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Filing an Early Intervention Complaint in Pennsylvania
Last updated on Aug 13, 2020 in CAR Autism Roadmap™
The most common reasons for Early Intervention (EI) complaints are delays in evaluating a child or in providing services. A good way to resolve one of these issues is to file a complaint. To file a complaint with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania about the Early Intervention system, families should call or write the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). The phone number for OCDEL is 717-346-9320. The address for OCDEL is:
OCDEL
Bureau of Early Intervention Services
Departments of Education and Human Services
6th Floor
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Before filing a formal, written complaint, you may want to call OCDEL to see if the problem can be resolved quickly. OCDEL will contact your EI program to try to resolve the problem before you file a written complaint.
If you need to file a written complaint, it should clearly and specifically state what law has been broken and the facts on which the complaint is based. The complaint can include actions that occurred up to a year before the complaint unless the actions are still happening or unless the parent is asking for reimbursement of expenses or for "compensatory education." In these instances, facts up to three years old may be considered in resolving the complaint.
Reimbursement is pay back for money the parent had to pay because of the violation. Compensatory education is additional services that must be provided to the child and/or family to make up for the failure to provide appropriate services in the past.
After the complaint is filed, OCDEL has 60 calendar days to investigate and make a decision. The parent and the Early Intervention agency may provide additional evidence in writing or by talking to the investigator assigned to the complaint. Sometimes OCDEL will visit the agency or visit the child.
If OCDEL determines that the child's legal rights have been violated, it must make sure there is a plan to correct the problem – both retrospectively and prospectively – within 30 days.
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The Center for Autism Research and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia do not endorse or recommend any specific person or organization or form of treatment. The information included within the CAR Autism Roadmap™ and CAR Resource Directory™ should not be considered medical advice and should serve only as a guide to resources publicly and privately available. Choosing a treatment, course of action, and/or a resource is a personal decision, which should take into account each individual's and family's particular circumstances.