To enhance the quality of educational preparation for Early Intervention professionals and to address New York State’s shortage of Early Intervention providers, the research team makes three recommendations for the state to consider as pathways to increase and enhance the capacity of the state’s Early Intervention workforce.

Amidst a statewide shortage of Early Intervention professionals, a new study supported by the New York City Early Childhood Research Network recommends three pathways for recruiting and retaining an effective, competent and diverse Early Intervention (EI) workforce in New York State to provide EI services to infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. Researchers from Brooklyn College, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)’s Bureau of Early Intervention, submitted their final report, Building the New York State Early Intervention Workforce: Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Requirements of Interdisciplinary Personnel Development and Preparation, to the New York State Early Intervention Coordinating Council.

The study, which was funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, examined and analyzed the New York State Education Department (NYSED)’s regulations and requirements towards professional licensure and certification within four disciplines (early childhood special education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology) authorized to provide EI services. Researchers found that current regulations set by the NYSED Office of Higher Education and the NYSED Office of the Professions regarding standard curricula in academic programs for these disciplines do not require students 1) to learn about Early Intervention core competencies, or 2) to engage in clinical experiences with infants and toddlers and their families in Early Intervention or other early childhood and community-based settings.

To enhance the quality of educational preparation for Early Intervention professionals and to address New York State’s shortage of Early Intervention providers, the research team makes three recommendations for the state to consider as pathways to increase and enhance the capacity of the state’s Early Intervention workforce:

  1. Amend NYSED regulations and requirements to incorporate New York State Department of Health Early Intervention competencies and to require fieldwork with infants and toddlers.
  2. Develop cross-disciplinary pathways to becoming an approved Early Intervention provider (such as an extension or annotation for Early Intervention via NYSED).
  3. Develop Individual Evaluation Pathways for professionals to access and learn Early Intervention competencies (such as credit-bearing or Continuing Education courses in Early Intervention).

“Early interventionists across disciplines need advanced education and training to work effectively with culturally and linguistically diverse infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families,” the research team writes. In New York State, however, professionals can be approved to work in Early Intervention “with general entry-level or limited academic preparation and experience with infants and toddlers and in EI.” Because accreditation requirements for clinical fieldwork in OT, PT and SLP are designed to train students to work with clients across their lifespan, “the vast majority of students never take part in settings serving infants and toddlers.”

The research team concludes: “To ensure future and current early interventionists engage in high-quality EI services to infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families in the NYSDOH EI Program, there is great need to have Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) integrate these five NYSDOH Early Intervention competencies into their curriculum and their required fieldwork and clinical experiences.” The five EI competencies — which are evidence-based and align with federal and state laws regulating the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) emphasize:

  • Understanding typical and atypical development in infants and toddlers
  • Multicultural and linguistic factors that affect supporting diverse families through EI
  • Understanding the parent-child dyad and enhancing families’ capacity to help their children
  • Performing quality, evidence-based evaluations and engaging in culturally informed, family-centered practices
  • Engaging in reflective practice and ongoing professional development

Lindsey Bravo, the director of research and evaluation at the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute and the leader of the New York City Early Childhood Research Network, said: “Facilitating partnerships between researchers and city agencies is exactly the kind of collaboration that makes the Research Network so valuable. By bringing together researchers, practitioners and policymakers, we’re able to promote actionable research that can have a direct impact on early childhood policy and practice in New York City.”

Dona Anderson, the executive director of the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, said: “We know that Early Intervention services, which provide critical support to infants and toddlers with development delays or disabilities at a key period in their development, are too often delayed or limited because of a lack of Early Intervention providers. It’s vital that we expand the EI workforce and give professionals who deliver Early Intervention services the preparation and training they need to work with our city’s youngest children.”

“Ensuring that the approach to Early Intervention education reflects key competencies in the delivery of quality services to the birth to three population and includes hands-on experiences for the newest members of our field is crucial to our mission of supporting New York City’s youngest,” said Assistant Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Early Intervention Lidiya Lednyak. “We are grateful for CUNY’s partnership as we look at how to strengthen the next generation of professionals.”

The research team and partners from the city DOHMH presented their findings, report and final recommendations to the state Bureau of Early Intervention State Early Intervention Coordinating Council (SEICC) in March 2024. The presentation is available on the state Department of Health website.

Researchers

  • Jacqueline D. Shannon, MSEd, PhD (PI), Brooklyn College, CUNY
  • Michael Bergen, AuD, FAAA, CCC-A (Co-Investigator), Brooklyn College, CUNY
  • Sharon Beaumont-Bowman, SLPD, CCC-SLP (Co-Investigator), Brooklyn College, CUNY
  • Beth Elenko, PhD, OTR/L, BCP, CLA, FAOTA (Co-Investigator), New York Institute of Technology
  • Karen McFadden, MA, PhD (Co-Investigator), Brooklyn College, CUNY

Agency Partners

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Bureau of Early Intervention (Jeanette Gong, Director of Intervention Quality Initiatives, and Lidiya Lednyak, Assistant Commissioner)

Contributing Institutions

  • Brooklyn College, Department of Early Childhood Education/Art Education
  • Brooklyn College, Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders
  • New York Institute of Technology, Department of Occupational Therapy

About

The New York City Early Childhood Research Network facilitates collaboration between researchers, funders and city officials to promote actionable research to inform public policy for children from birth through age eight.

The Research Network is overseen by the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute at the City University of New York, which leads the work to elevate the field of early childhood in New York State through research, public policy, higher education and professional learning.

This research project was funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, a private family foundation that funds projects related to climate change, scientific research, education and human rights issues.