New York ranks 50th for timely delivery of early intervention services. Wouldn’t our “first mom governor” want us to do better?

By Kailey Yeager and Brigit Hurley
April 11, 2025

Gov. Kathy Hochul calls herself New York’s “first mom governor.” She has promised that “your family is my fight.” But she has a track record of failing to follow through for thousands of our most vulnerable children: babies and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities.

After Kailey Yeager’s son Matthew was evaluated for delays, she and her husband spent months trying and failing to get him the speech and occupational therapy he needed. It did not need to be this difficult, not when there is a proven solution: early intervention.

Early intervention is a federally mandated program created to provide therapeutic services to support children under age 3 who are diagnosed with developmental delays and disabilities. But in recent years, about half of eligible children in New York are not receiving their early intervention services on time — or at all.

Waiting for early intervention can have lifelong consequences. Between birth and age 3, a child’s brain is developing 1 million new neural connections per second, which means this is a time in life when interventions can make a big difference. By age 5, 90% of our brain is fully developed, and while learning can still happen, therapies can take longer and may be both more expensive and less effective the longer that a child waits for them.

Why are children in New York waiting so long for services? It’s because of a severe shortage of providers. Plenty of therapists want to do this work, but they cannot afford to work for the low wages set by the state.

The result is that New York ranks the lowest of all U.S. states for timely delivery of early intervention services — that’s right, we’re 50th in the nation.

Gov. Hochul can solve this problem. The state Assembly and Senate both included additional funds for early intervention in their budget proposals. It’s up to the governor to decide whether those increases end up in the approved budget.

It’s too late for Matthew. He aged out of the program when he turned 3 years old. But other New York children can’t wait any longer for early intervention services — and they shouldn’t have to. State leaders must increase funds for the Early Intervention Program today.

Kailey Yeager is a parent from Hamlin, Monroe County. Brigit Hurley is the chief program officer for The Children’s Agenda, a Rochester-based nonprofit.

Original article: https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/children-developmental-delays-aren-t-getting-20269393.php