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How to hire an early intervention specialist

Early intervention specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring early intervention specialists in the United States:

  • HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
  • It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
  • The median cost to hire an early intervention specialist is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per early intervention specialist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • There are currently 3,741 early intervention specialists in the US and 22,033 job openings.
  • Chino, CA, has the highest demand for early intervention specialists, with 4 job openings.
  • New York, NY has the highest concentration of early intervention specialists.

How to hire an early intervention specialist, step by step

To hire an early intervention specialist, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire an early intervention specialist, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step early intervention specialist hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write an early intervention specialist job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new early intervention specialist
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an early intervention specialist do?

Early intervention specialists are responsible for determining and helping youth who are manifesting deficiencies in the fundamental areas of learning. They are trained teachers who work with youngsters between birth and age four to direct developmental impediments. Also, they have an essential role in bridging children and their families with other social service workers. Their jobs include carefully evaluating the child, establishing developmental goals, creating medication plans, recommending learning activities, and keeping track of the child's progress.

Learn more about the specifics of what an early intervention specialist does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the early intervention specialist you need to hire. Certain early intervention specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    An early intervention specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, early intervention specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    The following list breaks down different types of early intervention specialists and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of Early Intervention SpecialistDescriptionHourly rate
    Early Intervention SpecialistSocial workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.$14-33
    CounselorOften, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being... Show more$9-32
    Program CounselorA Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum... Show more$15-27
    Show more

  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Early Intervention
    • Developmental Disabilities
    • Applied Behavior Analysis
    • Child Development
    • Social Development
    • Emotional Development
    • Autism
    • Behavior Analysis
    • ABA
    • Developmental Delays
    • IFSP
    • Intervention Services
    • Service Coordination
    • Mental Health
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Experience training new staff on basic ABA principles and new cases.
    • Strive to reduce symptoms of specify developmental disorder, usually an autism spectrum disorder.
    • Train paraprofessionals to work with children on the autism spectrum and implement picture schedules for optimal learning.
    • Instruct families on how to use adaptive equipment or help them use the tool in their environment.
    • Coordinate services for child base on recommendations specific educational needs, including specialize adaptive equipment and individual therapies.
    • Coordinate with local special education preschool child find teams evaluations and IEP meetings.
    More early intervention specialist duties

  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your early intervention specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An early intervention specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

    For example, the average salary for an early intervention specialist in Indiana may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level early intervention specialist usually earns less than a senior-level early intervention specialist. Additionally, an early intervention specialist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

    Average early intervention specialist salary

    $46,103yearly

    $22.16 hourly rate
    Entry-level early intervention specialist salary
    $30,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 15, 2025

    Average early intervention specialist salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Alaska$62,259$30
    2Virginia$54,131$26
    3North Dakota$52,174$25
    4New York$51,738$25
    5North Carolina$51,143$25
    6California$49,083$24
    7Colorado$48,056$23
    8New Mexico$47,417$23
    9Massachusetts$45,670$22
    10Utah$44,445$21
    11South Carolina$43,924$21
    12Minnesota$42,311$20
    13Texas$41,287$20
    14Michigan$39,384$19

    Average early intervention specialist salary by company

  4. Writing an early intervention specialist job description

    A good early intervention specialist job description should include a few things:

    • Summary of the role
    • List of responsibilities
    • Required skills and experience

    Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an early intervention specialist job description:

    Early intervention specialist job description example

    66479BRJob Posting Title:Early Intervention Specialist IDepartment:Ambulatory Services- Early InterventionAutoReqId:66479BRStatus:Full-TimeStandard Hours per Week:40 Job Posting Category:ClinicalJob Posting Description: This Early Intervention Specialist I will be responsible for:

    + Participating in intake, assessment and eligibility procedures in manner appropriate to family needs and in compliance with DPH (Department of Public Health) standards.

    + Collaborating with families and team, develops working treatment plans that reflect shared concerns and priorities. Serves as primary therapist to eligible children and their families, providing home and center based services, as determined by IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan).

    + Providing counseling to parents and their families, helping parents better care for their children physically and emotionally.

    + Assisting parents in developing positive interpersonal relationships. Leads or assists parent/infant, toddler, or parent groups as determined by family/program needs.

    + Initiating contact and advocate for families with other relevant service providers to best serve the family through effective community networking.

    + Assisting families in the transition of children upon discharge from Early Intervention. Educates the community regarding the purpose, function, limits and philosophy of EI.

    + Submitting case recording, documentation and other paperwork in accordance with guidelines. Meets with individual supervisor on a regularly scheduled basis.
    + Attending appropriate training sessions, team meetings, staff and parent meetings.

    In order to qualify, you must have:

    + A minimum of 300 hours of practicum or work experience with young children (under the age of 5) is required

    + A Bachelors Degree in Early childhood development/education, special education, or a minimum of four approved 3-credit courses that focus on infants, toddlers and/or families

    + Bi-lingual Spanish preferred

    Boston Children's Hospital offers competitive compensation and unmatched benefits, including a rotating days/evenings and week-end schedule, affordable health, vision and dental insurance, generous levels of time off, 403(b) Retirement Savings plan, Pension, Tuition Reimbursement, cell phone plan discounts and discounted rates on T-passes (50% off). Discover your best.

    Office/Site Location:Jamaica PlainRegular, Temporary, Per Diem:Regular

  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find early intervention specialists for your business:

    • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
    • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
    • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your early intervention specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit early intervention specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.

  6. Interview candidates

    Recruiting early intervention specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new early intervention specialist

    Once you've found the early intervention specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire an early intervention specialist?

Before you start to hire early intervention specialists, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire early intervention specialists pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $46,103 per year for an early intervention specialist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for early intervention specialists in the US typically range between $14 and $33 an hour.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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