White, Odioso Introduce Bill to Ensure Ohio's Youngest Children Have Access to Early Intervention

State Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Mike Odioso (R-Green Twp) on Tuesday provided sponsor testimony for recently introduced House Bill 939, which ensures children ages birth to three will receive Early Intervention (EI) services through Ohio's County Boards of Developmental Disabilities (DD).

Early Intervention is a coordinated system of support services for infants and toddlers up to age three who have developmental delays or disabilities. These services are critical during key stages of development, when the brain is most adaptable and responsive to learning, helping improve long-term outcomes and reducing the need for more intensive and costly supports later in life.

House Bill 939 establishes early intervention as a required service for county DD boards and provides state support to help ensure continued access. Currently, these services are mandated federally to states, but optional for county boards and funded locally through property tax revenue. This makes them vulnerable to reductions when boards face financial pressures.

"Early intervention gives the county DD boards the ability to prioritize these crucial life skills, and long-term cost-savings in an extremely challenging property tax environment," said Representative Odioso.

"These investments are critical in a child's first 1000 days of life. Over and over again, research has proven the business case - when we intervene in children's lives with Early Intervention, we significantly improve the long-term developmental outcomes of both children and their families and provide tremendous cost savings for both families and taxpayers," Representative White said.

As of last year, 20 county boards are now in state fiscal watch status - up 33% from just the year before. More alarmingly, six county boards are now in fiscal warning - up from two in 2024. These numbers are expected to worsen when 2026 numbers are released this summer.

Ohio's 88 County Boards of DD currently invest approximately $90 million annually in early intervention services. The boards collectively receive more than 34,000 annual referrals and serve nearly 30,000 infants and toddlers each year. Most services are delivered through an evidence-based coaching model that utilizes teams of development specialists alongside physical, occupational, and speech therapists.

House Bill 939 shifts early intervention from a discretionary county-board function to a required statewide responsibility. Under the bill, county boards would continue paying upfront for services while submitting annual expense reports and documentation of costs incurred to the Department of Children and Youth, including provider performance metrics and expense documentation standards.

The bill also requires the Department of Children and Youth to reimburse county boards for at least 50% of eligible service costs, excluding costs already covered through service coordination grants or Title XX of the Social Security Act.

Research shows early intervention can reduce long-term special education placements by 50% (Linder, 2025) and save at least seven dollars in future costs for every dollar invested for every dollar invested, early intervention is proven to save seven or more dollars in future costs.

To watch the sponsor testimony, click here.