Q: One of the students on my caseload is under the custody of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS). What do I need to know?
A: The first, best thing to do is contact the Pupil Services Compliance Secretary for your school. OCS is not the legal guardian and cannot sign the paperwork as the legal guardian. Depending on the student’s situation, a family member or a foster parent may serve as the guardian for IEP purposes. Or a surrogate parent may need to be appointed for the student. A call to the district office compliance secretaries will help determine what the next steps are for the student.
Q: Should I bring a draft IEP with me to the IEP meeting?
A: If you bring a new proposed draft of the IEP to the meeting, the most important things to do is to mark it as DRAFT and ensure that everyone at the table knows that the draft will be reviewed at this meeting and changes made. If you do bring a draft, make notes on you copy of what changes team members would like to make. In potentially contentious cases, save the copy with your notes on it so that it can be referred to if a parent has a question. Another option is to bring a copy of the current IEP and make changes where needed on that copy. An effective case manager brings some sort of draft to work from so that the meeting can stay on track.