Philadelphia preschoolers with a disability have — for more than a year — been shut out of critical services by a private agency hired by the state to deliver those services. Now the state has stepped in — thanks to a complaint filed by the Education Law Center and Disability Rights Network — and issued a directive to the agency: Compensate these families immediately, either by providing overdue services or by writing a check.

Following a month-long investigation, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued its findings on June 21, sending a clear message to Philadelphia families whose young children need special services: Delays are not acceptable.

In many cases children with special needs — ranging from speech delays to physical development delays — have waited months and, in some cases, more than a year, to receive the services they are eligible for as part of Pennsylvania's Early Intervention program.

Elwyn, Inc. is the service agency that contracts with the state to provide Early Intervention services to more than 5,000 Philadelphia preschoolers. The state's investigation found problems with the timeliness and thoroughness of Elwyn's service.

As one of the remedies ordered by the state, Elwyn must — when a child is referred for services — tell the family specifically how to file a complaint with the state if problems occur. The state also ordered Elwyn to contact all families waiting for services by early August to arrange for extra services, or reimbursement if the families paid for services themselves. The state's Office of Child Development and Early Learning has agreed to monitor this process closely.

In Pennsylvania, Early Intervention services are available at no cost to any family — rich, poor, or in-between — whose 3- to 5-year-old child has a disability and needs special services. The goal is to address the child's delays early, and, if possible, reduce the need for extra help later in the student's school career. Some examples of Early Intervention services are speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and special instruction by a teacher full or part-time.

Nasir Baker, 5, was identified as needing speech therapy services in April 2009, but didn't receive any services from Elwyn until May 2010. In a child's development, a year can be an eternity, and it may take Nasir several years — and continued therapy — to recover. [See Ronnie Polaneczky: A garbled system delays tot's speech therapy.]

Based on Nasir's case, and many others like his, ELC and DRN filed an administrative complaint on April 16, 2010 with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The complaint outlined a host of problems, including delays in evaluating children, delays in delivering services once a child was identified as needing service, and failures to give make-up services to children who had experienced gaps or delays in service.

It's important to remember that Early Intervention is a program for young children at a critical stage of development. Parents need to know that delays in service are not acceptable — and that the state is now giving them steps to take if there are delays.

Nasir is headed to kindergarten at a Philadelphia public school in September. With the speech therapy he is finally receiving this summer, Nasir's classmates and teacher may be able to better understand him when he speaks. And that may help him to get along with other students and prevent him from falling behind at an early age.

But Nasir — and all those other children who didn't get the necessary service in time — shouldn’t have had to wait. Families now know what to do if there is a delay, and they should be quick to act — these children have no time to lose.