Barriers to Accessing Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education: Professionals\u27 Perspectives

Supervised by the Maine Department of Education, Child Development Services (CDS) provides Early Intervention (EI) for children from birth through age 2 and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) for children ages 3-5 through a network of regional sites. Access to EI and ECSE services educates and empowers families to understand and respond to their children’s developmental needs and supports improved cognition, language, communication, social-emotional skills, and school readiness. These early gains can lead to better outcomes later in childhood and into adulthood