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Connections

Dialogue on Disability: The crisis in New York State's early intervention model

Four people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman at left in the foreground has long dark hair and is wearing a grey shirt, jeans, and sneakers; a man at right in the foreground has short dark hair and is wearing glasses, a grey button-down shirt, jeans, and sneakers; a woman at left in the background has short brown hair and is wearing a white turtleneck and light blue cardigan sweater; a woman at right in the background has short dark hair and is wearing a glasses and a pink turtleneck sweater.
Mari Tsuchiya
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WXXI News
(foreground) Alison Agosti, (background) Brigit Hurley, and Lynn Mordenga on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, January 13, 2025
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
WXXI News

By almost any measure, New York State's early intervention (EI) service model is in crisis.

According to the Children's Agenda, providers are being severely underpaid, which is contributing to a shortage — and as a result, wait times are so long that some kids are aging out before ever receiving care.

Advocates point to statistics showing New York State is currently the lowest-ranking U.S. state for timely delivery of EI services. And now those advocates are calling for an overhaul of how New York State funds early intervention, ahead of Governor Kathy Hochul's State of the State address this week.

Our guests discuss it as part of our Dialogue on Disability Week:

This story is part of Dialogue on Disability Week, a partnership between WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies, in conjunction with the Herman and Margaret Schwartz Community Series.

*Note: Connections is live streamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel.

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson" and is also the office administrator for radio, news and technology and operations. She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.