Chesapeake's early intervention door is Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare's Infant Intervention program, the city's local lead agency inside ITCVA, Virginia's statewide Part C system administered by DBHDS.

Once a child turns three, Chesapeake Public Schools takes over evaluation under Child Find, and PEATC — Virginia's Parent Training and Information Center — gives families a second, independent place to learn how that process works.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Virginia page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Chesapeake (independent city).

Early intervention under 3: Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia (ITCVA) — Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare

Chesapeake's Part C lead agency is Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare, which runs Infant Intervention for children from birth to three suspected of a developmental delay. A phone call is enough to begin — no diagnosis, doctor's referral, or proof of income is required — and staff schedule an evaluation to determine eligibility. If you're not sure your number is current, Virginia's ITCVA Central Directory at 800-234-1448 will redirect you.

• Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia (ITCVA) — Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare
• Referral phone: 757-547-8929

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

School districts and special education

Chesapeake Public Schools is Chesapeake's only division, so its Office of Special Education carries the full Child Find duty for children from birth through 21 who live in the city. PEATC is a second, statewide resource that helps families understand that process from outside the school system, at no cost.

• Chesapeake Public Schools — Office of Special Education 757-547-0153, also called the Department of Exceptional Learning.

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.

• PEATC — Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center — not a second school division — Virginia's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, free to any family navigating special education statewide.

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Chesapeake

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Chesapeake. 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: Virginia DBHDS — Developmental Disability (DD) Waivers, via the local Community Services Board

DBHDS runs Virginia's DD Medicaid waivers jointly with the Department of Medical Assistance Services, and Chesapeake families start at their Community Services Board, which screens for eligibility and helps complete the waiver Choice form. In FY2025 the General Assembly funded 1,720 new waiver slots statewide, distributed on a quarterly schedule rather than all at once — landing on the waiting list doesn't guarantee an immediate slot.

• Virginia DBHDS — Developmental Disability (DD) Waivers, via the local Community Services Board

Local organizations that help Chesapeake families

• Autism Society — Tidewater Virginia — serves Chesapeake as part of its Hampton Roads coverage area
• The Arc of Virginia — statewide advocacy group that can connect Chesapeake families to nearby chapter supports

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.

• Chesapeake Public Schools has 65 business days from the day it receives a referral to determine eligibility — Virginia counts in business days rather than the calendar or school days other states use, which stretches the real-world window. (source)
• Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare works to the plain federal Part C deadline: evaluation, family assessment and the first IFSP meeting for an Infant Intervention referral are due within 45 days, with no added state time. (source)
• A November 2025 report to the General Assembly put Virginia's single statewide DD waiver waiting list at 14,258 people, with DBHDS assigning new slots by urgency of need rather than the order applications arrived. (source)