Most of Sterling Heights falls inside Utica Community Schools, one of Michigan's larger districts, which runs its own Special Services department with a direct referral line for families who suspect a disability. Macomb Intermediate School District backs that up with a countywide Child Find system and handles evaluations for children under three in coordination with Early On.

For a Medicaid-funded ABA benefit, the entry point is Macomb County Community Mental Health, the county's public behavioral health authority. This page collects the phone numbers each of these offices has published, plus statewide resources for families who need broader navigation help.

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

Early intervention under 3: Early On Michigan

Michigan runs a single early-intervention program statewide, Early On, for children from birth to age three, and it operates identically in Sterling Heights: anyone close to the child — a parent, a relative, a pediatrician — can start a referral by phone or online, and a diagnosis is not a prerequisite. Once a referral is filed, the family must receive written notice of their procedural rights within 10 calendar days, and the local program has 45 calendar days to complete the evaluation and convene the first Individualized Family Service Plan meeting. A child qualifies with a documented 20 percent developmental delay or a diagnosed condition expected to cause one. In Macomb County, the Macomb ISD Infant Preschool Program (MIPP) delivers Early On locally and later manages the transition into preschool special education. Evaluation is free regardless of 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

For children age three and older, Utica Community Schools handles Child Find for most Sterling Heights addresses through its Student Support & Special Services department, which conducts free evaluations for students ages 0 to 26 and lists Autism Spectrum Disorder among the conditions it assesses. Macomb ISD, the county's intermediate school district, backstops every local district with its own Child Find office and directly runs free evaluations — audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology, and speech — for children not yet in kindergarten.

• Utica Community Schools — Student Support & Special Services — referrals to (586) 797-1020 or ucsspecialservices@uticak12.org; service center at 11303 Greendale, Sterling Heights, MI 48312 (586-797-1000)
• Macomb Intermediate School District (Macomb ISD) — Child Find — countywide Child Find for birth through age 25; Infant Preschool Program appointments 586-228-3321

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Sterling Heights

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Sterling Heights. 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: Macomb County Community Mental Health (MCCMH)

Michigan does not operate a separate statewide disability-waiver agency; instead each county's Community Mental Health Services Program administers the Medicaid autism benefit under a regional Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan. Macomb County's program, MCCMH, is based in Clinton Township and serves Sterling Heights along with the rest of the county. A family calls MCCMH's Customer Service line, which registers the child, verifies Medicaid eligibility, and schedules a clinical phone screening for autism spectrum disorder. A child who screens positive moves to an intake appointment with one of MCCMH's three contracted Autism Case Management Programs — Easterseals MORC, Specialized Children & Family Services, or Hope Network — where the family and clinician build a Person-Centered Plan and Individualized Plan of Service together. MCCMH also handles broader intellectual and developmental disability supports, including Michigan's Habilitation Supports Waiver for beneficiaries who need an institutional level of care.

• Macomb County Community Mental Health (MCCMH)
• Phone: 855-99-MCCMH (855-996-2264)

Local organizations that help Sterling Heights 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 special education parent training center, birth through age 26 (800-552-4821)
• The Arc Michigan — statewide advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including guardianship and benefits guidance
• Michigan 211 — free 24/7 referral line for 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) allows insurers to cap the annual dollar benefit by the covered child's age — $50,000 through age 6, falling to $30,000 by ages 13 through 18 — rather than requiring an unlimited yearly benefit. (source)
• Utica Community Schools' own special-services page states that early services for children ages 0 to 3 are delivered in collaboration with Macomb ISD through the Child Find process, and directs families to call the Macomb ISD Infant Preschool Program rather than the district itself for that age group. (source)
• Once Utica Community Schools or Macomb ISD has signed consent in hand, Michigan's 30-school-day clock covers both finishing the evaluation and holding the initial IEP Team meeting — a single combined window, not two separate ones. (source)
• A diagnosed child under 21 in Sterling Heights can generally be authorized under Michigan's Medicaid Autism Benefit for 16 to 25 ABA hours weekly if the plan is comprehensive, or 5 to 15 hours if it is focused. (source)