Referrals to EC CARES

Who should be referred?

Any child up to school age with developmental concerns may be referred to EC CARES.

Areas of concern may include possible delays in communication, cognitive, motor, self-care or adaptive skills and social skills.


Referrals may be made by calling (541) 346-2578 or (800) 925-8694. Referrals may be made by parents, physicians, public health nurses, preschool teachers with consent from parents, and other public agencies.

How does a child qualify for services?

After a child is referred to EC CARES, a development specialist will talk with parents by phone to complete a health, hearing, and vision questionnaire, learn more about possible developmental concerns and the child's history, and compete a developmental checklist appropriate for the child's age.

 If the questionnaire indicates that the child may be experiencing delays, and evaluation is recommended. If a child is under three years of age, all ares of development will be evaluated. If a child is over three years old, evaluations will be conducted only in the areas of suspected delays. These evaluations will be done at home, in the EC CARES clinic or sometimes in the preschool setting. The evaluations are conducted by developmental specialists, speech therapists, educational psychologists, and sometimes physical or occupational therapists.

What is the criteria for educational services?

The Oregon Department of Education has clear guidelines for educational services.

To qualify for early intervention (EI), a child must be under three years of age and must be experiencing daily of 1.5 standard deviations (or about 15%) in two or more developmental areas, or have significant delays of 2.0 standard deviations (about 30% delay) in one area, or have a diagnosis that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay as documented by a physician.

 To qualify for early childhood special education (ECSE), a child must be over three years of age and have developmental delays of 1.5 standard deviations (about 15%) in two or more areas, or have a delay of 1.5 standard deviations in communication or articulation, or have an educational eligibility of autism spectrum disorder, orthopedic impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, deaf-blindness, emotional disturbance, traumatic brain injury or other health impairment.

In addition to these criteria, the educational team that includes parents must agree that the child needs educational services.