University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign

Early Intervention (EI)

Early intervention provides supports and services for families to help their children age 2 and under meet developmental milestones.

EI services include, but are not limited to, developmental evaluations and assessments, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language therapy, developmental therapy, service coordination, psychological services, and social work services.

Source of definition: Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)

child walking with parent assistance

Data available on IECAM

IECAM reports data as the “number of children served,” which is the number of children with an active Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The reported number is the average of the monthly figures for the state fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).

Geographic region: These data are available by state, county, and Chicago on the IECAM database and Regional Reports. To get data for Chicago on the IECAM database, use a county search. Under Region, choose Counties and then select Cook - Chicago. To get data for Chicago on Regional Reports, search under Birth to Five Illinois region and choose Area I-A (Chicago).

Note that data on the number of children with active IFSPs excludes children who have been referred and evaluated/or assessed but who were not found eligible as well as those who were found eligible but did not receive services. For additional information about the early intervention program, see the IDHS Early Intervention webpage.

For privacy reasons, IDHS data on the number of children served are not reported for areas in which there were fewer than 10 children served. Because data are not reported for all counties, the sum of counties does not equal the total number of children served for the state as a whole.

Yearly differences in data definitions / descriptions

For past years, there are some differences in the data definition/description, compared with the most recent year.

Children who received early intervention services at sites outside the state of Illinois by fiscal year (FY):

  • FY2023: 34 children
  • FY2022: 102 children
  • FY2021: Not available
  • FY2020: 123 children
  • FY2019: 88 children
  • FY2018: 107 children
  • FY2017: 189 children
  • FY2016: 232 children

For FY2014, data are not available by county. The number of children served for the state of Illinois was 20,342. In the online database, selecting the year 2014 will result in a display of the data for the year 2013 (i.e., the latest year available as of 2014).

Additional Resources