Evaluation of an early intervention program using eligibility criteria

Early Intervention programs are state and federally funded programs that are available in virtually every state that provide support to children birth to three who have developmental delays. Eligibility into the program varies by state and determining eligibility for a child is a complex task that has tremendous implications on both the program and its children. A program evaluation was conducted on a branch of an early intervention program located in New Jersey to determine whether service providers were correctly identifying children who were eligible for services. Results indicated that four of out the 112 children in the program were incorrectly identified. However, the program was effective in ameliorating developmental delays through a comparison of developmental levels at the initial and annual evaluations. These results indicate that service providers are effectively providing early intervention services, but are lacking in diagnostic and identifcation skills