SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Early intervention services is a state program that helps babies reach developmental benchmarks, but a State Democrat lawmaker said a lot of eligible families have never heard of the program.
The Democrat's bill would try to fix that. Under the plan, when a baby is born below 2.2 pounds, the hospital would be required to notify the family their baby is eligible for early intervention program.
For the hospitals, they would also have to sign a written letter referring the baby to EI if that child was sent to their neonatal intensive care department.Â
State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (D-Naperville) said many babies born below 2.2 pounds often develop disorders such as down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
"The problem is most of these eligible infants are not getting early intervention services," Yang Rohr said. "This failure to connect eligible children born in NICU's is particularly striking."
While it is a Democrat plan, the proposal received bipartisan support. State Rep. Nicole La Ha (R-Lemont) during committee asked to be a co-sponsor to the plan, who said we need to help those born with cerebral palsy. It passed out of committee unanimously and is now on the House floor.
The EI program is already available for any Illinoisan whose baby qualifies for the service, where it lasts up until the toddler's third birthday. The program helps teach the kid communication skills, walking, learning, developing routines, managing emotions and everyday skills such as getting dressed or eating by themselves.
More information can be found on this website here. If you feel like your newborn baby could be eligible but had no idea of the programs existence, find your local DHS office through their office locator website and call them for more information.
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