CO · guidance
CO HCPF Early Intervention Billing Manual — Natural Environments
NaturalEnvironments
PartCofIDEArequires"tothemaximumextentappropriatetotheneedsofthechild,earlyinterventionservicesmustbeprovidedinnaturalenvironments,includingthehomeandcommunitysettingsinwhichchildrenwithoutdisabilitiesparticipate."(34CFR§303.12(b))
Bydefinition,naturalenvironmentsmean"settingsthatarenaturalornormalforthechild'sagepeerswhohavenodisabilities."(34CFR§303.18)
Theexceptiontotherulereads"theprovisionofearlyinterventionservicesforanyinfantortoddlerwithadisabilityoccursinasettingotherthananaturalenvironmentthatismostappropriate,asdeterminedbytheparentandtheindividualizedfamilyserviceplanteam,onlywhenearlyinterventioncannotbeachievedsatisfactorilyfortheinfantortoddlerinanaturalenvironment."
Theprovisionofearlyinterventionservicestakingplaceinnaturalenvironmentsisnotjustaguidingprincipleorsuggestion,itisalegalrequirement.
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Provenance
- Source
- hcpf.colorado.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-07-26
- Edition
- 2026-07-26
- Content hash
a58b4e2986e5e856b10066d89976a0216e6a6efa268bc3b23feba87a67487c47
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