California’s lifeline for special needs youth is in jeopardy

By Kelly Keck, especially for CalMatters

This comment was originally posted by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

Guest Comment written by

When my daughter’s development slowed and then regressed, her bright personality dimmed. The doctors said to wait.

But as a clinician, I suspected she needed emergency care—the kind that Early Start, California early intervention programprovides. I was most afraid of losing the spark that made her unique.

Early Start met us right at the tipping point, offering a lifeline and hope. The program turned frailty into opportunity and gave my child a voice.

For me, it offered a circle of support that reminded me that I don’t face this journey alone. He introduced me to other parents facing the isolating darkness of uncertainty about their child’s future. This community has become the difference between despair and determination.

From strengthening my daughter’s muscles to finding her first words, the Early Start team has also become my daughter’s biggest cheerleader, celebrating progress and helping us deal with setbacks.

But the promise that shaped thousands of families like mine now hangs in the balance.

This summer, Congress passed a big beautiful bill, expanding tax cuts but cutting billions from Medicaid. In California, federal Medicaid funds support regional centers that coordinate early start services for infants and young children with or at risk for developmental delays.

With California facing a multi-billion dollar deficitthe future of such early interventions appears uncertain. The loss of federal support means the state must fill funding gaps or cut back, putting therapy, progress and hope for countless children and families at risk.

I have witnessed what happens when families lose access to care. When speech therapy wears off, a baby’s first words fade into silence. When physical therapy stops, a toddler’s first steps may never appear.

From surviving to thriving

An early start is not a luxury; it is a bridge from survival to prosperity. When this bond is broken, the child’s trajectory changes, sometimes irreversibly.

The Department for Development Services has already warned that its workload is increasing as staff shortages worsen. Federal layoffs it will only reinforce this with fewer therapists, longer waiting lists, and children stuck in the most critical period of their brain development.

Every week of delay, every family told to “wait and see,” means consequences that will never be undone, windows for development that will never reopen.

Supporters of the Big Beautiful Bill argue that it will encourage innovation and eliminate “waste.” But when wastefulness means a therapist teaching a mother to feed her baby safely or a child learning to hold a crayon, the cruelty becomes clear. Efficiency is no substitute for empathy. Those who propose it have never witnessed the triumph of a child learning to walk again after months of painstaking effort.

California lawmakers can’t overturn federal decisions, but they can refuse to let our youngest citizens be left behind. California should immediately create an Early Start Stabilization Fund to offset Medicaid cuts, providing access to therapy during the critical stage of brain development.

Lawmakers should require agencies to publicly track staffing shortages and delays in therapy, making inequities visible and impossible to ignore.

California’s congressional delegation must fight to protect federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C funds that ensure access to early intervention. Speeches about potential in an election year are not enough; lawmakers must protect the infrastructure that makes the potential possible.

My work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit only reinforces what is at stake. Every day I meet parents whose babies will need Early Start. Families finally bring home babies ready to grow, only to find themselves mired in complex systems of approvals, denials and delays.

If we fail to act, these babies will face growing waiting lists, fewer specialists and programs stretched to breaking point.

The early start caught my daughter and I before we fell through the cracks. For families in similar situations, the loss of this safety net threatens more than stages; threatens hope. When we protect early intervention, we save the future—one child at a time.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.