Please note that you will need to register for an account on the HHS Learning Portal if you have not already done so. You will be asked to enter your login credentials when you access the modules. These modules are located on the Early Intervention Specialists Training page.
The Early Intervention Specialist (EIS) Individualized Professional Development Plan (IPDP) Credentialing module is a streamlined and self-paced process for certifying an EIS employed by Texas ECI contractors. Learning activities, observations and demonstrations are directly related to the job responsibilities of an EIS by building on what you learned in MIW as you follow the story of a new child and her family.
Support for Supervisors
Supervisors can utilize the guidelines (PDF) to assist EISs through the credentialing process. It provides a(n):
- overview of EIS supervision standards,
- answer key with screen shots for activities that do not have feedback within the module, and
- document to log supervision related to the activities the EIS completes.
Accessible version of guidelines (MS Word)
Early Intervention Specialists
Early Intervention Specialists are one of the professional disciplines on the ECI Team. In Texas, there is no specific degree or licensure for EISs; therefore, the ECI state office developed a credentialing system for these professionals. Currently, there are more than 900 certified EISs in Texas ECI programs statewide serving families with children birth to three with developmental delays and disabilities. EISs serve on ECI interdisciplinary teams for the eligibility determination process and the development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The EIS is the recognized provider in Texas for delivering Specialized Skills Training (SST). These developmental services (rehabilitative services) promote age-appropriate development by providing training to address deficits and teach compensatory skills for deficits that directly result from medical, developmental or other health-related conditions.
To become a certified EIS, an individual must be employed by a local ECI program and complete the credentialing process within one year of being hired. As part of the credentialing process the EIS will be entered into the EIS Registry, where completion of specific observations and demonstrations listed on the (IPDP) will be tracked. Upon completion of the requirements on the IPDP, an EIS is awarded a certificate declaring his/her status as an EIS professional. EISs must obtain 20 contact hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and 3 hours of ethics training every two years to maintain their credential and remain on active status. CPE requirements can be found here (PDF).
Who Can Become an EIS?
Per the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 26, Part 1, Chapter 350, Subchapter C, §350.313 an EIS must either:
- Be registered as an EIS before Sept. 1, 2011
- Hold a bachelor's or graduate degree in early childhood development, early care and early childhood, early childhood special education, or human development and family studies.
- Hold a bachelor's or graduate degree in a field that is related to early childhood intervention, which includes psychology, social work, counseling, special education (without an emphasis on early childhood), and sociology, with nine semester course credit hours relevant to early childhood intervention and three semester course credit hours specific to early childhood development or early childhood special education.
- Hold a bachelor's or graduate degree in a field unrelated to early childhood intervention, with fifteen semester course credit hours relevant to early childhood intervention and three semester course credit hours specific to early childhood development or early childhood special education.
TAC also indicates that 40 clock hours of continuing education in early childhood development or early childhood special education completed within three years prior to employment with ECI may substitute for the three-hour semester course credit requirement in early childhood development or early childhood special education.
The content of the three hours of coursework and the forty clock hours of continuing education must relate to the growth, development, and education of the young child and may include courses or training in:
(A) child growth and development;
(B) child psychology;
(C) children with special needs; or
(D) typical language development.
Similarly, 40 clock hours of continuing education that is relevant to early childhood intervention completed within three years prior to employment with ECI may substitute for three of the required semester course credit hours relevant to early childhood intervention.
The 40-clock-hour requirement must be completed within one month of employment.
Prior to hiring an EIS, the ECI contractor must confirm the applicant has a qualifying degree or review their transcripts to ensure they have completed coursework that meets the requirements in TAC. This is to ensure that an EIS understands the development of infants and toddlers because the provision of SST for which an EIS is solely responsible depends on significant knowledge of typical child development.