What is an IFSP?
An IFSP is an Individualized Family Service Plan. It keeps track of the early testing and evaluation process for children with disabilities and their families.

Why should I get an IFSP if my child already has an IEP?
Unlike the IEP (Individualized Education Program), the IFSP deals with more than just the child. The IFSP is designed to look at the whole family and how the whole family can work together to help the child with disabilities. The IFSP does not stop at the school setting, but looks at how the child develops in other settings like the home, church, or even daycare. The IFSP looks at the child and the family as a whole and deals with the support and education of the child and the family. The IFSP also assigns a service coordinator.

What information is in an IFSP?
1. the child's present levels of development
2. the family's resources, priorities, and concerns
3. the goals the family needs to reach with the child, how much time it will take to reach them, and how the progress will be measured
4. what specific services are needed for the child and the family, how much is needed, how often they’re needed, and how they will be given is also noted
5. the places that the services will be given
6. the dates and duration of services
7. the names of the people in charge of giving service
8. an outline of how the child will move onto to preschool or other services
9. how the services are going to be paid for. A family can be charged but if that is the case it has to be noted
10. any other service needs of the child (like medical).

Ways to Create a successful IFSP

• Figure out what is important to the family and what they have to work with.
  • Look at the activities of the family. Some of these activities lead to chances for learning. These activities could be daily routines like eating or they could be outside activities like daycare.
• Test and observe the child and family successfully.
  • This process ensures that the whole child and family have been looked at and that all areas of possible learning are looked at. Someone familiar with the child does the observing and testing and all of the parents’ questions have been answered.
    Figure out what goals the family and service providers have together
    

After all of the testing is finished the family should be involved in deciding what should happen next.

• Plan the responsibilities of the family and providers
  
  • After goals have been decided on the people who are going to carry out the plan need to be decided on. Someone will need to kick off the program.
    
• Decide how the plan can be put into action
  • Family members and team members need to determine how the child can be helped to learn and then begin putting those practices into effect in all of the different family settings that had been observed during the testing process.
• Look at the results of the plan early on and discuss success and failure in order to make it better.
  • It is important that everyone feels the services are working and that the plan is being followed. By looking at the plan early on any problems or changes can be put into effect immediately. This way the best can be achieved.
    

How do you make sure that the intervention of services will be successful?

The intervention services should be sure to make the child more independent.
The intervention services should take place, as much as possible, in a setting that is normal to the child and in ways that seem ordinary. The IFSP deals with making services as natural as possible.

Adapted from: THE INDIVIDUAL FAMILY SERVICE PLAN (IFSP)
by Mary Beth Bruder, An Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse (ERIC) document. To search for more articles on ERIC, click here.