Infant Toddler Early Intervention Advocacy Grant Awarded

September 25, 2023

Philadelphia Health Partnership has awarded a $525,000 grant to the Thriving PA perinatal and child health campaign to improve the Infant Toddler Early Intervention (EI) system in Pennsylvania. PHP’s three-year grant supports collective action by 18 partners across the Commonwealth to strengthen the equity, accessibility, and quality of this essential program for young children with developmental delays and disabilities.

Young Asian woman lying on ground smiling at an Asian toddler that is smiling and sitting up, looking at the camera Infant and Toddler EI serves young children from birth up to age three with a focus on five developmental areas: physical, cognitive, communication, social or emotional, and adaptive skills. The publicly funded program is anchored in the importance of identifying and addressing developmental delays as early as possible to maximize children’s trajectories for better outcomes in school and life.

The Thriving PA EI Workgroup is implementing a statewide advocacy agenda organized around five core priorities to improve the Infant Toddler EI system:

Increasing the number of children served through improvements to outreach, referral, and enrollment processes;
Improving the quality level of services by improving supports for the EI workforce and addressing county inconsistencies;
Achieving equitable access to services for families of color and families who speak a language other than English;
Addressing mental health needs of infants and toddlers; and
Partnering with Medicaid so all available funding streams are utilized to support EI services.

Young man smiling while bathing baby in the tub

“At PHP, we are committed to strengthening early childhood programs and systems in collaboration with diverse stakeholders from parents and caregivers to service providers and systems leaders,” says PHP Executive Director Ann Marie Healy.

“We are proud to partner with passionate early childhood advocates and funders across Pennsylvania to ensure that children with disabilities and developmental delays have the support to build a strong foundation for lifelong health and well-being.”

EI Workgroup members include PHP grantee partners Children First (formerly PCCY), Education Law Center-PA, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, and the PENNSYLVANIA ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN (PennAEYC is also the fiscal sponsor for the grant). The advocacy collaborative is also funded by PHP partner, the William Penn Foundation.

Learn more here: https://thrivingpa.org/early-intervention-part-c/