Lexington and Fayette County merged into a single urban county government decades ago, and Fayette County Public Schools is the only district that comes with it — so there's no second district to call for a school evaluation, just FCPS's Special Education Department.

Everything else runs through a similar single-door pattern: Bluegrass First Steps for early intervention, and Bluegrass.org's Access intake line for the state's developmental-disability waiver system. This page lists the phone numbers and pages behind each, as surfaced by search.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Kentucky page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Lexington-Fayette Urban County.

Early intervention under 3: Kentucky Early Intervention System — Bluegrass First Steps

Kentucky delivers First Steps, its federal Part C program, through regional Points of Entry, and Bluegrass.org holds that role for a 17-county area running from Anderson and Boyle to Woodford and Scott, including Fayette County. Referrals can start with a phone call from a parent, doctor, or caregiver, and staff then screen the child and coordinate services — evaluation, therapy, home visits — without requiring a diagnosis up front. The Bluegrass First Steps office sits at 343 Waller Avenue, Suite 201, in Lexington.

• Kentucky Early Intervention System — Bluegrass First Steps
• Referral phone: 859-271-9448

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

School districts and special education

Fayette County Public Schools runs its own Child Find process for identifying students who may need special education, starting when a school's Achievement and Compliance Coach (ACC) schedules a referral meeting after a delay or disability is suspected. That meeting produces an evaluation plan — typically observation, standardized testing, and interviews — which the district has 60 school days to complete. Families of preschool-age children can start with a screening request instead.

• Fayette County Public Schools — preschool screening line 859-422-1990; FCPS is Lexington-Fayette's only public school district

Other places to ask — not a substitute for the district

An evaluation request has to go to the school district itself; only the district can start the legal timeline. These are for asking questions about the process, or for when the district has not responded.

• Kentucky Department of Education — Office of Special Education and Early Learning — the state agency behind the Child Find and evaluation timelines FCPS operates under; the escalation point above the district

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Lexington

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Lexington. That is a gap in our research, not a sign there is nothing here — and it does not stand between you and an evaluation. The school district evaluation above is free, and early intervention under 3 does not need a private diagnosis first.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Kentucky Division of Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DDID) — Bluegrass Access

DDID, the state office inside the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that oversees intellectual and developmental disability supports, contracts with regional providers to run intake locally rather than staffing it directly. For Lexington-Fayette, that's Bluegrass Access at 200 Mechanic Street, reachable at 859-272-7483 for any question or referral touching IDD services. From there, an IDD case manager helps a family apply for the Supports for Community Living (SCL) Waiver or the Michelle P. Waiver — both Medicaid-funded and both an alternative to institutional care, with the SCL waiver adding a residential option.

• Kentucky Division of Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DDID) — Bluegrass Access
• Phone: 859-272-7483

Local organizations that help Lexington families

• The Arc of Central Kentucky — 859-278-2233; runs Child & Adolescent Program Services (CAPS) offering respite and community habilitation for autistic children and teens
• Kentucky Autism Training Center (KATC) — statewide University of Louisville center; its free family guide and evaluation-center list cover the Bluegrass region too

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.

• Fayette County Public Schools works inside the same statewide window every Kentucky district uses: 60 school days from signed consent through eligibility to the ARC meeting that produces the IEP. (source)
• A First Steps referral in Lexington starts a 45-calendar-day clock that must end with a written, signed IFSP, under the program's statewide policy and procedure manual. (source)
• Kentucky's Michelle P Waiver waiting list has stretched to 8 to 10 years statewide, and 2024 reporting put more than 13,000 people with developmental disabilities in that queue. (source)
• Since a 2018 change under House Bill 218, Kentucky's autism insurance mandate no longer sets any dollar limit or age cutoff on ABA — a shift from the earlier cap that applied from age 7 to 21. (source)