We are petitioning the NYS Early Intervention Programs to increase the pay rates of related service providers.  The number of children eligible to receive Early Intervention services is unproportional to the number available therapists.  Children are going months without receiving eligible therapies (including PT, OT, Speech, Feeding, ABA, special instruction, vision, etc.) or Early Intervention Official Designees are approving limited frequencies of therapy even if the child’s needs require more.  Early Intervention therapists have not seen a pay raise in decades, in fact there has been substantial pay cuts. This is forcing many out of the field and contributing to a shortage of staff. There should be no expectation for this gap to close if pay rates remain the same!

*Please sign this petition to make it feasible for therapists to stay in the field and welcome new graduates into Early Intervention to ultimately allow these children to receive the services they need.*