Early Childhood Intervention Services

Early Childhood Intervention Services (ECIS) support children with a disability or developmental delay from birth to school entry and their families. ECIS provides special education, therapy, counselling, service planning and coordination, assistance and support to access services such as kindergarten and child care.

Services are tailored to meet the individual needs of the child and focused on supporting the child in their natural environments and in their everyday experiences and activities. These services are funded through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) and provided by Specialist Children's services teams and Early Childhood Intervention agencies.

The overall aim of these services is to provide parents and families with the knowledge, skills and support to meet the needs of their child and to optimise the child's development and ability to participate in family and community life. All services are provided using a family-centred approach, recognising the importance of working in partnership with the family.

For more information about ECIS see the Early Childhood Intervention Services brochure (PDF - 245Kb)

A copy of the brochure is also available in different languages, see Translations

For information about scholarships and incentives for professionals in early childhood intervention, see:

Early Childhood Intervention Scholarships and Incentives

The next step in reforming Victoria’s Early Childhood Intervention Services

The ECIS Reform Project is exploring options for an evidence-based ECIS service delivery model, a streamlined ECIS program structure, the roles of government and the community sector in intake and service delivery, a governance and accountability framework and a new funding model. As part of the ECIS Reform Project a draft Quality Framework is also being piloted.

For more information, including fact sheets and a literature review see: ECIS Reform