Raleigh is the seat of Wake County and North Carolina's capital, and the systems a Raleigh family works through follow the same statewide structure used across North Carolina: a county-based agency for early intervention before age 3, a school district Child Find duty from 3 onward, and a regional public authority that manages Medicaid behavioral health and the state's long-waitlisted autism waiver.

This page lists Wake County's specific contacts inside that structure — who to call for early intervention, which districts serve the Raleigh-Cary area, where to find a diagnostic evaluation, and how the region's Medicaid system works — sourced directly to each agency's own page.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the North Carolina page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Raleigh metro (Wake County).

Early intervention under 3: North Carolina Infant-Toddler Program (NC ITP), delivered locally by the Raleigh CDSA

Early intervention in North Carolina runs through the NC Infant-Toddler Program, carried out locally by 16 regional Children's Developmental Services Agencies. Wake County's is the Raleigh CDSA. Referrals can come from a parent, doctor, allied health professional, or educator, by phone, fax, letter, in person, or with the state's NC ITP Referral form — a diagnosis is not needed to start. After referral, CDSA staff collect developmental and health history and complete the assessments needed to determine whether a child under 3 is eligible. Screening, evaluation, and service coordination cost families nothing, whatever their income or insurance status.

• North Carolina Infant-Toddler Program (NC ITP), delivered locally by the Raleigh CDSA
• Referral phone: 919-664-1800 (Raleigh CDSA)

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

School districts and special education

Child Find — the legal duty to locate and evaluate children from birth through 21 who may have a disability — is coordinated statewide by the NC Department of Public Instruction's Exceptional Children Division, but families deal directly with their own district. Wake County Public School System is by far the largest district around Raleigh; a written request to your child's school starts the evaluation process. The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area, as defined by the Census Bureau, also includes Franklin County, whose own district runs a separate Child Find process for families outside Wake's boundary.

• Wake County Public School System — Family and Community Engagement office 919-431-7334 (Spanish line 919-431-7143); publishes separate guides for eligibility meetings, IEP meetings, and re-evaluation
• Franklin County Schools — covers the northeastern edge of the Raleigh metro; district office 919-496-2600

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Raleigh

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.

• UNC TEACCH Autism Program — Raleigh Center — diagnostic evaluation, intervention and therapy services, education, and consultation for individuals on the autism spectrum, part of UNC's statewide TEACCH network; the center references a professional referral form on its site, so call ahead to ask whether a family can self-refer · 919-445-5800

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Alliance Health (Wake County's LME/MCO)

Medicaid-funded mental health, substance use, and intellectual/developmental disability services in North Carolina flow through regional public managed-care organizations known as LME/MCOs. Wake County's is Alliance Health, which also handles enrollment for the NC Innovations Waiver — the state's home- and community-based Medicaid waiver for autism and other I/DD — through a Tailored Plan, currently the only NC Medicaid plan type that opens the door to waiver services. Because there are far more eligible people than available slots, applicants join a Registry of Unmet Needs instead of receiving services right away; a bill filed in the state Senate in 2025 put the statewide total at about 19,000 people waiting. Families can register through Alliance Health before a diagnosis is finalized, and can ask separately about NC Medicaid's 1915(i) option for interim, similar services that don't cost a family its place on the registry.

• Alliance Health (Wake County's LME/MCO)
• Phone: 1-800-510-9132 (Alliance Health member and recipient services)

Local organizations that help Raleigh families

• Exceptional Children's Assistance Center (ECAC) — North Carolina's parent training and information center; free, statewide help navigating special education and disability systems for families of children birth through 26 (704-892-1321, helpline 1-800-962-6817)
• The Arc of North Carolina — Triangle Region — based in Raleigh, serving Wake, Durham, Orange, and Moore counties; housing, care management, advocacy, and self-directed-services support (919-782-4632)
• Miracle League of the Triangle — inclusive baseball for players 5 and older with a diagnosed disability or an IEP/504 plan, with a dedicated field near Raleigh's Carrington area; spring and fall seasons (919-238-0333)

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.

• A 2025 North Carolina Senate bill (S246) reported approximately 19,000 people statewide on the NC Innovations Waiver waiting list, noting the list had roughly doubled over the prior decade while only about 2,000 new slots were added in that time. (source)
• Wake County Public School System has to move from a Raleigh family’s written referral to a completed evaluation, eligibility decision, and IEP within 90 calendar days — a North Carolina deadline that doesn’t pause for school breaks. (source)
• The Raleigh CDSA follows the same federal Part C clock as every North Carolina CDSA: developmental assessment and the first IFSP meeting finished within 45 days of a referral reaching the agency. (source)
• Families on the NC Innovations Waiver’s statewide registry have reported waits stretching past a decade, since North Carolina has added new funded slots far more slowly than new names have joined the list. (source)