NH Interagency Coordinating Council

The NH Interagency Coordinating Council is referred to as the "ICC" in NH. The ICC is federally mandated under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 and serves as an advisory group to the NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Bureau for Family Centered Services (BFCS). This state agency oversees Family Centered Early supports and Services for children birth up to age three who have or are at risk of having developmental delays and their families.

New Hampshire ICC members are nominated by members and appointed by the Governor. The IDEIA of 2004 requires that ICC members represent key programs that are related to early childhood. The Council elects the ICC Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Member At Large. A diverse membership is critical to assisting BDS in overseeing the Family-Centered Early Supports and Services system. Every effort is made to have members from as many different regions of the state as possible. The "culture" of different communities needs to be represented to provide different perspectives. The mission of the ICC is to promote and increase the quality of Family Centered Early Supports and Services and Preschool Special Education supports and services to eligible children, birth through five years, and their families.

Mission

The New Hampshire Interagency Coordinating Council is an advisory body for Family Centered Early Supports and Services (FCESS). The purpose of the NH ICC is to assist FCESS agencies to promote and increase the quality of early supports and services (Part C of IDEA) and Preschool Special Education (Part B/619) supports and services to eligible children, birth through five years, and their families. Four major goals underlie the ICC's mission:

• Assure that supports and services are: high quality, family centered, evidence based and provided within natural settings for children and their families;
• Support the lead agencies to implement a statewide monitoring, data collection and improvement system that identifies strengths and needs and utilizes results to improve programs and services;
• Facilitate interagency collaboration at the federal, state, regional, and local levels in order to assure that: quality supports and services exist for children and their families, duplication and gaps in supports and services provided are identified, and sufficient public and private resources are identified, allocated equitably and appropriately utilized; and
• Address immediate and relevant issues regarding the viability, finances, implementation, philosophy, practices, and/or quality of supports and services via subcommittees, work groups or other responsive mechanisms.