Welcome to the Alaska EI/ILP Cost Study Time Study

What is this?

• This is part of a larger statewide ILP cost study

• All ILP agencies in the state are being asked to participate

• The study is critical to developing reliable information about the state’s future ILP financial needs.

• PIC, ACCA and FOCUS agreed to pilot the study.

• The PIC, ACCA, and FOCUS Time Studies are over, now it’s the turn of our other Alaska ILP programs.

• We ask you to keep track of the way you use your time every work day for two weeks.

How will I participate?

As you go through your workday you’ll fill out the “Time Study Worksheet”

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The Time Study Worksheet

How do I fill this out?

Seven day week and 13 hour days allow for recording possible overtime

You’ll use two seven-day, thirteen hour worksheets

First, Notice the layout…

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Your telephone Number: Work Phone Your Position: Your Occupational Title (i.e. Physical therapist)

For the week Ended: Seven days from the start date ….

The area you Serve: Nome and ….

Organization: NSH

Your Name: First and Last Name

Identify Yourself

Ready to code? Coding Categories… Tips• Think about the day ahead and anticipate how

you will be using your time.

• Read up in the Worksheet Instructions on how to code the time you think you will be spending.

• Focus on the time you start and stop a Category of Service and fill in the 15 minute blocks in between.

But be sure to keep up- don’t get behind or you’ll forget what you were doing for some of the 15 minute segments.

• Use a pencil to fill out the Worksheet. And take an eraser with you.

• If you’re uncertain about your choice, make a note in the comments section about your choice. Add more paper for additional comments.

Special coding- Lunch and Blanks… Tips

• For uncompensated lunch times (people are not usually paid for a lunch hour), draw Parallel lines through the units of time you took for lunch. This doesn’t have to be for a whole hour- just what time you actually took for lunch.• Blanks…. Leave blank spaces for the time you

did not work (except lunch time) between 8 AM and 5 PM. But code work you did before 8 AM and/or after 5 PM. If you worked beyond the times on the worksheet, add an extra sheet showing the times, categories, activities, etc. that you worked early or late.

Leave Blanks – Before Start of each Day

Code each time block for the service performed (i.e. Intervention- 7:15 to 8:00 )

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N

Coding for Categories

N

Took a break- 8:00 to 8:30

AA

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N

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Note: the bottom line of a 15 minute unit represents the end of the unit. This is 7:15.

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Instructions page 2, item 3.

The Coding Hierarchy for Categories

Use the following hierarchy if more than one Category of Service was delivered in a 15 minute interval:

1st – N- Intervention2nd – R – Referral and Intake3rd – E – Evaluation and Assessment4th – F – IFSP development and Meeting5th – D or S – Service Coordination

Example: Sally, not the designated service coordinator, made a service coordination phone call and provided Occupational Therapy in the same 15 minute interval. She codes “N” for Intervention, NOT “S” for service coordination because “N” is above “S” in the hierarchy.

Instructions page 2, item 3.

More Coding Hierarchies for Categories

6th- If none of the 5 Categories above took place in any 15 minute interval, code the Category that took up the greater part of the 15 minute interval.

Example for the 6th priority: Sally was attending a general staff meeting starting at 8:00 AM. After 10 minutes of the meeting she began feeling sick. At that point she left the meeting and took the rest of the morning off. She coded “A”, Administration for the 8:00 to 8:15 interval, and “K”, Sick for all the intervals from 8:15 to noon.

Instructions page 2, item 3.

You need to know the Category Definitions

N – Early Intervention Services for Part C eligible clients. There are 15 listed in the Instructions, pg. 5. Check them out.

R – Referral and Intake. All the activity related to handling a referral into the agency or out to other agencies prior to or instead of enrollment in the ILP. Use this code and NOT Service Coordination any time you are doing “in- or out-referral” prior to enrollment.

Instructions page 5

E – Includes both child and family assessment to determine need, and evaluation of initial and continuing assessments to determine eligibility. Check out the Instructions for examples.

