Rutland County's early-intervention coordinator works out of the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region rather than a school or hospital, which can surprise families used to a single well-known intake number. Community Care Network — the parent organization of Rutland Mental Health Services — is the designated agency families move to for developmental-disability services once a child is older.

Rutland City Public Schools handles evaluation for children of school age, entirely separate from either of those. This page keeps all three straight, with the source for each fact.

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

Early intervention under 3: Children's Integrated Services (CIS) — Rutland County

Vermont organizes Part C early intervention by county, and Rutland County's Children's Integrated Services coordinator is based at the VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region. A parent or provider concerned about a child's development from birth to age 3 can call to begin a screening; from there, families are connected with a home-visiting team drawn from local early-intervention, family support, and health providers, including the Rutland County Parent-Child Center, which also delivers CIS services in this region.

• Children's Integrated Services (CIS) — Rutland County
• Referral phone: 802-855-4523

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

School districts and special education

Rutland City Public Schools is obligated under federal and Vermont Child Find law to locate and evaluate every resident child, birth through 21, suspected of having a disability, including children who are home-schooled or in an independent school within city boundaries. Vermont's Agency of Education is the second contact worth having on file — it sets the statewide special-education rules and parent-rights protections that apply to Rutland the same as anywhere else in the state.

• Rutland City Public Schools — Support Services office at the district's Central Office in the Longfellow Building, downtown Rutland
• Vermont Agency of Education — Special Education — statewide office for special-education policy and procedural safeguards covering every Vermont district

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Rutland

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Rutland. 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 Care Network — Rutland Mental Health Services

Community Care Network, operating as Rutland Mental Health Services and Rutland Community Programs, is the agency Vermont's Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living designates to coordinate developmental-disability services across Rutland County, serving more than 3,500 people a year. Once eligibility is established, Community Care Network becomes the family's ongoing contact for service coordination, including access to Vermont's home- and community-based Medicaid waiver.

• Community Care Network — Rutland Mental Health Services

Local organizations that help Rutland families

• Rutland County Parent-Child Center — community organization delivering early-intervention and family-support programming in Rutland County alongside the CIS team
• Vermont Family Network — Vermont's statewide Parent Training and Information Center, available to Rutland County families navigating IEPs or disability services

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.

• Rutland City Public Schools must complete its evaluation and hold the initial Eligibility Planning Team meeting within 60 calendar days of your written consent. (source)
• Vermont's Children's Integrated Services must finish the initial evaluation, family assessment, and first IFSP meeting within 45 calendar days from your referral. (source)
• Vermont reported zero individuals on the developmental disability waiver waiting list in 2025. (source)