SoonerStart funding, eligibility discussed by Oklahoma Disability Caucus

OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Disability Caucus on Monday heard about the history of a program for families of infants and toddlers with developmental delays, and discussed its cost and future funding.

In accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, SoonerStart provides support and resources to families by assisting efforts to enhance infants or toddler’s learning and development through every-day opportunities.

Funding for SoonerStart comes through the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The Oklahoma State Department of Health provides the services.

State Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-Oklahoma City, said eligibility requirements are “extreme.” Her youngest son was born with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She said it was an “uphill run,” but her son got into the program.

Hefner said SoonerStart should have better eligibility to serve families where they are.

According to the OSDH website, eligibility for the no-cost program requires that a child exhibits a delay in their developmental age compared to their chronological age of 50%, or two standard deviations below the mean in cognitive, physical, communication, social, emotional or adaptive development areas.

A child could qualify if they exhibit a delay in their development age compared to their chronological age of 25%, or score one and one-half standard deviations below the mean in two or more of the above areas.

Additionally, a child would be eligible for SoonerStart if they have a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has been identified as having a high probability for a developmental delay.

According to a presentation by Oklahoma State Department of Education Program Director Mark Sharp, who has been working with SoonerStart since 1993, there are 10,261 enrolled annually, but some children may not have been eligible or couldn’t be contacted from the referral.

Hefner said she learned about the program during a hospital visit.

“I was given a pamphlet about SoonerStart and I was already a mother of two kids, and they said, ‘here you need this program,’ and I was like, ‘I'm already a parent. What are you going to teach me?’ But what I found out, after going home from the hospital, was that I needed a lot of help,” Hefner said.

The program spends about $3,500 per child. SoonerStart staff includes 75 resource coordinators and program managers from OSDE, and 164 service providers and lead clinicians from OSDH.

Sharp said the program’s revolving fund has decreased considerably in recent years. According to SoonerStart’s FY 2025 budget, the state line was $16.2 million. The program also received $6.56 million in funding through IDEA Part C and an estimated $1.5 from Medicaid.

Next year, SoonerStart will request $19.68 million from the legislature. That’s a $3.46 million increase from FY 2025.

Sharp said the increase will provide $750,000 for salary adjustments to help with recruitment and retention of staff. More than $2.7 million will fill the 2025 budget deficit.

Hefner spoke about the role the program can play in the workforce with childcare issues. She said it’s important for SoonerStart to assist childcare workers that work with children that need specialized attention or care. She said children with developmental delays shouldn't be kept out of the childcare conversation.

Christi Landis, development specialist with SoonerStart, said if a child in the program is in childcare, the parent will reach out to the worker to get permission for coordination.

“We also have had some really great feedback from some child care workers because they are working with them and they're giving them techniques and different modalities to try, and it's not only impacting that specific child in the classroom, it's impacting all of those kids,” Landis said.

Hefner said SoonerStart is underused, and more funding could help address not only the widespread need for specialized care, but also the workforce component.

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