| An Ounce of Intervention is a Lifetime of Cure
Wouldn’t it be great if bureaucracy didn’t get in the way of the most vulnerable young children getting help with developmental delays?
Even when parents are able to identify signs that their children aren’t meeting developmental milestones like walking, talking, making eye contact, or reacting to familiar faces at certain ages, they’re reluctant to raise concerns. They don’t want to be accused of being bad parents or having their kids labeled.
Parents who are involved in the child welfare/foster care system can be even more reluctant to ask for help for the same reasons but also because they don’t want even more government scrutiny in their lives or – worse – have their kids taken away.
This is a problem because children who have experienced abuse or neglect are at a greater risk for developmental delays so kids involved in the child welfare/foster care system often have a greater need for Early Intervention (EI).
EI services help young children develop essential skills, including social abilities, and gain greater independence. Children with EI support are less likely to need special education services later in life and are on the path to school success and a productive adult life.
But Children First research shows that only 13% of the 14,000 PA infants and toddlers involved with the child welfare system get connected to EI, despite clear federal and state mandates. To be sure, not every child in the system needs intervention but far more than one out of eight do. This appalling percentage means alarming, enduring, and expensive consequences for families and the Commonwealth.
In Pennsylvania, child welfare services are handled by counties, so how children get screened, referred, and enrolled in Infant-Toddler EI programs vary widely. But a statewide requirement that every baby or toddler in the foster care or child welfare system are automatically screened for EI services would result in more kids getting the help they need, while parents wouldn’t feel singled out.
In addition, simple technology fixes to how county child welfare agencies report to the state Office of Children, Youth and Families would make it so much easier to track whether kids are referred, evaluated, and receiving EI services.
By adopting these changes and others as outlined in the Children First report, Enhancing EI Referrals for Children in Child Welfare, Pennsylvania could fulfill its federal and state obligations and offer at-risk children the stronger start in life they need and deserve.
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