Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS): free early intervention, birth to three

What TEIS actually is

TEIS is a state program, run through the Department of Disability and Aging, that supports infants and young children with developmental delays or disabilities — from birth until the third birthday.

Three things matter most about it:

• It’s free. There is no cost to families for TEIS services. Not a sliding scale, not a copay — no cost.
• It’s voluntary. You choose whether to refer, whether to evaluate, whether to accept services, and which ones. Saying no to a piece of it doesn’t end the rest.
• It’s not a label. A referral isn’t a diagnosis and it isn’t a report on your parenting. It’s a request to have someone qualified take a look.

How a child qualifies

There are three doors in, and you don’t have to know which one your child fits through — TEIS sorts that out:

• A qualifying diagnosis. Certain diagnosed conditions make a child eligible on their own.
• Prematurity. Tennessee has prematurity guidelines that can establish eligibility for babies born early.
• An evaluation showing delay. A child qualifies with a 25% delay in two developmental areas, or a 40% delay in one area.

That last one is the door most families come through, and the evaluation itself is part of the free program. Current details live on the state’s TEIS eligibility page (opens in a new tab).

How to refer your own child

Parents are allowed to make the referral themselves. You do not need a pediatrician to agree with you first, and you do not need to wait for a well-child visit six weeks out.

1. Pick whichever way is easiest today

   Call (800) 852-7157, use the online referral form on the TEIS contact page (opens in a new tab), submit a referral through the MyTN app, or email DD.TEIS_Referrals@tn.gov. All four go to the same place.

2. Describe what you notice, not what you suspect

   “She’s eighteen months and has no words yet.” “He isn’t walking.” “Feeding takes an hour and he gags on textures.” That is exactly the right level of detail. You are not required to name a condition, and guessing wrong doesn’t disqualify anyone.

3. Say yes to the evaluation

   After the referral, TEIS follows up to gather information and arrange a developmental evaluation at no cost to you. Even if your child ends up not qualifying, you walk away with a clearer picture than you had — write down the results and keep them in your folder.

4. If your child qualifies, you write a plan together

   Eligible children get an IFSP — an Individualized Family Service Plan. You’re a full member of the team that writes it, and it’s built around your family’s routines, not a clinic’s schedule.

5. If your child doesn’t qualify, ask two questions

   “What specifically should I watch for?” and “When should I call you back?” Development isn’t a one-time measurement. A “not yet” at fourteen months is not a “no” at twenty-two months — you can refer again.

What services actually look like

Early intervention doesn’t usually mean dropping your baby at a clinic. Services are delivered in natural environments — your living room, grandma’s house, the childcare room your child already goes to — because the skills you’re building live in real days, not therapy rooms.

Your IFSP names what your family wants to work on, which services support it, and who provides them. Most families describe it as a therapist on the floor with them: watching a real snack time or a real bedtime, then handing you strategies you’ll use two hundred more times that week. A service coordinator stays with you through the whole thing, and again — at no cost to your family.

Do this: at your first IFSP meeting, ask who your service coordinator is and get their direct number in your phone. That one contact answers most of the questions that come later.

Turning three: what happens next

TEIS itself is a birth-to-three program under IDEA Part C. As your child approaches three, the standard path is a transition to your school district, which runs preschool special education under IDEA Part B. The district makes its own eligibility decision under different criteria, so being on an IFSP doesn’t automatically produce an IEP — but the district is where that determination now happens.

Do this: ask your service coordinator when transition planning begins and put that date on your calendar yourself. Families who go into that stretch knowing the schedule almost always come out of it with fewer gaps in services.

The TEIS Extended Option — the newer choice

Finding this after your child turned three?

Then TEIS isn’t your door — a child referred after the third birthday goes straight to the school district. That’s not a penalty and you haven’t missed a window that closes forever; it’s just a different agency for a different age. Your next step is to request an evaluation from your district in writing, and our guide to IEPs, 504s, and how to get one has the exact letter to send and the timelines the district has to meet.

The official links