Some problems have easy solutions.

In many cases, it’s the same solution: more money. But that simple reality also is why none of the problems are easily solved – there’s never enough to go around.

Consider Wednesday’s in-depth piece from Capitol News Illinois and the Illinois Answers Project detailing the struggles of families seeking services from Early Intervention, a public program for children up to age 3 who doctors identify as having disabilities or experiencing delays in typical development.

Meredith Newman and Madison Hopkins provided must-read coverage for anyone interested in the topic (tinyurl.com/IAPearlyintervention), but the upshot is that there aren’t enough therapists to meet demand, which leaves needs unmet during critical phases.

The problem, as usual, is money. Illinois therapists working in the program earn less than those in other states. They’re independent contractors – no benefits, no pay for traveling to a client’s home or time spent on paperwork – and don’t earn anything if a family cancels a session.

“It’s not like this in other states,” according to the report. “In Indiana, speech language pathologists have an hourly rate of $118, compared to $85 in Illinois. New Jersey reimburses therapists 50% when clients miss appointments. Missouri offers mileage reimbursement and travel incentives.”

Factor in other employment opportunities for these trained professionals, and it’s not surprising to hear that almost 500 Early Intervention therapists withdrew from the program each year from 2018 to 2022. All of this makes it easy to say Illinois should just throw more money at the issue: Higher base pay, better reimbursement policies, maybe some student loan credits or tuition and certification cost reductions, and so forth.

Clearly, money alone doesn’t solve the problem. Needs such as these exist in every corner of Illinois, and it’s difficult to envision a way of guaranteeing qualified therapists in every county. Evidence to that effect is the number of other professions with similar concerns. We have “deserts” all over the state: child care, maternity, emergency rooms, pharmacies, lawyers and more. You can’t just “salary and benefits” your way out of those struggles.

That said … real fixes aren’t possible without extra money, either, otherwise the problems probably wouldn’t persist. And so it’s back to the beginning: absent additional spending, no improvements will be sufficient.

With respect to Early Intervention, Illinois is trying. The budget for Fiscal 2027 includes $15 million more than last year. But advocates called for $40 million. And the state’s consultants said getting our reimbursement rates on par with comparable states takes about $150 million. Annually.

Which of course means the program finds itself in the deep bucket of competing Springfield priorities – one of which is those who want to spend less every year on everything.

“Easy solutions” are usually neither.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.