The Berks County Intermediate Unit, along with intermediate units from across Pennsylvania, has continued advocating for full funding of Preschool Early Intervention programs in the Commonwealth.
The 2020-2021 interim state budget, signed by the Governor on May 29, 2020, only funded Early Intervention services for five months, through November 30, 2020. All direct service Pre-K – 12 education programs, including Basic Education Funding, Pre-K Counts, Head Start Supplemental, Career & Technical Education, and Special Education were funded at 100% of the prior year’s allocation; however, the Early Intervention line item was funded at only 43%.
To add to advocacy efforts and to illustrate the impact the early intervention program makes on the lives of those needing services, the BCIU sent a letter to state legislators representing Berks County on Monday, November 9. In it, they were introduced to Jasper, a former student in the early intervention program, with a testimonial from his mother:
“I’ve never been able to articulate the gratitude I feel towards the Early Intervention Program that provided services for my son Jasper. The therapists who visited our home for two years became part of our family, and they helped my son in ways that I could not. Every day I am in awe over how he can now communicate flawlessly thanks to the EI therapists, and I realize that the gift they gave our family is truly priceless.”
The Berks County Intermediate Unit Preschool Early Intervention program serves more than 2,500 children annually. More than 58,000 children with disabilities and other developmental delays are served by Preschool Early Intervention across Pennsylvania.