Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Early Intervention Service Provision for Military Families: A Brief Report

Understanding the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted birth-to-three early intervention (EI) service provision is critical as these services play an essential role in ensuring positive long-term developmental outcomes for children with disabilities, including those who are military depen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of early intervention Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 347 - 360
Main Authors: Zellner, Matthew A., Grauzer, Jeffrey, Kaat, Aaron J., Roberts, Megan Y.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2025
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Alaska Natives
Armed forces
At Risk Persons
Caregivers
Children with disabilities
Coping
COVID-19
Dependents
Early Intervention
Enrollment Rate
Enrollments
Ethnicity
Families & family life
Hispanic Americans
Individualized Family Service Plans
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1990-US
Intervention
Life Style
Pandemics
Race
Racial Identification
Referral
Regression (Statistics)
Relocation
Social Support Groups
Toddlers
Trends
Young Children
United States > US
COVID-19
interrupted time series
service provision
military families
ISSN:1053-8151, 2154-3992
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Understanding the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted birth-to-three early intervention (EI) service provision is critical as these services play an essential role in ensuring positive long-term developmental outcomes for children with disabilities, including those who are military dependents. The present study leveraged an interrupted time series approach to compare monthly service provision rates before and after the onset of the pandemic for a subset of children served by the Army Medical Department’s Educational and Developmental Intervention Services EI program. Analysis identified 77% and 93% immediate step decreases in EI referral and enrollment rates, respectively, following the onset of the pandemic in March 2020; however, rates returned to, or exceeded, prepandemic levels by late 2020. There were limited differences by race or ethnicity. Additional research is necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying these changes and to understand the long-term impact of missed referrals and enrollments on military children.
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ISSN:1053-8151
2154-3992
DOI:10.1177/10538151241291849