	Introduction

Part C (Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, P.L. 108-446 ) authorizes a formula grant program for infants and toddlers with disabilities (ages birth through two) and their families. In 2016, approximately 373,000 infants and toddlers received early intervention services under Part C of the IDEA. However, the IDEA covers more than special education. Since 1975, the IDEA has been the subject of numerous reauthorizations to extend services and rights for children with disabilities. The most recent reauthorization was P.L. Part C of the IDEA requires each state to operate a public awareness program to inform state residents about (1) early intervention services available to help eligible infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities; (2) the steps to take to have an infant or toddler evaluated for early intervention eligibility; and (3) who families should contact in the early intervention system, if they have a child who may be in need of early intervention services. In addition, primary referral sources must be provided with the following information:
A description of the child find system (explained in more detail in the next section of this report) and procedures for referring a child under the age of three for an evaluation or early intervention services; and A central directory that is accessible to the general public (i.e., through the lead agency's website and other appropriate means) and includes accurate, up-to-date information about public and private early intervention services, resources, and experts available in the state; professional and other groups (including parent support, and parent training and information centers, such as those funded under the IDEA) that provide assistance to infants and toddlers with disabilities eligible under Part C of the IDEA and their families; and research and demonstration projects being conducted in the state related to infants and toddlers with disabilities. The family assessment and the child assessment may be conducted together or separately depending on the needs of the family. States must delineate
procedures for the establishment of a transition plan for each child, including, when appropriate, steps to exit from the Part C program; descriptions of how the families of toddlers receiving early intervention services will be included in the transition plans; procedures that will be used to review each child's program options for the period from the child's third birthday through the remainder of the school year; and how the lead agency will (1) notify LEAs when each child will shortly reach the age of eligibility for preschool services under Part B; (2) convene a conference among the lead agency, the family, and the LEA, between 9 months and 90 days before the child is eligible for preschool services, to discuss any such services that the child may receive; and (3) in the case of a child who may not be eligible for preschool services, convene a conference among the lead agency, the family, and providers of appropriate services for children who are not eligible for preschool services under Part B, to discuss the appropriate services that the child may receive. The various types of procedural safeguards include parental rights to 
inspect and review educational records; receive timely administrative resolution of complaints; maintain confidentiality of personally identifiable information; receive prior written notice in their native language when the lead agency or an early intervention services provider proposes to initiate or change, or refuses to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, or placement of their infant or toddler, or the provision of early intervention services to their infant or toddler; receive a procedural safeguards notice, which is a comprehensive written explanation of the IDEA's legal rights and protections for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their parents; resolve disputes through a mediation process; determine whether they, their infant or toddler, or other family members will accept or decline any early intervention services without jeopardizing other early intervention services; and continue receiving appropriate early intervention services for their infant or toddler, during the pendency of any proceeding or action involving a complaint filed on their family's behalf. While funding for Part B, Assistance for Education of all Children with Disabilities, is permanently authorized, the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA authorized funding for Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, and Part D, National Activities, through FY2010. Funding for Part C continues to be authorized through annual appropriations. In FY2017, $458.6 million was appropriated for Part C, representing 3.5% of total IDEA funding. Annual funding for each state for Part C programs is based upon each state's relative share of the general population birth through two. Part B—Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities
Part B authorizes federal funding for the education of children with disabilities and requires, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to children with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21. Part C—Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
The general purpose of Part C is to aid each state in creating and maintaining "a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families."
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a statute that authorizes grant programs that support special education services. Under the IDEA, a series of conditions are attached to the receipt of grant funds. These conditions aim to provide certain educational and procedural guarantees for students with disabilities and their families.
The grant programs authorized under the IDEA provide federal funding for special education and early intervention services for children with disabilities (birth to 21 years old) and require, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) (i.e., specially designed instruction provided at no cost to parents that meets the needs of a child with a disability) and an accessible early intervention system (a statewide system to provide and coordinate early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families). The IDEA also outlines and requires the use of procedural safeguards pertaining to the identification, evaluation, and placement of students in special education services that are intended to protect the rights of parents and children with disabilities. These procedures include parental rights to resolve disputes through a mediation process, and present and resolve complaints through a due process complaint procedure and through state complaint procedures.
Originally enacted in 1975, the IDEA has been the subject of numerous reauthorizations to extend services and rights to children with disabilities. The most recent reauthorization of the IDEA was P.L. 108-446, enacted in 2004. The 1986 reauthorization of the IDEA created a grants program that would provide early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, what is now known as Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities.
Funding for Part B of the IDEA, Assistance for Education of all Children with Disabilities, the largest part of the act, is permanently authorized. Funding for Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, and Part D, National Activities, was authorized through FY2011. Funding for Part C and Part D programs continues to be authorized through annual appropriations.
Part C of the IDEA authorizes a grant program to aid each state in implementing a system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. In 2016, approximately 373,000 infants and toddlers between birth and three years old received early intervention services under Part C of the IDEA. Annual funding to each state for Part C programs is based upon the state's proportion of the number of children, birth through two years old, in the general population. In FY2018, approximately $13.4 billion was appropriated for the IDEA, $470 million of which was appropriated for Part C, representing 3.5% of total IDEA funding.
Part C requires each state to implement a public awareness program and Child Find activities to identify infants and toddlers who may be eligible for early intervention services. To be eligible for early intervention services under Part C of the IDEA, an infant or toddler must meet his or her state's definition of an infant or toddler with a disability or developmental delay. Once a child meets the IDEA's eligibility criteria, the early intervention system provides an assessment of the needs of both the child and the child's family. Early intervention coordinators then either help the family coordinate services for their child through outside service providers or directly provide early intervention services to the child and the child's family, depending on the design of the early intervention system in the state. Before a child receiving Part C services turns three years old, the child is assessed to determine whether he or she will continue receiving IDEA services, and, if so, whether the child will remain in an extended Part C service arrangement or transition into a special education preschool program funded by Section 619 of Part B of the IDEA.