Related Policy Component

Guidance/Procedures

Reference/Related Documents

11.1.0  Written Interagency Agreements

11.1.1

A.      Interagency agreements should include the following components in addition to the required components listed in Policy Handbook 11.1.1:

1. Description of involved agencies - including services they provide and geographic areas they cover.
2. Requirements impacting the agreement - including federal/state legislation, state rules, and individual agency requirements.
3. Definition of terms and acronyms.
4. Working procedures.
5. Implementation of agreement - including how the agreement will be disseminated and what actions will establish the agreement as a part of the local service system.
6. Monitoring and Evaluation of the Agreement – including how outcomes will be monitored and evaluated. 
7. Duration - an established beginning and ending month, day and year of the agreement.
8. Cancellation Clause - allowing for cancellation by either party with a specified notification period.

B.     Written agreements should be in place with appropriate partners in the geographic area served by a Local Early Steps to ensure ongoing collaboration and the delivery of early intervention services. It may be a separate agreement or a community-wide agreement.  Appropriate partners include, but are not limited to:

1.      First Start or Even Start

2.      Head Start, Early Head Start

3.      Agency for Persons with Disabilities

4.      Healthy Start

5.      Community-Based Care organizations that are providers for the Department of Children and Families (DCF)

6.      Sheriff’s office (for protective investigation issues related to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act in the counties of Broward, Citrus, Pinellas, Seminole, Pasco, and Manatee)

7.      Local DCF Protective Investigations Office

8.      Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD)

CAPTA Local Interagency Agreement

11.2.0  State Level Agreements

11.2.1

A.      An original signed copy of all state level agreements will be maintained by the Early Steps State Office.

B.     When a state level agreement is newly signed or amended, copies will be distributed to those persons, agencies and programs directly affected by the interagency agreement so that they will have a working knowledge of the contents and requirements within.

C.     State level agreements will be posted on the Early Steps website.