In early 2023, Mississippi legislators passed a law that created an Early Intervention Task Force to study Part C services of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in Mississippi. Part C covers early intervention services for children from birth until their third birthday.
The Mississippi State Department of Health delivers early intervention services through its First Steps Program. If your child had delays or challenges when they were very young and a therapist worked with them in your home or at a center for some time, that may have been First Steps. Families in First Steps have an Individualized Family Service Plan and typically work with a team of people, including someone to help coordinate care and services.
The Early Intervention Task Force wants to hear from families and providers about their experiences with First Steps, both what helped and what didn’t help. If you have been involved with Early Intervention in the last five years and have feedback, you can email your comments to earlyintervention@peer.ms.gov. We encourage families to share your thoughts and recommendations – no one knows better than you what was most helpful for your child and family. You can say that in your email if you do not want your name publicly listed with your comments.
Families as Allies can help you submit comments (for example, if you need access to a computer or are unsure if the program your child was in was First Steps and you want to make sure). Call us at 601-355-0915 if we can support you with the process.
