First Steps Region 8 South Central System Point of Entry (SPOE)

• The Board believes strongly in the importance of Early Intervention.
• The Board has supported early intervention through funding not-for-profits for over 20 years.
• On February 1, 2006 the Board began serving 12 counties as the First Steps Region 8 SPOE.
• First Steps Philosophy
• Families play an integral role in their child's development. The First Steps system provides families the tools they need to help their child be successful.
• Some of the SPOE's responsibilities include taking referrals, child find/public awareness, eligibility determination, service coordination, helping families with transitions, maintaining the child's permanent early intervention record, and coordinating the Regional Interagency Coordinating Council (RICC).

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First Steps is Missouri's Early Intervention program (Part C IDEA)

• Our service coordinators involve the child's family in our process of initial assessment and evaluation to determine if a child between the ages of birth and 36 months is eligible for First Steps.
• Missouri's Criteria for Eligibility:
• Children diagnosed with a developmental disability or a condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay or disability.
• Children who are functioning at half the developmental level that would be expected for a child considered to be developing within normal limits.
• The Board has six service coordinators at our SPOE to provide ongoing service coordination to families.
• Service Coordinators facilitate the team process of developing an individualized family service plan which is the road map for the services the child and family will receive.