Mount Vernon families share Westchester County's Early Intervention referral line and OPWDD access point with the rest of the county, while school evaluation runs through the Mount Vernon City School District specifically.

This page lists the phone numbers, URLs, and publicly documented details behind each of those, drawn from official state, county, and district sources.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the New York page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Mount Vernon (Westchester County).

Early intervention under 3: New York State Early Intervention Program (EIP) — Westchester County

Westchester County's Department of Health runs Early Intervention for every city and town within it, including Mount Vernon. Any parent, doctor, or child care provider can call to start a referral, and a diagnosis is not required — a concern about how a child under 3 is developing is enough. State regulation (10 NYCRR §69-4.11) requires the family service plan to be finished within 45 days of referral, with services beginning within 30 days of a parent's signature, all free of charge.

• New York State Early Intervention Program (EIP) — Westchester County
• Referral phone: 914-813-5094

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

School districts and special education

New York districts must identify and evaluate children with a suspected disability from birth through 21 at no cost, under the state's Child Find duty. Start with a written request to your child's school; under 8 NYCRR §200.4, the district has 60 calendar days from your written consent to complete the initial evaluation.

• Mount Vernon City School District — 914-665-5356, 165 North Columbus Avenue; families' first point of contact is usually their child's case manager
• White Plains City School District — Pupil Services 914-422-2034, a neighboring Westchester district

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Mount Vernon

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.

• Boston Children's Health Physicians — Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics (Hawthorne) — diagnosis and care for autism, ADHD, developmental delay, and learning problems, with parent counseling and coordination with speech, OT, and PT specialists; new-patient intake starts with a virtual visit · 914-304-5250

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: NYS OPWDD — Lower Hudson Valley region

OPWDD's Lower Hudson Valley office, headquartered in Tarrytown, covers Westchester County along with Orange, Rockland, and Sullivan counties. Reach it through the statewide Infoline (866-946-9733), which will transfer you to your regional Front Door, or call the Lower Hudson Valley office directly. Families then go through eligibility determination, a needs evaluation, and Care Manager-led service planning — including Medicaid's Home and Community Based Services Waiver for those who apply.

• NYS OPWDD — Lower Hudson Valley region
• Phone: 845-947-6100 (Lower Hudson Valley region) · 866-946-9733 (statewide Infoline)

Local organizations that help Mount Vernon families

• The Arc Westchester — 914-949-9300 (24-hour crisis line 914-949-8200); countywide services including early intervention support and family resources
• Autism Society Greater Hudson Region — 1-833-692-7447; covers 21 counties including Westchester
• Westchester Independent Living Center — Parent Training and Information — 845-228-7457; federally funded parent training and information center for Westchester families
• Strides ABA — New Rochelle — 732-353-1414; ABA provider whose service area explicitly includes Mount Vernon
• Special Olympics New York — Hudson Valley Region — 845-765-2497; covers Westchester and the surrounding Hudson Valley counties
• United Way Westchester & Putnam 211 Helpline — dial 211; free 24/7 referral line

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.

• Under 8 NYCRR §200.4, a Mount Vernon CSE's job isn't done at eligibility — the district has 60 school days from consent to get the recommended services running, or 30 school days if the recommendation sends a child to an approved private school. (source)
• There's no age or dollar cap on New York's autism insurance mandate, but families should know it caps ABA itself at 680 hours of coverage per child annually. (source)