Nutrition Practice in the Early Intervention System: Illinois

摘要

Provision of nutrition therapy for children with special needs is a necessity to ensure that they grow and develop to the best of their ability. Regulations exist at the federal and state level for the Early Intervention (EI) program, guiding professionals who can provide nutrition to eligible children. Specifics detailing the scope of a dietitian’s practice are available through the American Dietetic Association and are primary to effective and ethical care. Unfortunately, this detail is not found at the state level in the Illinois EI system, allowing for varying interpretations by all who participate or work within the program. Educating those persons in Illinois about the value of services performed by dietitians is imperative, given that potential changes and recommendations by the state are already being imposed. Ramifications exist for children who receive nutrition services in EI, when regulations are created or modified without input of registered dietitians. Ensuring that nutrition services in the EI system continue to be available to families, and performed by qualified providers, is essential. The purpose of this article is to highlight nutrition services in the state of Illinois and to demonstrate the vital role of registered dietitians in the provision of optimal nutrition care for children with special health care needs, in an effort to limit future changes that might be detrimental to the nutrition care of the children in any state who participate in the EI system.