Help that may fit your situation
The Early Intervention Program
Help for infants and toddlers with disabilities
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What this program is
The Early Intervention Program helps children under age three who have learning disabilities and may need support with things like talking, walking, learning, or playing. The program will work with your family to build a personalized plan with clear goals and services to help your child grow and thrive.
Who can get it
To be eligible for EIP your child must:
- Live in New York City.
- Be under the age of three (up to two years and 11 months).
- Be evaluated (program staff will help you choose an evaluating agency).
Heads up
- EIP is free. If you have health insurance, including Medicaid, it may be billed but you will never pay out of pocket, and your coverage will not be affected.
- Your child can leave the program at any time. Around the time your child turns two, you and your EIP team will start planning together for what comes next.
- When your child turns three, they may qualify for preschool special education services through the Department of Education (https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/special-education/help/committees-on-special-education).
- If your child is not eligible for EIP and is under three, you can enroll them in Early Intervention Developmental Monitoring (https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/early-intervention-developmental-monitoring.page) a free program that tracks whether your child is meeting milestones for their age.
How to apply
Anyone can refer a child up to age three for EIP. To refer a child, you can:
- Call 311 and say that you want to refer a child to EIP.
- Refer your child online using the NYC EIP Referral Portal (https://eireferral-nychealth.cityofnewyork.us/nyc/s/?language=en_US).
Get help
EIConsumerAffairs@health.nyc.gov
- Call 311 and ask for information on the Early Intervention Program.
- Visit the Early Intervention program website (https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww1.nyc.gov%2Fsite%2Fdoh%2Fhealth%2Fhealth-topics%2Fearly-intervention.page%3Futm_source%3DGoogle_Search%26utm_medium%3DEnglish%26utm_campaign%3DEarly_Intervention_FY20&data=05%7C02%7Cjlai%40nycopportunity.nyc.gov%7C615426474da646b26d3908de761511db%7C73d61799c28440228d4154cc4f1929ef%7C0%7C0%7C639078030332717136%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=dJkl08fBCvnIi8LLwnet%2FZuPwTV5Twwhak68FsL6Idg%3D&reserved=0) for more information.
- Text EI to 55676 or TEMPRANA for Spanish (TEMPRANA en Espanol) to sign up for Text to Families
- Learn about milestones on Growing Up NYC (https://growingupnyc.cityofnewyork.us/age/2-months/#section-milestones) to learn more about your babys development.
Get help online
Learn about milestones on Growing Up NYC (https://growingupnyc.cityofnewyork.us/age/2-months/#section-milestones) to help you understand your baby's development.
Call 311
Ask for information on the Early Intervention Program.
Source and last updated
- Source
- NYC Benefits Platform (kvhd-5fmu) View dataset
- Agency
- NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
- Updated
- Source: February 28, 2026 · Synced August 18, 2026
How we verified this
Source record ID: P081en · N/A
WayMakr shows only what this source publishes. Program details are not attached to specific facility listings unless a relationship has been verified.