NECTAC: Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA)

Overview

Overview to the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilties (Part C) under IDEA

Minimum Components required under IDEA of a statewide, comprehensive system of early intervention services

Lead Agencies for the Part C Early Intervention Program in each state and participating jurisdiction

National Program Data — Annual federal appropriations and number of children served

Data Tables - Section 618 of IDEA requires states to annually collect and report data for Part C: child count, settings for early intervention services, numbers of and reasons for children exiting services, counts of services and service categories. Data is also shown by race/ethnicity.

Statute and Regulations

IDEA 2004 Statute (P.L. 108-446) for Part C

Part C Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (PDF: 434kb) (May 9, 2007) - in HTML - Deadline for submitting comments was July 23, 2007.

DEC's Final Comments on Proposed IDEA Part C Regulations (July 23, 2007) (PDF: 122kb)

Early Intervention Family Alliance Side-by-Side Comparison of Proposed IDEA 2004 Part C Regulations (PDF: 56kb) (posted June 3, 2007)

Side-by-Side comparison of the current IDEA Part C regulations to the 2007 proposed Part C regulations prepared by ITCA, DEC and CEC (posted May 17, 2007)

Part C Contacts

State Part C Program Coordinators List — Contact information for the coordinator of the Early Intervention Program under IDEA in each state and participating jurisdiction

OSEP's State Contacts for Part C (February 25, 2008)

ICC Chairs List — Contact information for the chairperson(s) of each state's Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) under Part C of IDEA

IDEA Infant & Toddler Coordinators Association

Part C State Grants and Reports

SPP/APR materials by Indicator for submission February 1, 2008 including FAQs, data tables, charts and checklists

Part C State Performance Plan (SPP) and Annual Performance Report (APR) Information Collection 1820-0578 - Part C SPP/APR (Expiration Date: 12/31/2009) [Use for February 1, 2008 Submission]

2008 OSERS - OSEP Part B and C State Monitoring and Formula Grants

2008 Part C Formula Grant Award Application Packages - Information Collection 1820-0550 - Part C Application (Expiration Date: 12/31/2009)

Part C State Determination Letters - The Office of Special Education Programs' responses to the States' Part C SPPs and APRs - Grant Award 2005-2006. (posted July 12, 2007)

States' Part C Rules, Regulations and Policies

Links to state documents on line

NECTAC Publications Related to the Early Intervention Program

Reports from The National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS)

NEILS
Early Intervention for Infants & Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families: Participants, Services, and Outcomes (2007) (PDF: 60kb)
NEILS Expenditure Study (2004) (PDF: 2063kb)
Family Outcomes at the End of Early Intervention (2004) (PDF: 2704kb)

Overview to the Part C Program Under IDEA

The Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA) is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth through age 2 years, and their families. In order for a state to participate in the program it must assure that early intervention will be available to every eligible child and its family. Also, the governor must designate a lead agency to receive the grant and administer the program, and appoint an Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC), including parents of young children with disabilities, to advise and assist the lead agency. Currently, all states and eligible territories are participating in the Part C program. Annual funding to each state is based upon census figures of the number of children, birth through 2, in the general population.

On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed legislation reauthorizing IDEA. Please see our Web page on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The current statute and regulations (see also proposed regulations

(PDF: 434kb) ) for Part C contain many requirements states have to meet, including specifying the minimum components of comprehensive statewide early intervention system. States have some discretion in setting the criteria for child eligibility, including whether or not to serve at risk children. As a result, definitions of eligibility

(PDF: 207kb) differ significantly from state to state. States also differ concerning which state agency has been designated "lead agency" for the Part C program. In fact, statewide early intervention systems differ in many ways from state to state.