Lack of workers limits access for care for children
CHICAGO — Alexander watches Paw Patrol with fervor, bowls his baby brother over with hugs and does everything with gusto.
What the 3-year-old West Chicago toddler can’t do yet is speak more than a few words. His balance is wobbly and he isn’t able to let his preschool teachers know when he’s hurt or scared.
When his mother, Hilda Garcia, had him tested, the youngster qualified for five therapies through a U.S. program dedicated to treating developmental delays in babies and toddlers — treatment designed to help Alexander develop the tools he needs to thrive.
The relief she felt in identifying what he needed was short-lived.
The federally mandated Early Intervention program is plagued by chronic staffing shortages nationwide, leaving thousands of desperate parents frustrated: They know their children need support, they’re aware of proven therapies that could make a difference, but they have to wait for months to get the help they need.
After 14 months of phone calls, hours of research and pushing herself to the limit with work and child care, Garcia finally landed an inperson early intervention appointment, but even then she couldn’t get Alexander all the therapies he needed. She teared up as she recounted how overwhelming the fight to secure access has been.
“I didn’t have any support,” she said.
Early Intervention was created in 1986 to address developmental delays in children like Alexander as soon as possible. About one in six children in the U.S. has at least one developmental disability or other developmental delay, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since all U.S. states and territories accept federal funding for Early Intervention, they are obligated to provide services to kids who qualify under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
But providers are scarce in almost all states. Some children wait months or years for the care they need, and many age out of the program before they access any services at all.
The COVID-19 pandemic worsened chronic staffing shortages, in part because many providers didn’t want to risk infection by entering families’ homes, even when restrictions on in-person visits were lifted, according to Maureen Greer, the executive director of the Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association, which supports the Early Intervention system nationwide.