First Steps

First Steps offers coordinated services and assistance to young children with special needs and their families. First Steps is designed for children, birth to age 3, who have delayed development or diagnosed conditions that are associated with developmental disabilities. First Steps is a collaborative effort of four state agencies - the Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education, Health, Mental Health, and Social Services. First Steps is supported by federal and state funds from four agencies and by other local and private agencies throughout Missouri.

To be eligible for this program, children from birth to 3 must be diagnosed as having at least a 50 percent delay in one or more areas of development: cognitive, communication, adaptive, physical (including vision and hearing), and social/emotional; or diagnosed as having a designated physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay.

For additional information, please click here.

A landmark paper entitled, "Recognition and Response: An Early Intervening System for Young Children At Risk for Learning Disabilities," was released recently. The paper was followed by a joint phone briefing in which experts explained the report and its implications. To download the report in PDF format or to download this 35-minute audio briefing, please click here.