[INSPRATIONAL MUSIC STING] - We're now joined by Cathy Chin, who's executive director of the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, ABCD.

Cathy, good to have you with us.

- Thank you for having me.

Good to be here.

- The website's up.

Tell everyone what the organization does and who you service every day.

- Certainly.

ABCD is a trade association.

Our member agencies provide services in the community here in New Jersey for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In addition to our adult services, which include support coordination day and residential services and supports.

14 of our member agencies provide services to early intervention, EI, and in calender year 2023, those 14 agencies served over 65% of the children enrolled in EI here in the state of New Jersey.

- Early intervention, EI.

- Correct.

- Be really clear, so everyone understands what the heck early intervention means, who it's for, and what the impact is, please.

- Certainly, early intervention is a family centered, evidence-based program, which uses, in the main, physical, occupational, and speech language therapists who provide services to infants and toddlers, zero to three, with developmental delays or disabilities.

The goal of early intervention is to prevent or minimize permanent disability.

Now, since 85% of brain development occurs within the first three years of a child's life.

- 85%?

- Correct.

This is a critical period in which to identify and address disabilities and delays before they become significant barriers to development.

- So let's, we talk about a lot of fiscal matters in the state, what the budget looks like.

We're literally recording this a few days before the budget by the constitution is supposed to be struck on the last day of June.

We're taping a little bit before that.

In the state budget, what is allotted for, or to your organization, A, and B, what is it that you're looking for?

Because my understanding is there's an increase.

- There is no increase for our rates for our agencies.

It remains flat funded.

We're asking for a 3% increase, inflationary increase, of $4.4 million, so we don't lose ground, because we have seen a positive trend.

But it's important to keep that positive trend moving forward.

- So again, there's so many issues in the State House that are contentious and are partisan and whatever.

Who the heck would be against what you are talking about?

- I don't know.

I mean, it's a question, of course, of priorities.

- "Priorities."

Yeah, priorities.

- These are our children and in New Jersey, I'm happy to say that the National Institute for Early Education Research, which is based out of Rutgers Graduate School of Education, did a recent study and they found that 4% of children, zero to three, here in the state of New Jersey, receive early intervention services compared to the national average, which is 3.7%.

So Steve, we are doing better than the national average, however, Massachusetts is at 10%.

- Hold on one second.

These numbers can get confusing, but there's nothing confusing about what you just said.

Of all the children, zero to three, that need intervention, 4% of all of the kids that need?

- No, no, no, I'm sorry.

4% of all children, zero to three, in the state of New Jersey receive early intervention.

- Okay.

- I apologize.

- Let me try it this way.

Of those who need early intervention, do we have any idea what percent of those children actually get that intervention that is so critically important?

- Well, according to the study, 4% actually received it.

But we believe that there are many more children out there.

In fact, the study that I referenced, and it was a nationwide study, but it looked at every single state, and they found that access to early intervention was highly inequitable.

Specifically children, minorities, low income, urban, rural, and children in foster care do not have, we do not have the capacity, the professionals, to serve this population.

- Why is that and what needs to be done to change that?

- Well, this is a nationwide problem, the supply side, of PTs, OTs, and speech language therapists, it's a nationwide problem.

- Hold on, PT.

- Specific, I'm sorry.

- What kind of therapists?

- Yes, I'm sorry.

Physical, occupational, and speech language therapists, they're the ones who provide the services to the infants and toddlers - Why the heck it is so disproportionate in terms of who gets the intervention, who doesn't get the intervention, and what needs to be addressed to, if not fix it, improve it.

- Okay, so it's a supply side issue.

It is a national problem, but specific to New Jersey, for over a decade and a half, early intervention did not receive a rate increase and there was a very small cohort of people who actually even knew what early intervention was, which is a failure in advocacy.

But since FY 2022, due to the incredible efforts by the New Jersey legislature, Governor Murphy, and Commissioners Persichilli followed by Baston, we did receive increase.

- That's the Department of Health?

- Correct, yes.

And those increases were not just rate increases, but additional staff in the Department of Health to oversee early intervention.

And we saw in calendar year 2023 that we were able to serve 17,000 children in early intervention, which is thousands more than in years past.

And our wait list over the last year, from June to June, has been reduced by 68%.

But the number of children on that wait list still exceeds what we were seeing prior to 2019.

And PTs, OTs, excuse me, physical, occupational, and speech language therapists, are still opting to work in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, bottom line, because the benefits are better.

The wages are better.

They're keeping pace with wage growth.

We don't have that capacity.

- Cathy, let me ask you this.

As these children grow up, become older, become adults, adults with the disabilities you're talking about, how challenging is it for them to gain gainful employment?

- It is, I can't give you stats, but I can tell you anecdotally- - I don't wanna know stats.

I want you to describe it for us.

- It becomes much more difficult.

Many of my provider agencies when I was introduced, I said that we provide services to adults, and those provider agencies say, if we see them in early intervention, we're less likely to see them in our day programs when they become adults.

Data has shown that in addition to the savings from early intervention in the K through 12 system, Medicaid, and healthcare, there is increased workforce participation among adults who received early intervention as children.

It's quite magical.

- Cannot thank you enough, Cathy Chin, who is in fact the executive director of the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities.

Cathy, it will not be the last time you join us as we continue the conversation that's so important.

Thank you, Cathy.

- Very kind of you.

Thank you for your generosity.

- It's a lot kinder of you to do the work you're doing.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] State of Affairs with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

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