A Call for Action Against Proposed New York State EI Program Cuts

March 1, 2011 - PRLog -- Bilinguals Inc and the Professional Agencies for Children's Therapy Services are urging residents of New York state to stop another 10% proposed rate cut for state funded early intervention therapy services. This totals out to being a 20% cut within a years time. No other state has had such a drastic cut placed on this vital early intervention program.

These proposed EI program cuts will affect the professionals administering the therapy services and the children / families receiving services dramatically. These NYS rate cut proposals would have a devastating effect on the type and quality of services provided to children with special needs. Leaving these children inadequately treated will cost NYS a sizeable amount of money in the future. A cost- benefit study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that for every $1 invested $7.10 was returned to society in the form of decreased future special education costs and less grade retention. Similar studies were published by the Rand Corp. and the Education Commission of the US. A recent federally funded study in NYS found that parents were highly satisfied with EI service outcomes. Clearly, EI is an investment in children and their futures, not an expense.

Bilinguals Inc. and A.C.T.S are asking everyone to support Early Intervention by visiting the Professional Agencies for Children's Therapy Services (A.C.T.S.) website, http://www.agenciesforchildrenstherapyservices.org, to learn more and to send a quick and important email to the New York State officials whose decisions are heavily affected by public opinion. They believe that public consideration and support on this very important issue will make a huge difference in the lives of the children and families who need these services to stop developmental delays from occurring.

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Achieve Beyond is a pediatric therapy company that provides early intervention heath care, autism services and special education to kids nationwide including Illinois, California, Virginia, Connecticut and New York. They also offer private pay insurance, translation / interpretation services and educational workshops.