Infants & Young Children Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 28–40 Copyright C  2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. How Does the Narrowing of Eligibility Criteria Affect Enrollment in Part C Early Intervention? Batya Elbaum, PhD; Seniz Celimli-Aksoy, PhD; Jennifer T. Marshall, PhD; Michelle D. Berkovits, PhD In recent years, many states have narrowed their eligibility criteria for participation in the IDEA Part C early intervention (EI) program for infants and toddlers with or at risk for developmental delays. However, there is scant research on the effects of such a policy change on the population of children served or on the timing of children’s access to EI services. Using data from an EI program serving a diverse, urban population in a large southeastern state, we compared characteristics of children who enrolled in EI the year before (n = 432) and the year after (n = 399), the state adopted more restrictive eligibility criteria for its EI program. Results indicated that following the policy change, children served in the program represented a smaller percentage of the resident birth-to-3 population; a smaller proportion of children enrolling in EI had mild delays; and children were 1.5 months older, on average, when they enrolled in services. The findings not only provide evidence that the narrowing of eligibility criteria achieved the intended effect of reducing EI enrollment but also raise concerns that the new policy may delay access to needed services for children with emergent developmental delays. Key words: access to services, developmental delay, early intervention, eligibility, infants and toddlers, Part C, policy E ARLY INTERVENTION (EI) programs au- thorized under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) serve a large and heterogeneous population of infants and toddlers and their families (McManus, Carle, & Rapport, 2012). In fiscal year (FY) 2013–14, U.S. states and outlying jurisdictions reported a count of 350,581 chil- Author Affiliations: Department of Teaching and Learning (Dr Elbaum), Department of Educational and Psychological Studies (Dr Celimli-Aksoy), and Department of Pediatrics (Dr Berkovits), University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida; and Department of Community & Family Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida (Dr Marshall). The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Correspondence: Batya Elbaum, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Miami, 1507 Levante Ave, Max Orovitz Building, Rm 308A, Coral Gables, FL 33146 (elbaum@miami.edu). DOI: 10.1097/IYC.0000000000000083 dren receiving Part C EI services, representing 2.95% of the resident birth-to-3 population (Office of Special Education Programs, 2015). In the majority of states, a child must have either a documented developmental delay, or a diagnosed mental or physical condition that has a high probability of resulting in a devel- opmental delay, to be eligible for EI services (Early Childhood Technical Assistance [ECTA] Center, 2015). A small number of states have also elected to serve children at risk for delays owing to social or environmental risk factors (ECTA Center, 2015), regardless of current de- velopmental functioning. Diagnoses with a high probability of re- sulting in a developmental delay, referred to as “established conditions,” range from con- genital anomalies such as Down syndrome to nervous system impairments such as cerebral palsy and perinatal diagnoses such as extreme prematurity. Results of a national study of EI participants (Bailey, Hebbeler, Scarborough, Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. 28