Arizona runs most of its systems statewide, so a Phoenix family's early intervention referral and disability services application use the same doors as the rest of the state. What is local: which agency serves your ZIP code, which of the metro's many school districts you live in, and which evaluation pathway fits your child's age.

This page maps those doors — with phone numbers, the age rules that matter, and the publicly documented access notes.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Arizona page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Phoenix metro (Maricopa County).

Early intervention under 3: Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP)

AzEIP serves children from birth to 36 months statewide — there is no separate Phoenix program. Anyone can refer, including a parent, with no doctor's order or diagnosis required: call the Central Referral Line (run by Encircle Families under state contract) or use the state's online referral form. From the referral date, AzEIP has 45 days to complete the evaluation, determine eligibility, and hold the initial family service plan meeting. Which agency actually delivers services is assigned by county and ZIP code from the state's published list of service-providing agencies.

• Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP)
• Referral phone: 1-888-592-0140 (AzEIP Central Referral Line)

New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.

School districts and special education

At age 3, responsibility shifts to your school district's Child Find and preschool evaluation team — and metro Phoenix has many districts, several of which publish their own preschool screening entry points. Under Arizona law, a district must respond to a written evaluation request within 15 school days (by starting the review or explaining its refusal in writing), and must complete the evaluation within 60 calendar days of written consent.

• Mesa Public Schools — largest district in Arizona; serves students with disabilities ages 3–22
• Chandler Unified School District — ages 3–5: call 480-812-7010; ages 5–21: contact your local school
• Gilbert Public Schools — free preschool screenings by appointment for in-boundary families (480-497-3474)
• Peoria Unified School District — northwest metro
• Deer Valley Unified School District — serves parts of Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, and Cave Creek
• Scottsdale Unified School District — its Child Find page maps the full handoff: AzEIP before 3, district preschool at 3–5, district services K–21
• Paradise Valley Unified School District — SUN Kids preschool evaluation team screens ages 2 years 9 months to 5 (602-449-2150)
• Washington Elementary School District — largest elementary district in Arizona; its SEARCh to Serve program screens ages 2 years 9 months to 5
• Phoenix Elementary School District #1 — downtown and central Phoenix, preschool Child Find
• Phoenix Union High School District — grades 9–12 for central Phoenix, including an 18–21 transition program

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Phoenix

These are hospital and university programs with public intake information. Listing here is informational — it is not a recommendation, and it is not medical advice. Public school evaluation is free and does not require any of these.

• Phoenix Children's — Autism Program / Developmental Pediatrics — hospital-based autism evaluation: Developmental Pediatrics evaluates children 12 months up to 4 years; Psychology evaluates ages 4 up to 7 only when there are co-occurring complex medical needs, genetic conditions, or sensory impairment. Requests come through your child's pediatrician rather than parent self-referral; locations in Phoenix, Gilbert, Scottsdale, and Avondale · 602-933-2327 (under 4) · 602-933-0414 (4–7 with complex needs) · no wait figure is published — ask when your pediatrician refers
• Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) — nonprofit autism center in Phoenix providing diagnostic evaluations for children under 7; intake starts with a free ten-minute phone screening; accepts commercial insurance, AHCCCS (Medicaid), and private pay, with scholarship funding available · 602-606-9806 · SARRC states evaluations are scheduled 4–12 weeks from the call, with no waitlist (provider-reported figure)
• ASU Speech and Hearing Clinic — university teaching clinic in Tempe for speech-language and hearing evaluation and therapy, infants through adults, including autistic children — a communication clinic, not a full autism diagnostic center · 480-965-2373

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: DES Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)

DDD is statewide — Maricopa County families use the same application as everyone else, and autism is one of the qualifying conditions (the disability must have begun before 18, be likely to continue, and cause substantial functional limitations; young children can qualify through an 'at risk' pathway). The application is the eligibility checklist plus the signed eligibility determination form, submitted with proof of citizenship or lawful presence, insurance cards, and documentation of the diagnosis. The state describes emailing the packet to DDDApply@azdes.gov as the fastest route. Separately, AHCCCS (Arizona Medicaid) covers behavior analysis services for autistic members and, for members under 21, everything medically necessary under EPSDT.

• DES Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)
• Phone: 1-844-770-9500, option 1 (DDD Customer Service Center)

Local organizations that help Phoenix families

• Encircle Families (formerly Raising Special Kids) — Arizona's federally designated parent training and information center — free IEP/504 consultation, staff who can attend IEP meetings with you, English and Spanish (602-242-4366). It also runs the AzEIP referral line
• Autism Society of Greater Phoenix — the oldest autism organization in Arizona (founded 1973): support groups, an Autism 101 training for newly diagnosed families and families new to Arizona, and a public list of professionals who diagnose
• 2-1-1 Arizona — statewide referral line — dial 2-1-1 or 1-877-211-8661; searchable database of more than 8,500 resources, English and Spanish

Documented waits and access notes

Wait times change. Each note below links to the public source it came from — confirm current status directly with the program.

• The U.S. Department of Education rated Arizona 'Needs assistance' on IDEA implementation in both its 2025 and 2026 determinations — a statewide rating that triggers federal enforcement steps. (source)
• Arizona's DDD went through a documented funding crisis in 2025: an emergency law appropriated over $122 million in state funds to keep the program running, capped the Parents as Paid Caregivers program at 40 hours per week per child from July 1, 2025, and added an 'extraordinary care' standard from October 1, 2025. (source)
• Phoenix Children's evaluates ages 4 up to 7 only when complex medical needs, genetic conditions, or sensory impairment are also present — other children in that age band are directed to community resources or their pediatrician. That leaves SARRC and community providers as the main metro pathway for typically presenting 4-to-7-year-olds. (source)
• Arizona press coverage has described health-system evaluation waitlists as thousands of children deep, with waits of a year or more — trade-press reporting on a commercial provider, not an official statistic, but consistent with the shortage of evaluators nationally. (source)
• Accepting an Arizona ESA voucher removes IDEA protections: Disability Rights Arizona documents that a child on an ESA contract gives up the right to a free appropriate public education and to IDEA complaints, and the state education department has no enforcement authority over private schools even when tuition is paid with ESA funds. (source)
• Arizona folds eligibility and the first IEP into one window: the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team decides eligibility inside the same 60-day clock that started with your consent, so IEP development can begin the same day if your child qualifies. (source)
• Arizona's private-insurance mandate, Steven's Law, caps behavioral therapy at $50,000 a year for a child under 9 and $25,000 a year from 9 to 16, stops paying entirely at 17, and doesn't reach self-funded employer plans or businesses with fewer than 50 workers. (source)