Babies Can't Wait: Call on Gov. Pritzker to Propose a $40M Increase to Early Intervention
The Issue
Babies Can't Wait: Call on Gov. Pritzker to Propose a $40M Increase to Early Intervention (EI) Funding for FY2028!
Who We Are?
Illinois Families for Early Intervention, Inc (IFEI, Inc.) was founded by six mothers who came together through our shared experiences with Illinois Early Intervention. Together, we built IFEI, Inc. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing our work through family advocacy, education, outreach, and systems change to ensure every child who needs Early Intervention receives timely, equitable, and high-quality services. Volunteer here. Donate here.
What is the problem?
As families of infants and toddlers with medical conditions, disabilities, or developmental delays, we know firsthand the difference Early Intervention (EI) services–like speech, occupational, and physical therapies–can make for our children. These critical services help our children thrive, empower us to better support their needs, and even save our communities future health and educational costs by reducing the need for future special education.
But right now, across Illinois, many families like ours are stuck on waitlists, unable to get the critical therapies our children are legally entitled to receive. The share of Illinois families waiting for EI has doubled in recent years, and some of us have waited anywhere from six to 17 months. As of June 2026, more than 1,500 infants and toddlers were on the state’s service delay list. Unfortunately, this isn’t new: for more than a decade, the federal government has said Illinois needs help meeting the requirements of federal law for Early Intervention.
State law says our children must be evaluated within 45 days of referral, and services must begin within 30 days after we agree to a service plan. Instead, we are waiting months, sometimes more than a year. Many of us were never even told we have a legal right to these services. Some of our children turn three and age out of the program before getting the therapy they need. Our babies are losing the most important window of brain development—and the burden should NOT fall on families to fight the state for services we are already entitled to receive! Yet, more and more families are filing formal complaints because we have no other choice–in 2025, families filed four times as many complaints as the year before, and the state found most of them to be valid.*
Why is this happening?
Last spring, Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly approved a $15 million increase for EI in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. We appreciate this important step, and it shows our voices are being heard. However, only about $3.5 million of it went toward raising provider pay. Illinois struggles to recruit and keep enough therapists to serve every family on time because what the state pays therapists doesn’t cover the cost of providing these essential services. The state-commissioned Afton Partners cost model found that Illinois must invest $168 million more annually to cover the full cost of delivering EI services. Even after the last two years of modest rate increases, some EI provider types are still paid only about half of what it actually costs to deliver services.
We need long-term investment to recruit and retain enough providers so that every infant and toddler can get timely services. EI is most effective during the first three years of life, when children’s brains are most ready to grow and change. Our babies can’t wait.
What are we asking for?
On July 1, 2026, Early Intervention moved to the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). This is a chance for a fresh start, but IDEC can’t end the waitlists without the resources to do it. Illinois Families for Early Intervention, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by and for Illinois EI parents/caregivers, is calling on Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to appropriate a $40 million funding increase for the EI program in the Fiscal Year 2028 Illinois state budget. This investment would allow IDEC to:
- Increase pay for EI providers to keep them in the field and bring in new providers.
- Improve referral, intake, and evaluation processes, and ensure services are available in a timely manner.
Without this urgent funding, waitlists will keep growing, and more babies will lose their only chance to benefit from Early Intervention.
Help us get our babies off waitlists. Sign the petition and tell our leaders: Fund Early Intervention now!
*Are you or someone you know experiencing challenges receiving EI services? Learn more about EI timelines and your rights and how to file a complaint if you aren’t receiving timely services.
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The Issue
Babies Can't Wait: Call on Gov. Pritzker to Propose a $40M Increase to Early Intervention (EI) Funding for FY2028!
Who We Are?
Illinois Families for Early Intervention, Inc (IFEI, Inc.) was founded by six mothers who came together through our shared experiences with Illinois Early Intervention. Together, we built IFEI, Inc. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing our work through family advocacy, education, outreach, and systems change to ensure every child who needs Early Intervention receives timely, equitable, and high-quality services. Volunteer here. Donate here.
What is the problem?
As families of infants and toddlers with medical conditions, disabilities, or developmental delays, we know firsthand the difference Early Intervention (EI) services–like speech, occupational, and physical therapies–can make for our children. These critical services help our children thrive, empower us to better support their needs, and even save our communities future health and educational costs by reducing the need for future special education.
But right now, across Illinois, many families like ours are stuck on waitlists, unable to get the critical therapies our children are legally entitled to receive. The share of Illinois families waiting for EI has doubled in recent years, and some of us have waited anywhere from six to 17 months. As of June 2026, more than 1,500 infants and toddlers were on the state’s service delay list. Unfortunately, this isn’t new: for more than a decade, the federal government has said Illinois needs help meeting the requirements of federal law for Early Intervention.
State law says our children must be evaluated within 45 days of referral, and services must begin within 30 days after we agree to a service plan. Instead, we are waiting months, sometimes more than a year. Many of us were never even told we have a legal right to these services. Some of our children turn three and age out of the program before getting the therapy they need. Our babies are losing the most important window of brain development—and the burden should NOT fall on families to fight the state for services we are already entitled to receive! Yet, more and more families are filing formal complaints because we have no other choice–in 2025, families filed four times as many complaints as the year before, and the state found most of them to be valid.*
Why is this happening?
Last spring, Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly approved a $15 million increase for EI in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. We appreciate this important step, and it shows our voices are being heard. However, only about $3.5 million of it went toward raising provider pay. Illinois struggles to recruit and keep enough therapists to serve every family on time because what the state pays therapists doesn’t cover the cost of providing these essential services. The state-commissioned Afton Partners cost model found that Illinois must invest $168 million more annually to cover the full cost of delivering EI services. Even after the last two years of modest rate increases, some EI provider types are still paid only about half of what it actually costs to deliver services.
We need long-term investment to recruit and retain enough providers so that every infant and toddler can get timely services. EI is most effective during the first three years of life, when children’s brains are most ready to grow and change. Our babies can’t wait.
What are we asking for?
On July 1, 2026, Early Intervention moved to the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). This is a chance for a fresh start, but IDEC can’t end the waitlists without the resources to do it. Illinois Families for Early Intervention, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by and for Illinois EI parents/caregivers, is calling on Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to appropriate a $40 million funding increase for the EI program in the Fiscal Year 2028 Illinois state budget. This investment would allow IDEC to:
- Increase pay for EI providers to keep them in the field and bring in new providers.
- Improve referral, intake, and evaluation processes, and ensure services are available in a timely manner.
Without this urgent funding, waitlists will keep growing, and more babies will lose their only chance to benefit from Early Intervention.
Help us get our babies off waitlists. Sign the petition and tell our leaders: Fund Early Intervention now!
*Are you or someone you know experiencing challenges receiving EI services? Learn more about EI timelines and your rights and how to file a complaint if you aren’t receiving timely services.
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Petition created on October 8, 2026