(325 ILCS 20/9) (from Ch. 23, par. 4159) (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2026) Sec. 9. Role of other State entities. The Departments of Public Health, Human Services, Children and Family Services, and Healthcare and Family Services; the University of Illinois Division of Specialized Care for Children; the State Board of Education; and any other State agency which directly or indirectly provides or administers early intervention services shall adopt compatible rules for the provision of services to eligible infants and toddlers and their families within one year of the effective date of this Act. These agencies shall enter into and maintain formal interagency agreements to enable the State and local agencies serving eligible children and their families to establish working relationships that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their early intervention services. The agreement shall outline the administrative, program and financial responsibilities of the relevant State agencies and shall implement a coordinated service delivery system through local interagency agreements. There shall be created in the Office of the Governor an Early Childhood Intervention Ombudsman to assist families and local parties in ensuring that all State agencies serving eligible families do so in a comprehensive and collaborative manner.(Source: P.A. 98-41, eff. 6-28-13.) |