting lineup of sessions built to teach you new skills, refresh what you already know, and provide perspective as the world of early intervention continues to change.

We are so excited to invite TEIS Vendors to this year’s Building Best Practice (BBP) conference and provide an opportunity for our vendors to receive continuing education credits! Information on CE credits can be found on the BBP webpage. TEIS has set aside 150 tickets for TEIS vendors which will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. To secure your ticket, complete your registration through the link below as soon as possible!

Breakout session information can be found on our BBP webpage: https://www.tn.gov/didd/for-consumers/tennessee-early-intervention-system-teis/building-best-practice-.html.

Due to a larger number of attendees this year, we must be diligent about adhering to capacity guidelines provided by the Embassy Suites. Attendees will be unable to change the sessions selected during registration. Please review the session options prior to completing the registration process.

Registration will open on February 3rd at 8 a.m. CST and close Friday, February 17th at 4 p.m. CST. Late registration will not be permitted. Attendees can register at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/teis-building-best-practice-conference-2023-tickets-528563205777.

A limited number of hotel rooms are available at a discounted rate at the hotels below. Rooms must be booked by March 11th. ***Please be sure the website shows the group rate and reads Dept of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities before booking.***

Residence Inn
Book Your Group/Corporate Rate | Marriott International

Courtyard Marriott
Book Your Group/Corporate Rate | Marriott International

AEPS-3 Training: February 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT
Coffee Break: February 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT. Join here: https://bit.ly/40iPIyq
AEPS-3 Training: February 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT
EIRA Advisory Council: February 14 from 9 to 11 a.m. CT
TEIS Provider Office Hours: February 15 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. CT
Lunch and Learn Strategies for Coaching Adults: February 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. CT. Join here: https://bit.ly/3wNhvJG
Coffee Break: February 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT. Join here: https://bit.ly/40jlWJR

Do you have a story you would like to share with the TEIS community? Send your newsletter ideas to Carly Carlton at Carly.Carlton@tn.gov.

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