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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

November 30, 2018

Honorable Shereef Elnahal

Commissioner

New Jersey Department of Health

P.O. Box 360

Trenton, New Jersey 08625

Dear Commissioner Elnahal:

The purpose of this letter is to provide you a summary of the results of the monitoring activities 

conducted by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) during an on-site visit with the 

New Jersey Department of Health (DOH), New Jersey Early Intervention System (NJEIS), on 

May 29, 20181. 

Participants from DOH, NJEIS included2:

 Terry Harrison, Part C Coordinator

 Susan Evans, Results Accountability Coordinator

 Alvina Seto, Family Cost Participation Coordinator

 Christine Nogami-Engime, Monitoring Coordinator

In 2016, OSEP began providing differentiated monitoring and support (DMS) to States as part of 

its Results Driven Accountability (RDA) framework. Under RDA, OSEP made a shift from 

monitoring based solely on compliance to monitoring and support focused on both compliance 

and improving results for infants and toddlers with disabilities. OSEP differentiates its approach 

for each State based on the State’s unique strengths, progress, challenges, and needs.

As part of the DMS process, OSEP conducts an organizational assessment (OA) of risk factors to 

identify States’ progress in meeting performance standards and complying with the requirements 

of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its implementing 

regulations, the Education Department General Administrative Regulations, and the Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 

OSEP uses the information from the OA and an Engagement Decision Tree to make designations 

of universal, targeted, or intensive monitoring and support that a State will receive for the fiscal 

year. For 2016-2017, OSEP identified give areas for DMS: 1) results; 2) compliance; 3) State 

Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP); 4) child find; and 5) fiscal.

 

1

This monitoring activity was originally scheduled for spring 2017, but was delayed due to personnel changes and 

other circumstances. 

2

In additional, NJEIS invited two contracted consultants to participate in the meetings.
Page 2 – Honorable Shereef Elnahal

On October 31, 2016, OSEP sent New Jersey’s IDEA Part C DMS notice to Terry Harrison. That 

notice provided a designation of universal or intensive engagement for each of five areas OSEP 

identified for DMS. The information in the notice was based on Federal Fiscal Year 2014 data in 

the corresponding five areas, along with information about the factors contributing to elevated 

need for monitoring and support, the support the State has accessed, the State’s capacity to 

improve results and compliance, and additional contextual information. The notice also 

identified the monitoring and support activities that would be carried out to address the factors 

contributing to the elevated need for monitoring and support in each of the areas that were 

designated for intensive engagement. We have attached a copy of the DMS notice for your 

convenience.

As part of its DMS activities, OSEP conducted fiscal monitoring with the NJEIS. During this 

activity, OSEP addressed implementation of the State’s System of Payments policy. Attached is 

a summary of the results of OSEP’s monitoring. If OSEP identified findings of noncompliance 

with IDEA requirements, you will find specific information, within the attachment including the 

corrective actions DOH must take to address the noncompliance. 

We appreciate your efforts to improve results for infants and toddlers with disabilities. If you 

have any questions, please contact Jennifer Miley, your OSEP State Lead, at 202-245-6049. 

Sincerely,

/s/

Laurie VanderPloeg

Director

Office of Special Education Programs 

cc: Terry Harrison, Part C Coordinator

Attachments