How to Request ECI (Easterseals) Program for a Free of Cost

The chart the cost based on ability to pay. If you can pay the $20 a month, then you should. You can appeal any decision, but if you had to pay for services through a Dr. office, it would be significantly higher. Be glad it is only $20.

The ECI program bases their fees on several things, including the family income. You may ask if the $20 per month is an offer or a set price for you and your daughter. Otherwise, I would consider $20/month quite cheap considering the alternatives.

My experiences with ECI have been pretty short. You may actually be looking at 3 months of speech therapy. That is another question to ask. If the plan they came up with calls for 12 or more months of therapy, you need to ask if you can set up just 3 months, or go month by month.

Good luck!

It never hurts to ask. Maybe if you explain your missionary status to the ECI caseworker, it might help.

You say you are on deputation. That's a traveling missionary, correct? This is a new term for me so I looked it up. If my understanding of deputation is correct, you have my admiration. That has to be the most difficult thing a family as a whole can do! Most of the different church pages I found pointed out that you are to be as frugal as possible and still look your best at ALL times.

I think you meant to say you were "hoping" to receive the services for free instead of "wanting it for free". You just meant that you need to cut corners as much as you can since being a deputy missionary means living as well within your budget as possible to set the example of being good stewards of what God gives us.

We used ECI (Brighton is who ECI set us up with) for our son when he was 2 1/2 years old. They use a sliding scale. They take how many people (parents and dependants) are in your family. Then they ask for verification of how much income the supporting adults bring in. That determines how much you pay. If you have insurance, they can put it through your insurance and get paid that way. Families with children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, or whose income is below 250% (or 250 times) of the Federal Poverty Level, do not pay for any ECI services. Other families pay a cost share determined by a sliding fee scale based on family size and net income after allowable deductions (the amount you actually take home in your paycheck after taxes and such are taken out).

If you were to go through your insurance (if you have it, not sure since you're missionaries) then you would be paying a lot more depending on your plan. Therapists are not cheap. The cost is horrible without insurance.

If you were told your fee is $20 then that means you are in one of several categories: family of 3 making $45,776 – $64,085, family of 4 making $55,126 – $77,175, family of 5 making $ 64,476 – $90,265, etc. If that is the case, then if you can afford the $20 pay it. God wants us to be frugal, yes, but he doesn't want us to beg for things we are not entitled to.

Here is the web page for the Family Share Cost: http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/FCSFeeScale.pdf.

Once your daughter turns 3 then she can get speech therapy through your local school district. My son went through ECI for about 6 months until he turned 3 years old and then he went through the elementary school for our neighborhood. He is now 7 and will be starting 2nd grade in the fall. He has been using the speech therapy services at the same elementary and has improved so much since then. It is well worth the $20 a month.

Alot of people want something for nothing!!

The Texas ECI program is based on a sliding scale. We were offered it on our income for $20 a month. If your income is at the point where they would charge you $20 a month, you can (or should) be able to afford the $20. We have been receiving their services and they have been absolutely wonderful. They come to you. You would spend that much in gas driving back and forth to meet with them.

There is no law against asking for free services. They might say 'no,' but at least you'll have an answer.

In Houston it's free up to the age of 3 years.

They figure out what you can pay by your income, I think they call it a sliding scale. You can ask them about why it isn't free and they should be able to go over itin detail. But, they do a scale with your current income to figure out how much, if any, you pay them.

Easter Seals goes by your total income. If your income is high they will charge you. I do not their income scale but give them a call and they can answer your question.

Good luck,
Elisa M

You are getting good advice on local schools, Easter Seal and Keep Pace programs. I wanted to suggest to the other moms that we don't make this an immigration debate. Deputation works for missionaries and others here on short term status. Lets think about the child and their needs ...