New Federally Required Report

Data Manager Update: New Federally Required Report

The Child Count report provides OSEP with the number of IFSP children active on a specified day of the year for all states. As part of this report states have been given the option to also report the number of IFSP children served during a 12-month period of time. This option will now become a requirement for all states. But, in addition, a race/ethnicity breakdown of these children will also be required. One of the monthly error reports sent to programs (Error Report #2: “Missing EIIS Client forms and/or eligibility data – IFSP children”) includes an error code for children whose race/ethnicity is missing. As the end of the fiscal year gets closer it will become important to make sure that all IFSP children have this information completed in EIIS. Please remember the guidelines for completing this information from families who intentionally refuse to answer these questions:

Parent or Guardian Who Intentionally Refuses to Answer the Ethnicity and/or Race Questions

If the parent or guardian intentionally refuses to answer the ethnicity and/or race questions, then, as a last resort, the service coordinator is required to select and document information as a response to these questions based on observer identification. Observer identification can include the following:

  • Use of this child’s prior record or sibling information
  • Use of first-hand knowledge about the child such as country of birth
  • Use of first-hand knowledge about the family such as home language, ancestry and/or family member’s country of birth

The Commonwealth requires the service coordinator to make the final decision based on observer identification. The DPH EIIS application will NOT allow the user to move out of the ethnicity/race section until a selection has been made. Therefore, it is imperative that the service coordinator complete this section on the form. Although DPH was permitted to estimate race/ethnicity when it was unknown or missing for aggregate federal reporting in the past, this practice is no longer permitted.