Cal Matters

When my daughter’s development stalled and then regressed, her bright personality dimmed. Doctors said to wait. But as a clinician I suspected she needed urgent help — the kind that Early Start, California’s early intervention program, provides. What I feared most was losing the spark that made her unique. Early Start met us right at our breaking point, offering a lifeline and hope. The program transformed fragility into possibility and gave my child a voice. But the promise that shapes thousands of families like mine now hangs by a thread. 

This summer Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill, extending tax cuts but slashing billions from Medicaid. In California, federal Medicaid funds sustain the regional centers that coordinate Early Start services for infants and toddlers with — or at risk for — developmental delays. With California facing a multibillion-dollar deficit, the future of such early interventions looks precarious. Losing federal support means the state must fill the funding gap or scale back, thus putting therapy, progress and hope at risk for countless children and families.