(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2026)

443 words·~2 min read·/il/chapter-325/act-20/1-16

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Sec. 2. Legislative findings and policy.

(a)The General Assembly finds that there is an urgent and substantial need to:

(1)enhance the development of all eligible infants and toddlers in the State of

Illinois in order to minimize developmental delay and maximize individual potential for adult independence;

(2)enhance the capacity of families to meet the special needs of eligible infants and

toddlers including the purchase of services when necessary;

(3)reduce educational costs by minimizing the need for special education and related

services when eligible infants and toddlers reach school age;

(4)enhance the independence, productivity and integration with age-appropriate peers of

eligible children and their families;

(5)reduce social services costs and minimize the need for institutionalization; and

(6)prevent secondary impairments and disabilities by improving the health of infants

and toddlers, thereby reducing health costs for the families and the State.

(b)The General Assembly therefore intends that the policy of this State shall be to:

(1)affirm the importance of the family in all areas of the child's development and

reinforce the role of the family as a participant in the decision making processes regarding their child;

(2)provide assistance and support to eligible infants and toddlers and their families

to address the individual concerns and decisions of each family;

(3)develop and implement, on a statewide basis, locally based comprehensive,

coordinated, interdisciplinary, interagency early intervention services for all eligible infants and toddlers;

(4)enhance the local communities' capacity to provide an array of quality early

intervention services;

(5)identify and coordinate all available resources for early intervention within the

State including those from federal, State, local and private sources;

(6)provide financial and technical assistance to local communities for the purposes of

coordinating early intervention services in local communities and enhancing the communities' capacity to provide individualized early intervention services to all eligible infants and toddlers in their homes or in community environments; and

(7)affirm that eligible infants and toddlers have a right to receive early intervention

services to the maximum extent appropriate, in natural environments in which infants and toddlers without disabilities would participate.

(c)The General Assembly further finds that early intervention services are cost-effective and effectively serve the developmental needs of eligible infants and toddlers and their families. Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to provide a comprehensive, coordinated, interagency, interdisciplinary early intervention services system for eligible infants and toddlers and their families by enhancing the capacity to provide quality early intervention services, expanding and improving existing services, and facilitating coordination of payments for early intervention services from various public and private sources.