The Center must establish procedures for the availability of primary care providers and for access to routine, urgent and emergency care, telephone appointments and advice.

• a) Availability of Services

• 1) The Center operations must ensure that:

• A) the facility provides 24 hour coverage, 12 months a year;

• B) services are accessible either on-site or through formal referral;

• C) services are convenient to students and include, as necessary, before or after school hours;

• D) working parents, to the maximum extent possible, are accommodated in the health care of their children;

• E) urgent appointments can be handled within the same day and/or the following day;

• F) scheduled appointments do not unnecessarily interrupt the student's classroom time;

• G) services are available in multiple languages as appropriate for the student population;

• H) non-urgent appointments are offered within seven days or through formal referral;

• I) no medical experimentation or invasive research is done on students; and

• J) telephone answering methods are in place to notify students and parents where and how to access 24 hour back-up services when the Center is not open.

• 2) The Center, in response to the cultural and language needs of the student body, must ensure that staff are educated in cultural diversity and that interpreting and translation services are provided by staff or interpreters in a manner that ensures confidentiality.

• 3) The Center cannot deny access to health care services to students based upon insurance status or ability to pay.

• 4) The Center cannot discriminate with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, handicap or sex. (See 775 ILCS 5/1-102)5) The Center must be accessible to students with disabilities and conform to requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act (42 USC 12204; 36 CFR 1191).6) The Center must provide services to students in a manner that ensures the student's and his/her family's right to privacy.

Subject to appropriation, the Illinois Department of Human Services shall initiate 20 new school health centers over a 5-year period beginning July 1, 2007, and shall build capacity with existing school health centers in the State of Illinois.

Guidance document addresses best practices for the provision of school-based occupational or physical therapy services within schools.