Early Intervention Equity Collaborative
The Early Intervention (EI) Equity Collaborative is a community-driven initiative addressing barriers that limit access to EI services and developmental supports for young children and families in New York City. Community-based partners in four neighborhoods (Brownsville, Northern Manhattan, the North Shore of Staten Island, and the South Bronx) aim to strengthen outreach, system navigation, and coordination across EI, early childhood education, health, and family support systems.
Building on the successful approach developed in Brownsville, the model embeds EI Ambassadors within trusted community organizations to help families understand the EI process and support them through each stage, from referrals and evaluations to eligibility determinations and connections to services. Together, community partners routinely analyze neighborhood-level data to inform local and system-wide solutions that can improve access to services.
Through the EI Equity Collaborative, project partners—including CCC, United for Brownsville, LINC NYC, NewYork-Presbyterian, Children’s Aid, and the North Shore Alliance for Staten Island Children and Families—share lessons learned, address implementation challenges, use data to identify persistent gaps, and coordinate state and local advocacy.
Supported from the Start: A Citywide Forum on Early Intervention & Early Childhood Development
On July 14, 2026 CCC hosted Supported from the Start: A Citywide Forum on Early Intervention & Early Childhood Development. The event brought together a network of Early Childhood Collaborative partners to discuss how Early Intervention can function as a true gateway to developmental, educational, and family supports across the early childhood continuum.
Watch recorded segments from the event.
Click here to view slides from the event’s opening discussion on understanding the Early Intervention landscape with CCC and United for Brownsville.
Learn More About the Early Intervention Equity Collaborative
To learn more about the work underway in each community, please contact the partner organization listed below.
Collaborative-wide Questions
To learn more about the EI Equity Learning Collaborative overall or opportunities to support shared learning across communities, please contact:
Jenny Veloz, Policy Associate, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York: jveloz@cccnewyork.org
Community Partners
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Danielle Herring, Early Intervention Ambassador, United for Brownsville: dherring@brownsvillepartnership.org
Northern Manhattan
Veronica Cuello, Early Intervention Ambassador, Upper Manhattan Early Childhood Connect: vcuello@lincnyc.org
South Bronx
Kelsi Jensen, Home Based Education Coordinator, Children’s Aid: kjensen@childrensaidnyc.org
North Shore, Staten Island
Diana Jaquez, Early Intervention Ambassador, Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children and Families and the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute: diana.jaquez55@cuny.edu