Lansing families evaluating a possible disability generally work with two offices: the Lansing School District's own Special Education department for students living in the district, and Ingham Intermediate School District (Ingham ISD), which sets policy and offers direct services across every district in the county, including East Lansing, Holt, and Waverly.

For Medicaid-funded therapy, the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties — known locally as CMHA-CEI — is the region's public behavioral health authority and the door to the state's ABA benefit. This page lists each office's published contact information, plus statewide organizations that can help families sort out where to start.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Michigan page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Lansing (Ingham County).

Early intervention under 3: Early On Michigan

Early On is Michigan's one statewide early-intervention program for children from birth through age two, and it works the same way for Lansing families as anywhere else in the state: a referral by phone or online from a parent, relative, or physician, with no diagnosis required in advance. State rule requires written notice of the family's procedural rights within 10 calendar days of a referral, and the local program has 45 calendar days to finish the evaluation and hold the first Individualized Family Service Plan meeting. A child qualifies through a documented 20 percent delay in a developmental area or a diagnosed condition likely to cause one. Ingham ISD coordinates Early On locally for Ingham County and later manages the handoff into preschool special education at age three. The evaluation is free regardless of family income.

• Early On Michigan
• Referral phone: 1-800-327-5966 (1-800-EARLY-ON)

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

School districts and special education

Lansing School District's Special Education department covers every building and grade level in the district and states its mandate runs from birth through age 26, with home-based, K-12, and adult-transition programs. Ingham ISD, the county's intermediate school district, sets special-education policy for every local district — including Lansing, East Lansing, Holt, Mason, Okemos, and Waverly — and directly publishes its own Child Find process alongside its member districts.

• Lansing School District — Special Education — 517-755-4000; service center at 519 W. Kalamazoo St, Lansing, MI 48933; serves students birth through age 26
• Ingham Intermediate School District (Ingham ISD) — Special Education Services — Student Support Services 517.244.1298; district office 517.676.1051; sets special-education policy for all 12 Ingham County school districts

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Lansing

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Lansing. 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: Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties (CMHA-CEI)

Michigan does not run a separate statewide disability-waiver agency; instead the Medicaid autism benefit flows through each region's Community Mental Health Services Program, operating under a regional Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan. For the Lansing area, that program is CMHA-CEI, which sits within Mid-State Health Network, the PIHP covering a large swath of mid-Michigan. A family calls CMHA-CEI's Customer Service line to begin, which checks Medicaid eligibility and arranges an autism screening; children who screen positive move to CMHA-CEI's Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled unit, which the agency describes as serving roughly 1,400 children and adults across Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties each year through clinical, therapy, and support-coordination staff. CMHA-CEI also coordinates broader intellectual and developmental disability supports, including Michigan's Habilitation Supports Waiver.

• Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties (CMHA-CEI)
• Phone: 888-800-1559 (toll-free) · 517-346-8318 (local)

Local organizations that help Lansing families

• Autism Alliance of Michigan — MiNavigator — free statewide navigation line for diagnosis, school, and funding questions (877-463-2266)
• Michigan Alliance for Families — federally funded parent training and information center for special education rights, birth through age 26 (800-552-4821)
• The Arc Michigan — statewide advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, based near the capitol in Lansing's broader network of state-facing organizations
• Michigan 211 — free 24/7 referral line covering food, housing, and family-crisis support — dial 211 or 844-875-9211

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.

• Michigan's autism insurance mandate (MCL 500.3406s) permits insurers to cap the annual benefit by the covered child's age — $50,000 through age 6, $40,000 for ages 7 to 12, and $30,000 for ages 13 to 18 — rather than guaranteeing an unlimited yearly amount. (source)
• Mid-State Health Network's own written policy states that Michigan Medicaid's behavioral health treatment (BHT/ABA) benefit follows a 'no wrong door' rule: a family that contacts the regional PIHP or their local CMHSP directly, without a referral from a doctor, can still have the eligibility process started while a medical referral is separately arranged. (source)
• Once Lansing School District or Ingham ISD has signed parental consent, Michigan rule allows just 30 school days to complete both the evaluation and the initial IEP Team meeting. (source)
• A Lansing-area child diagnosed with autism and under 21 can typically be authorized under Michigan's Medicaid Autism Benefit for 16 to 25 ABA hours weekly on a comprehensive plan, or 5 to 15 hours on a focused one. (source)