Identifying Children in Need for Early Intervention Services in Washington State

An Application of Washington State All Payer Claims Database in Education Research
Published: 
July, 2019

Birth to three are critical years for children’s physical, language, and social emotional development. The provision of early intervention services to vulnerable children and their families is of particular economic and social importance. Washington State Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program provides individualized and quality early intervention services to children birth to three who have disabilities or developmental delays, in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C. The goal of this paper is to examine the value of combining ESIT data with medical claims information to identify the magnitude and demographics of the population underserved by ESIT.