BILL NUMBER: S5485

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to blanket service
limits in the early intervention program

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prohibit blanket service limits in the Early Intervention Program.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 creates a new Public Health Law section 2559-C to add a prohi-
bition on blanket service limits, including limits on the length, dura-
tion, frequency, intensity, method of delivery, group size, or staff
ratios of services in the Early Intervention Program.

Section 2 is the immediate effective date.

              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The early intervention (EI) program provides services for babies and
toddlers (0-3 years old) with developmental delays and disabilities.  El
services help many children meet developmental milestones they would
otherwise miss.

Once an eligible child is evaluated in the program, a team of qualified
providers and the family collaboratively develop an "individualized
family service plan" (IFSP), which is a "service package tailored to the
child's unique developmental strengths and needs, and responsive to the
family's resources, priorities, and concerns for their child's develop-
ment," according to the State Department of Health (DOH)
(ht s: www.health.ny.gov/community/infants children/early intervention
docs/ifsp g uidance.pdf). Public Health law § 2545 (2) (d) specifies
that the IFSP must state the specific services called for, "including
the frequency, intensity, location, and the method of delivering the
services."

In the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, the Executive proposed applying arbi-
trary limits to the number of services a child can receive in a day, the
number of children who can be in a group service, and the number chil-
dren in need of a 1:1 aide who can participate in a group service, all
without regard for individual child and family needs.  This not only
violates the requirements for developing an IFSP and providing appropri-
ate services; it also violates Federal case law that prohibits "prede-
termination" of services under the Individuals with Disabilities Educa-
tion Act (IDEA). The IFSP team, not the State, is tasked with reviewing
the child's evaluation and deciding on the El services that "are neces-
sary to meet the unique needs of the infant or toddler and the family,
including the frequency, intensity, and method of delivering services"
(20 USC § 1436(d)(4)).

Since children with autism often need frequent services, these limits
will deny children with autism the services they need and are entitled
to. Denying babies the services they need to reach their developmental
milestones is cruel and shortsighted. The EI program is successful
precisely because each child is treated as an individual, and we cannot
allow the desire to save a few bucks to set back the development of
thousands of vulnerable children.

Although State and Federal statute clearly do not allow arbitrary limi-
tations like this to be placed on El services, this bill aims to make it
even clearer.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.