Evansville anchors a stretch of southwestern Indiana that First Steps organizes into one large multi-county cluster, while its disability-waiver system runs through a Bureau of Disabilities Services office located in the city itself — a genuine local access point rather than a distant regional hub. Vanderburgh County's public schools are consolidated into a single corporation, EVSC, though families just over the county line in Warrick County answer to a separate district.

This guide lists the specific contacts behind those systems, plus two Evansville-based clinics offering autism diagnosis and treatment directly in the city, so a family can start more than one process without guessing where to call first.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Indiana page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Evansville (Vanderburgh County).

Early intervention under 3: First Steps (Indiana's IDEA Part C system)

First Steps covers every Indiana county, birth to age 3, for children with a developmental delay or diagnosed condition, run by the Family and Social Services Administration's Bureau of Child Development Services through nine regional System Point of Entry offices. Vanderburgh County falls under Cluster I, whose administrative office, First Steps of Southern Indiana, is based in New Albany but coordinates referrals and services across a wide swath of southern Indiana that includes Evansville. A parent, doctor, or anyone else who knows the child can make a confidential referral without a diagnosis in hand, and the resulting services are free, transitioning to school-based special education once a child turns 3.

• First Steps (Indiana's IDEA Part C system)
• Referral phone: 812-913-7333 (Cluster I, southern Indiana SPOE)

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

School districts and special education

Vanderburgh County's public schools are consolidated into a single corporation, the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, which under IDEA must locate and evaluate students ages 3 through 21 who may need special education. A family just east of the county line, in Warrick County, instead falls under Warrick County School Corporation, which runs a parallel Child Find process and partners with the statewide IN*SOURCE network for family support. Either way, a written or verbal request to the district starts the evaluation process.

• Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation — Special Education — Office of Special Education, 812-435-8414; serves more than 4,700 students receiving special education support
• Warrick County School Corporation — Special Education — covers Warrick County east of Evansville; IN*SOURCE family liaison Amy Howard, 812-380-1085

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Evansville

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.

• Applied Behavior Center — Evansville — diagnostic testing alongside applied behavior analysis, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and social skills instruction, delivered in a dedicated 7,000-square-foot facility · 812-909-9420
• Peyton Manning Children's — Evansville Center for Children — developmental and psychological testing for children ages 2 through 17, with specialization in autism spectrum disorder assessment, plus an occupational therapy sensory playground · 812-485-7425

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Indiana FSSA — Bureau of Disabilities Services, District 7

Evansville hosts its own Bureau of Disabilities Services district office, District 7, at 700 E Walnut Street — a genuine local access point for the state's two Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers, the Family Supports Waiver and the more intensive Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver, rather than a satellite of a distant regional hub. A family applies online through the BDS Gateway portal or on paper using State Form 55068, submitted to the district office directly; the statewide BDS help line can answer eligibility and waiting-list questions before an application goes in.

• Indiana FSSA — Bureau of Disabilities Services, District 7
• Phone: 812-423-8449 (District 7 office) · 800-457-8283 (statewide BDS help line)

Local organizations that help Evansville families

• HANDS in Autism — Indiana University's statewide autism training and resource center; free toolkits, visual supports, and family/caregiver training
• Autism Society of Indiana — statewide nonprofit; direct-care support, sensory-friendly community events, and family resources reaching southern Indiana (800-609-8449)
• IN*SOURCE — Indiana's federally designated Parent Training and Information Center, with a family liaison serving the Evansville/Warrick County area directly (574-234-7101)
• Indiana Disability Rights — the state's federally designated protection-and-advocacy system (317-722-5555, toll-free 800-622-4845)
• Special Olympics Indiana — statewide year-round sports across all 92 counties, coordinated locally through Area programs (317-328-2000)

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.

• Once EVSC has a parent's written consent in hand, Indiana rule gives the corporation 50 instructional days to finish testing and hold the case conference that decides eligibility. (source)
• Cluster I does not run on an extended clock — the evaluation and first individualized family service plan meeting for a First Steps referral covering Evansville are due within the same 45 days IDEA sets nationally. (source)
• The Arc of Indiana reported that the Family Supports and Community Integration and Habilitation waivers both hit their funded capacity in December 2025, with no new slots expected before July 2026 at the earliest — a real constraint for Evansville families applying through District 7. (source)