ECI Resources
About ECI
Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) is a benefit that provides needed services for families based on the unique needs and strengths of the child (age 0-3). Services are provided in the home and in community settings.
ECI services features include:
- Individualized Planning Process
- Family-Centered Services
- Case Management
- Familiar Settings
- Professional Providers
- Plans for Continuing Services
In 2013, ECI provided comprehensive services to over 48,193 children. Every county in Texas is served by local programs. Full funding for ECI is critical to ensure services are provided during the crucial earliest years in a child’s life which often show real long term results in the child’s future.
For more information on ECI, contact the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Serivces (DARS):
- DARS Inquiries Line: 1-800-628-5115
- DARS TDD/TTY: 1-866-581-9328
- Email: DARS.Inquiries@dars.state.tx.us
- DARS ECI homepage
Online tools
- Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! The U.S. Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services recently announced the launch of Birth to Five: Watch Me Thrive!, a collaborative effort with federal partners to encourage developmental and behavioral screening for children to support the families and providers who care for them. Resources include a list of research-based developmental screening tools, guides on how to use screeners for a variety of audiences, toolkits with resources and tip sheets, guidance on finding help at the local level, and a screening passport that allows famlies to track a child's screening history and results. Click here to learn more.
ECI Publicy Policy
- DARS' ECI reports
- Texans Care for Children's Advocacy and Legislative Resources
- ECI Advocacy Coalition. Click here to sign up to receive email updates.
Evidence-Based Practices
For caregivers, family members, educators, and practitioners to learn about wading through interventions and how to determine what’s evidence-based, and what’s not:
ECI links
- Alice Bufkin (Texans Care for Children)
- Leah Rummel (parent, advocate)
- Evidence-Based Practices (Chrystal Jansz Rieken, Burkhart Center for Autism Research and Education)
- ECI and Faith-based Connection (Suzanne Potts, Austin Interfaith Inclusion Network)
