In New York City, the Early Intervention (EI) Program helps around 30,000 young children under three years old, who are not learning, playing, growing, talking, or walking like other children their age.

New York State requires children to receive Early Intervention services within 30 days of their Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP) meeting. During this critical period of brain growth, delays in service receipt can have lifelong effects on a child’s developmental trajectory.

Unfortunately, children throughout the city have been unable to receive timely and comprehensive developmental services due to provider shortages and a chronically underfunded Early Intervention system. To understand the impact of delayed EI services, CCC has put together an EI fact sheet with data on delays, referrals, and evaluations. The data in this factsheet points to the urgent need to ensure EI is supported at the state level so children receive the timely developmental supports they need and are legally entitled to.

Key takeaways from the data:

• Less than half of children in New York City receive all their EI services on time.
• Black and Latinx children are disproportionately affected.
• Children had to wait longer to receive at least one Early Intervention service in FY23. Provider shortages and the lack of in-person services are driving these delays.

While the overall number of initial Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings increased around 20%, from 12,400 in FY20 to 15,113 in FY2023 the number of delayed meetings increased disproportionately, at 84%.

Provider shortages have impacted children in New York City and around the State, with a growing number of families being told their children will have to wait for services because no providers are available who will provide in-person care. Across New York City, 14% of children who were referred for services were never evaluated.

What Steps Must State Leaders Take to Ensure Children Receive Timely Access to Developmental Services?

We support the following priorities:

• Fund a 5% rate increase for in-person Early Intervention Services through an increase in the Covered Lives Assessment.
• Fund a comprehensive review of New York’s Early Intervention program, including program models and financing of the program.
• Create a student loan forgiveness program to attract new Early Intervention providers.