Allows services to continue without disruption
“Early childhood is such a critical period of development,
and children who need developmental services can lose ground when those
services are interrupted,” said Senator Valverde (D-Dist. 35, North
Kingstown, East Greenwich, South Kingstown). “Rhode Island’s hard cutoff of
early intervention on the child’s third birthday can leave children with
service gaps that can last months, which is antithetical to the goal of
addressing their needs early so they can thrive in life, in school and beyond.
Allowing flexibility with their transition to preschool will go a long way
toward ensuring their service needs are met without interruption, particularly
since many preschool programs align with the school year.”
Early Intervention (EI) is a program that provides
home-based services to help families support the growth and development of
children who are delayed in their development or have a diagnosed condition
known to cause developmental delay. At the age of three children lose
eligibility and are supposed to transition to preschool special education
programs if they still require developmental assistance.
“Early intervention programs have proven extraordinarily
successful both nationally and here in Rhode Island, allowing children with
developmental delays and disabilities to thrive along with their peers,” said
Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown,
Narragansett). “But the mismatch between when the eligibility period for
these programs ends and preschool special education begins in the fall means
that we are unnecessarily interrupting services to children who need them
simply because of when their birthday falls during the year. Giving families
the flexibility to extend services until the fall will end this injustice and
ensure that these programs continue their good work uninterrupted.”
Senator Valverde and Representative Tanzi are sponsors of
the Early Intervention Continuity and Access Act (2025-S 0247, 2025-H 5462), which would charge the Executive Office of
Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to develop a plan to allow children to remain
in their EI programs until the September 1 following their third birthday, in
order to avoid a gap in support between their birthday and when the child’s
school year begins.
“Extending EI services until the September after our child’s third birthday would have allowed more time to work with the therapist who knew him best and for the IEP team to create a more comprehensive plan. It would have provided a smoother transition, giving him the chance to start school with his peers and form lasting connections,” said Crystal Cerrulo, who spoke about her experience with early intervention services for her son.
Allowing families the choice to continue early intervention
services past their child's third birthday is one of the recommendations made
by the report presented by RIPIN,
titled “Strengthening Preschool Special Education in Rhode Island.”
“In RIPIN’s work serving families and in our community
engagement, we’ve heard over and over again that too many children with
disabilities experience gaps in services when they turn three and exit Early
Intervention. We are so thankful to Representative Tanzi and Senator Valverde
for introducing legislation to follow the lead of six other states plus
Washington D.C. that would allow families the option of extending EI until the
September following their third birthday. Once implemented, this EI extension option
will reduce gaps in services at this critical developmental time, and also
promote smooth transitions into school-based services,” said RIPIN executive
director Sam Salganik.
Established in 1991, RIPIN helps Rhode Islanders navigate
special education, health care and healthy aging. RIPIN’s team of peer
professionals have personal experience caring for a loved one with special
needs – allowing RIPIN to connect with their clients and provide them the
personal support that they need to thrive.
