Federally mandated referrals from child welfare to Part C early intervention services: What works in Rhode Island

Child abuse and neglect is a well-established risk factor for the health and development of children. Although more infants and toddlers experience maltreatment than any other age group, many are not receiving needed health, developmental, and behavioral services. To address this gap, the recent re-authorizations of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act require state child welfare systems to refer victimized infants and toddlers to state Part C early intervention systems. States report several challenges to implementing this mandate generally, particularly with respect to engaging children and families in services. Referral alone cannot prevent the health and developmental sequelae of child maltreatment; extending service access to maltreated children requires effective family engagement. This study examines how one of Rhode Island's largest providers of early intervention services is solving this problem. The presentation will describe this program's experiences in confronting implementation challenges, as well as state-, program-, and provider-level factors that facilitate engagement. Such information may be useful to other states and localities in their efforts to assure receipt of needed services for this group of children with or at high risk for special health care needs.