State-Level Impact of Mandated Referrals From Child Welfare to Part C Early Intervention

Abstract

New federal legislation requires states to develop policies to refer children younger than age 3 with substantiated cases of abuse or neglect to state Early Intervention (EI) systems. This article presents state-by-state estimates of potential referral and enrollment increases for EI. Many states could experience a significant increase in referrals (average 44%) and enrollment (average 22%). For effective implementation, states' EI systems will need to (a) increase EI system capacity, (b) identify additional funding, (c) find ways to successfully engage potentially resistant families, and (d) forge new interagency linkages. The state-by-state estimates provide both an indication of the potential impact in each state as well as goals that would reflect effective implementation of the referral mandate.