Eligibility

To be eligible for the Early Intervention program, children must:

• Be younger than 3 years old
• Live in one of the five boroughs
• Have a disability or developmental delay

All children referred to the Early Intervention program may receive a free, voluntary multi-disciplinary evaluation to determine if they are eligible for services.

Children who are not eligible for this program can receive developmental monitoring, with caregivers keeping track of the child's development up to their third birthday.

Confidentiality

All services and evaluations are confidential. They will not be shared with any other City Agency or system, such as the Department of Education, without the parent’s written permission. 

If a child qualifies, the program will work with the parent to design a special plan to help the child and family. This plan is called an IFSP.

Insurance Coverage

A family does not need to have insurance to be eligible for Early Intervention. If the family has health insurance, it will be used to pay for Early Intervention services at no direct cost to the family.

If your child is already enrolled in the Early Intervention program and you need assistance with paying medical bills, a Child Benefit Advisor can help you.

For more information and to contact a Child Benefit Advisor, go to the Health Insurance for Children page.

Developmental Monitoring is a program of Early Intervention that helps track a infant's or toddler's development up to their third birthday.

The program is intended for children who are developing differently than their peers and may benefit from having their progress tracked.

Children younger than 3 years old might benefit from Developmental Monitoring if they:

• Were born at less than 33 weeks
• Spent more than 10 days in neonatal intensive care
• Weighed less than 4 pounds at birth
• Had lead test results that were too high
• Missed or failed a newborn hearing screening
• Were affected by homelessness or domestic violence
• Have a teenager mother
• Have a mother who did not receive prenatal care

Embedded Coaching is an approach to services where the family is involved in each stage of a child’s early intervention plan. 

Families can learn how to use daily routines as learning opportunities for their children between visits.