PRESS RELEASE
LITTLE KIDS WHO NEED THERAPY THE MOST GET IT THE LEAST
Only about 1 in 10 infants, toddlers in child welfare system get Early Intervention
Young children who live through abuse, neglect, poverty, and instability don’t have the tools to make sense of their world. Therapeutic services early in life can help these children express their trauma, heal, and build trust and resilience – especially for kids in the child welfare system.
Infant-Toddler Early Intervention (EI) services help children under age three by promoting their physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, and adaptive development. Infant-Toddler EI services provide occupational and physical therapy, psychological services, audiology, vision screening, speech and language services to young children.
A new report by Children First, Enhancing Early Intervention Referrals for Children in Child Welfare, reveals that too few children are getting these life-changing services. Despite the clear benefit of these services, a mere 13% of infants and toddlers in the child welfare system are referred to EI by the county children and youth agency.
“It’s so important that children even a few months old get screened,” said Stefanie Arbutina, Vulnerable Youth Policy Director. “Trauma manifests in many different ways so the earlier problems are spotted, the earlier young children get support.”
Unfortunately, up to 13,000 eligible children get left out because current state policy only mandates that kids with a known history of abuse or neglect get a developmental screening and possible referral. But the majority of kids are in the system through General Protective Services (GPS), meaning their families need assistance getting through a rough patch. Updating the policy to include GPS-involved children in mandatory screenings would get thousands more kids the help they need.
Because child welfare systems in Pennsylvania are county-based, the support kids get depends on their zip code. This results in wide variations in screening and referral procedures, with most county agencies meeting only minimum requirements, and referral tracking is largely informal or nonexistent. In addition, when families move, lack of inter-county coordination leads to gaps or delays in services.
“On top of the system problems, parents have a real fear of getting involved in the system or that their child will be looked down on for needing help,” added Arbutina. “This is a broader social issue that the state and counties must tackle so the children who need help the most get it.”
With relatively modest system changes, Pennsylvania can better fulfill its federal and state obligations and, more importantly, give at-risk children a stronger start in life. For more details and policy recommendations, see the full report from Children First at www.childrenfirstpa.org.
Children First is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that improves the lives of children in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties by developing initiatives and advocating for quality health care, child care, public education, and family stability. Learn more at www.childrenfirstpa.org, and on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and YouTube at @childrenfirstpa.
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