With the closure of day care programs and drop in regular pediatrician appointments, the pandemic interrupted some of the ways children are typically flagged by experts for possible developmental delays and referred to services. “The State and City need to take quick action to ensure children with developmental delays and disabilities get the services they need right away.”

“Infants and toddlers cannot afford to wait for critically important Early Intervention services, said Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children, the advocacy group that conducted the analysis. Although the number of children referred for services began to rebound in April and has since returned to pre-pandemic levels, advocates remain concerned about children who were not identified for services in the spring. In a typical year, about 33,000 city children receive these services. Some of that drop is likely explained by a decline in referrals.īased on trends from previous years, the report indicates that between 3,000 and 6,000 fewer city infants and toddlers were referred for Early Intervention services than usual.

“I am worried about the infants and toddlers that never entered the system.”īetween last July and September, 15% fewer New York City children - representing about 2,900 infants and toddlers - received Early Intervention services compared with the same period in 2019. Liz Isakson, the executive director of Docs for Tots, an organization that helps ensure children with delays get connected to services.

“Early Intervention exists because the brain is most malleable in the first three years of life,” said Dr. Children who do not receive appropriate services early on in their development could result in more intense - and expensive - special education services later on, according to the report. The decline among toddlers and infants is worrying because securing services early in a child’s life can make a significant difference in their development.

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