Find your next step in Georgia

Start with the help you need now. You can ask about an evaluation while you check funding requirements.

This guide explains where to apply and what to ask. The responsible program decides eligibility. It is navigation, not medical or legal advice.

Babies Can't Wait before the third birthday

For a child younger than 3 with a possible developmental delay, contact Babies Can't Wait (BCW). Georgia's early intervention program serves eligible infants and toddlers regardless of family income. A diagnosed condition or a developmental assessment can establish eligibility under its rules. A referral starts the process; it does not replace parental consent.

Use the county referral contact linked on the official BCW page. Ask how to request an evaluation and keep the referral date.

The family FAQ says evaluation, assessment and service coordination are free. Other services can use insurance, with permission, and charges based on ability to pay. Inability to pay cannot exclude a child from the program. Ask the coordinator to explain any proposed charge before services start.

Ask the school district about an evaluation

For preschool or school concerns, contact the district's special education or Child Find office. Georgia's Child Find rule includes preschool children ages 3 to 5 and children whose suspected disability affects educational needs even when they pass their classes. For homeschooling, start with the district where the child lives. For a parent-chosen private school, start with the district where that school is located.

Put your evaluation request in writing. Ask the district to record when it receives your signed evaluation consent. Georgia's evaluation rule generally allows 60 calendar days from receipt of consent, with these qualifications:

• Breaks of at least five consecutive school days, including adjoining weekends, can be excluded.
• Summer periods when most teachers are not under contract can be excluded. But consent received at least 30 days before the school year ends still requires completion within 60 calendar days.
• Children turning 3 during summer or another holiday period need an eligibility decision and an individualized education program (IEP), if appropriate, by their third birthday.
• Repeated failure to make the child available, a qualifying district transfer or documented exceptional circumstances can affect the timeline. The transfer exception requires prompt progress and an agreed completion date.

An evaluation determines educational needs and eligibility. It does not automatically create an IEP or establish eligibility for a private-school scholarship. Keep the district's response and ask which rule supports any timeline change. The state's published special education rules include consent and eligibility requirements.

Katie Beckett Medicaid: start with the application team

Georgia's TEFRA/Katie Beckett route can disregard family income for a qualifying child age 18 or younger living at home. The child must meet disability, institutional level-of-care and other program requirements. A diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility.

Call the Centralized Katie Beckett Medicaid Team at 678-248-7449. The official program page lists the application routes, including the team, local Division of Family and Children Services offices and Georgia Gateway. Ask which signed forms and medical records the agency needs. Send records to the agency through its approved channel, never to SpectrumBeacon.

The page says an approved medical level-of-care determination lasts at least two years. That is a medical determination period, not a guarantee of uninterrupted Medicaid eligibility. The member portal launched April 15, 2026; invitations follow entry of an application or renewal. Contact the team if you need to start an application.

NOW and COMP: request an assessment and keep contact details current

The New Options Waiver (NOW) supports eligible people living independently or with family. The Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program (COMP) can provide more intensive support, including residential services.

Georgia's application guide describes qualifying intellectual disability with onset before 18, or a related developmental disability with onset before 22, significant functional limitations and the required institutional level of care. Medicaid eligibility is a separate decision. Apply through the linked IDD Connects route or a regional Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities office.

Pre-eligible applicants may enter a planning list. Priority depends on need, including health, safety and caregiver circumstances; time on the list alone does not set priority. Ask the regional office how to report changes in support needs or contact details.

UNVERIFIED: We have not established a current statewide planning-list total or an individual wait time. The DBHDD reports page includes historical reports. The old January 2024 count is not a current estimate.

Georgia Special Needs Scholarship: check the qualification route

For 2026-27, use the Georgia Department of Education's GSNS page for its award calculator, participating schools and parent inquiry route. The department makes the scholarship determination. Questions go to GSNS@doe.k12.ga.us.

The qualifications document currently linked there is dated October 24, 2024. It requires a prior-year IEP, or a prior-year 504 plan related to a listed condition, plus residence and public-school attendance requirements. Autism appears in the 504 condition list; having a diagnosis alone is insufficient.

Generally, the parent must have lived in Georgia for one calendar year. Prior attendance means enrollment at both the October and March public-school funding counts. The document lists limited military, recent adoption or guardianship from foster care, and previously qualified attendance exceptions. Previously qualifying does not waive all requirements.

The kindergarten route requires IDEA preschool special education or related services in the previous school year, entry into kindergarten, age 5 by September 1 and the residence requirement or its military exception. Ask GSNS about any applicable exception before making enrollment changes.

UNVERIFIED: An individual 2026-27 award amount and the old average award are not established here. Use the current official calculator and ask the department about missing or disputed information.

Georgia Promise Scholarship: check the school zone and semester

The current Promise FAQ states a 2026-27 maximum of $6,500, with up to 5% retained for administration. Applicants need current Georgia public-school enrollment and two consecutive public-school semesters, or rising-kindergarten status, plus a listed attendance zone and one-year parental residence. A specified active-duty military exception applies to residence.

Spring enrollment is limited to household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. Fall income priority matters when applications exceed funding. A student cannot receive Promise together with GSNS or a Student Scholarship Organization scholarship.

The 2026 student calendar lists November 1 through 30, 2026 as the next application window after this September review. Each window applies to the following semester. Confirm your withdrawal date with the program before changing enrollment.

Source conflicts: The FAQ says both to withdraw before completing opt-in and to remain enrolled through the current semester after opting in. These instructions conflict. The linked family handbook has different version labels and older award wording. Its withdrawal summary also differs from the FAQ. Confirm enrollment timing with the Georgia Education Savings Authority before acting: 470-470-7057 or help@mygeorgiapromise.org.

Ask about your own insurance plan

Ask your insurer for the plan's written autism benefits, authorization requirements and appeal instructions. The Georgia insurance commissioner's health page provides consumer assistance and a complaint route. Consumer Services lists 404-656-2070 and 800-656-2298.

UNVERIFIED: This review does not establish the current Ava's Law benefit limit or whether a particular plan falls within it. We removed the old blanket dollar claim. Ask Consumer Services which office regulates your plan before relying on a state insurance mandate.