Early Intervention & Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Programs

Early Intervention (EI) and Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) are two closely related programs which offer services and supports for children with disabilities, developmental delays, or other chronic health issues and their families. The EI Program offers a variety of therapeutic and support services to infants and toddlers under 3 years of age with disabilities and developmental delays. The CYSHCN Program provides information and referral services for families of children, up to age 21, who have serious or chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional conditions.

To learn more about the Early Intervention Program, visit https://www.health.ny.gov/community/infants_children/early_intervention/

To learn more about the Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program, visit: https://www.health.ny.gov/community/special_needs/

There programs are administered at the county level by local health departments (LHDs) – or local departments of social services (LDSS) in a few counties – and overseen by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). NYSACHO works with the NYSDOH’s Bureau of Early Intervention (BEI) and Bureau of Child Health (BCH), which manage the EI and CYSHCN programs respectively, to offer support, training, and technical assistance to the county program staff who implement these critical programs for children and families in their communities.