In the United States, some early intervention services to eligible children and families are federally mandated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Other early intervention services are available through various national, regional, and state programs such as Crisis Nurseries and Healthy Start/Healthy Families America.
Long term benefits of early intervention include reduction in instances of crime, drug use and teen pregnancy as children grow into adolescents and young adults.
The act emphasizes equal access to education, aiming to shorten the achievement gaps between students by providing federal funding to support schools with children from low income families.
The therapies provided by IDEA can be found in the home, child care, early head start, and community settings such as the county.
[5] Commonly cited factors that may put an infant or toddler at risk of developmental delay include low birth weight, respiratory distress as a newborn, lack of oxygen, brain hemorrhage, infection, and prenatal exposure to toxins through maternal substance abuse.
The original legislation provided a five-year phase-in period for states to develop their comprehensive system of service for the affected population.
To ensure a coordinated approach to service delivery and financing of services, federal regulations of Part C require that states develop interagency agreements that define the financial responsibility of each agency and impanel a state interagency coordinating council to assist the lead agency in implementing the statewide system.
As states and federal territories (for example, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands) began to plan for implementation of P.L.
[13] The following is a list of what early intervention can provide: Robin McWilliam (2003, 2010[15]) developed a model that emphasizes five components: Understanding the family ecology through eco-maps; functional needs assessment through a routines-based interview; transdisciplinary service delivery through the use of a primary service provider; support-based home visits through the parent consultation; and collaborative consultation to child care through individualized intervention within routines.
Founded in 1976 as a local child abuse prevention effort, Relief Nursery became a pilot project under the National Crisis Nurseries Act of 1986[20] Working with early childhood experts Christine Chaille and Lory Britain[21] and representatives from the local community, the approach was refined into a new comprehensive family services model, so successful that it was replicated at more than 30 sites in the State of Oregon.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) initially began mandating EDHI programs in each state in 2000, when the first funds were authorized from Congress to support its development.
[28] The CDC claimed deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children to be endanger of potential developmental emergencies and thus it was necessary that they get diagnosed as early after birth as possible.
There have been a variety of organizations involved in establishing early diagnosis and intervention treatment, many of which are branches under American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
[29] After 17 years, EDHI federally mandated through a law passed on October 18, 2017, when President Trump signed the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act (PL 115-71).
These programs take financial information such as income, rent/mortgage payments, household size, and medical expenses to calculate the maximum value that the family is capable of paying.
[33] Some criticism of early childhood intervention asserts that growing up is different for each individual, depending on genetic endowments and environmental circumstances.
However, one thing is common to everyone: the process, in order to take full advantage of the species' potential, must be a natural ripening, without interference from clumsy intruders.
Some critics of early childhood intervention say that no one should push healthy children to learn any skill or academic discipline before they choose to do so of their own accord.
[34] The family-centered ethos in early intervention programs, however, supports families' desires for their children to be engaged, independent, and social in their everyday routines.
In the US state of Georgia, the program "Babies Can't Wait" was put in place to help parents find early intervention therapy.
"Babies Can't Wait" works on a collaborative model, with medical professionals communicating with each other about the services each child needs.