More Category Definitions

F – Activity around the IFSP meeting and its purpose; that of choosing services for the benefit of child and family. D – Service Coordination (designated). Activity carried out by the person designated as “case manager” or primary Service Coordinator, assigned after the child has been determined eligible for Part C services.

Instructions pages 6 and 7

Instructions page 8

Even More Category Definitions

S – Service Coordination (other-than designated). Service Coordination by someone other than the person designated on the client’s IFSP.

A – Administration. All generic, compensated administrative activity that is not identifiable by program. Includes “Brakes.”P – Personnel Development. Training directly related to ILP service. See the Instructions for the learning-by-observation possible exception.

The last three Category Definitions

C – Community Collaboration. In a word… ILP networking. See the Instructions for examples.

K – Sick, Holiday, Vacation time. It is not program dependent.

X – Services and activities not related to early intervention or Part C processes. This includes Supervisory time not related to early intervention or Part C activities.

Instructions page 9

Tips for coding Activities

Use the following hierarchy if more than one activity took place in a 15 minute interval:

1st If any part of the interval included Travel, code the entire interval 6 for Travel.

2nd If any Direct Service occurred during the interval (and no travel occurred), code the entire interval as 5 for Direct Service.

3rd If more than one of any of the other seven activities took place (meaning no travel or Direct Service occurred), code for the Activity that took up the greater part of the 15 minutes.

4th If you performed an Activity that doesn’t fit any of the 9 others, use code 10 and describe the activity in Comments on the Worksheet.

Instructions page 3, item 4.

Coding for Activities

Code 1 through 9 only for Categories N,R,E,F,D,S. Do not code an Activity (leave blank) for Categories A,C,P,K or X.

● Leave Blank – Start of each Day

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NNNAA

555

Note: the bottom line of the 15 minute unit represents the end of the unit. This is 7:15.

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Instructions page 3, item 4.

You need to know the Activity Definitions

1. Documentation. The actual act of documenting performance of a Category of EI Service. Not Report writing.

2. Preparation. Time spent preparing for referral, intake, evaluation & assessment, IFSP meeting, etc. Completion of documentation is not preparation, it’s Documentation.

3. Collateral meetings…. Meetings with other professionals about providing EI services. If the client or client’s family is present, code “5” for Direct Service

Instructions page 9- and more to go next slide

Even More Activity Definitions

4. Consultation. Time spent with other professionals that is planned for, and defined in the child’s IFSP. This is NOT ad hoc, unplanned for time with other professionals.

5. Direct Service. Face-to-face contact with the child or family. It does NOT include telephone contact.

6. Travel. Travel is going to and returning from a destination to deliver early intervention services. It includes pauses such as layovers unless another EI service is provided during the pause.

Instructions page 10- and more activities next slide

The last four Activity Definitions

7. Report Writing. The actual writing and documenting (specifically for the report) related to the coded Category of EI Service.

8. Telephone Contact. Calling or receiving a phone call specifically from a client family.

9. No Show, Cancellation, Attempted Home Visit. Only use this code when the attempt was made and no other activity took place. Any part of it that included travel must be coded Travel.

10. Other than listed. If no other Activity seem appropriate, use this code and explain in the Worksheet’s comments section.

Instructions page 10 and 11

Coding for Supervision

NNNAA

555

If you are spending time with your supervisor OR are supervising in ways a. through e., page 4, on the Instruction sheet, draw a circle around the coded category units of time for which Supervision applies. Note: you can enclose more than one 15 minute interval at a time.

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Instructions page 4, item 6.

Coding for Part “C”

NNNAA

555

If the client or client’s family for whom you are providing and coding a service, N,R,E,F, D, or S has been determined to be Part C eligible, put check marks in the “C” column. Note: code each box separately

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Instructions page 4, item 7.

Other States’ Results

Connecticut 2006 http://www.birth23.org/Publications/ProviderRateStudy2006.pdf

Virginia 2004 http://www.infantva.org/documents/coststudyfinalreport.pdf

Sample of actual Worksheet

Sample of actual Worksheet

Sample of actual Worksheet

Practice