Early Head Start - Florida
Early Head Start programs provide early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services on a year-round basis to low-income families. The purpose of the Early Head Start program is to enhance children\’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; to support parents\’ efforts to fulfill their parental roles; and to help parents move toward self-sufficiency. Early Head Start National Resource Center Early Head Start programs provide early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services on a year-round basis to low-income families. The purpose of the Early Head Start program is to enhance children\’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development; to support parents\’ efforts to fulfill their parental roles; and to help parents move toward self-sufficiency.
Early Steps - Part C Early Steps is administered by Children\’s Medical Services (CMS) in accordance with IDEA, Part C. Early Steps offers early intervention services for families with infants and toddlers (birth to thirty-six months) who have developmental delays or an established condition likely to result in a developmental delay. Sixteen contracted local Early Steps across the state coordinate with community agencies and other contracted providers for the delivery of needed supports and services.
Florida Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers (FICCIT) The role of FICCIT is to assist public and private agencies in implementing a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs providing appropriate early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and risk conditions and their families.
Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services in the Florida Department of Education administers programs for students with disabilities and for gifted students. The bureau also coordinates student services throughout the state and participates in multiple inter-agency efforts designed to strengthen the quality and variety of services available to students with special needs.
Assistive Technology Education Network (ATEN) The purpose of ATEN is to assist in the enhancement of student outcomes through the provision of information, training, and technical support in the area of assistive technology. ATEN provides the following services to students with disabilities (ages 3-21), family members, teachers, and other professionals throughout Florida\’s public school system: a data baser index regarding assistive technology, resources, information, and training in the area of assistive technology.
Children's Registry and Information System (CHRIS) The Children’s Registry and Information System (CHRIS) project is responsible for the development and maintenance of the official State of Florida database for tracking preschool children with disabilities served under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The data is used for tracking and timelines regarding transitions, service coordination information, generation of reports and technical support and training.
Clearinghouse Information Center The Clearinghouse operates a resource center that provides parents, educators, and others with access to materials about exceptional student education, student services, juvenile justice education, early intervention, parent and professional partnerships, and many other topics. It also contains copies of about 400 items produced by the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, that are available free or at-cost to requesters. These include parent information materials, annual reports, statistical reports, technical assistance papers and notes, resource manuals for particular special programs, annual program plans, and prekindergarten resources.
Florida Instructional Materials Center (FIMC-VI) The Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI) is a statewide resource center designed to assist schools in obtaining specialized materials for students with visual impairments.
Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD) CARD’s purpose is to enhance the lives of the individuals, birth through adulthood, with autism and related disabilities. The primary focus is to provide individualized, direct assistance to these individuals and their families. Services include technical assistance and consultation, professional training programs and public education activities. There are six regional CARD centers throughout the state of Florida.
Children Medical Services The Children\’s Medical Services (CMS) program is a program of the Florida Department of Health (DOH) and provides children with special health care needs with a family centered, managed system of care. Children with special health care needs are those children under age 21 whose serious or chronic physical or developmental conditions require extensive preventive and maintenance care beyond that required by typically healthy children.
Easter Seals Easter Seals is provides services to help individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives. A variety of services are offered to individuals from birth through adulthood. In Florida, services include targeting children birth to five include: Early Intervention Therapies, Home-based Early Intervention, Child Care, Sensory Integration/Behavior Programs, and Teen Parent/Infant Centers.
Florida Children's Forum (FCF) The Children\’s Forum provides information on quality early care and education for all children. It is a service-based clearinghouse of information, data, research, advocacy and training for the state\’s early care and learning industry.
Florida Directory of Early Childhood Services (Central Directory) A resource for families and professionals. The Central Directory maintains a database which contains a wide range of information on community services, counseling, diagnosis/evaluation, early intervention services, education and training, equipment, medical screening, special education services, support groups, and therapies for children and youth birth to 21 years who are at risk for developmental delays, or have disabilities and special health care needs.
Florida Developmental Disabilities Council The Council supports initiatives that demonstrate new approaches to enhance the independence, productivity, inclusion and self-determination of individuals with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life and practices designed to prevent developmental disabilities. The Council also guides the development and administration of services for people with developmental disabilities by planning and funding research, innovations, and programs designed to improve the quality of their lives.
Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) FDLRS provides diagnostic and instructional support services to district exceptional student education programs and families of students with exceptionalities statewide, including the state Child Find efforts. FDLRS includes nineteen Associate Centers that collaborate with districts, agencies, communities and other personnel and educational entities, providing education and support for teachers, parents, therapists, school administrators, and students with exceptionalities. Each Center includes specialists in the areas of Child Find, Parent Services, Human Resource Development (HRD), and Technology. In addition there are five Regional Technology Centers that provide technology support to the network and districts.
Florida Inclusion Network (FIN) The Florida Inclusion Network provides learning opportunities, consultation, information and support to educators, families and community members to promote and support inclusive educational opportunities throughout the state of Florida.
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) – The Outreach Service Division This division of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind has two major components to serve children with sensory impairments, their families, and personnel who work with them throughout Florida: 1) the Parent Information Program (PIP) serving infants and toddlers, ages birth to five years, and 2) the Small and Rural District Initiative serving children and youth, ages 3-22.
Institute for Small and Rural Districts (ISRD) The ISRD serves district level and school-based administrators in thirty-four (34) small and rural districts in Florida. Provides services for students with disabilities and students who are gifted in small and rural school districts through staff development, information dissemination, technical assistance, product development and support for district initiatives.
Medicaid Medicaid is a program that that provides medical coverage to low income individuals and families. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with limited income. In Florida, Medicaid services are administered by the Agency for Health care Administration.
Florida Kid Care Florida’s children’s health insurance program for uninsured low income children, birth to age 18. It is made up of four parts: MediKids, Healthy Kids, the Children’s Medical Services (CMS) Network for children with special health care needs, and Medicaid for children.
Parent Organizations
Family Cafe Hosts a conference for families and self-advocates to educate themselves on how to utilize the programs available to them and provides a forum where professionals and policymakers can interact directly with the families and individuals they serve. The Family Café also serves as source of information for individuals with disabilities on an ongoing basis in a number of ways - an annual publication called The Question & Answer Book, a website designed to provide information and networking, and a network of volunteers who act as resources and representatives in their home communities.
Family Network on Disabilities (FND) The Family Network on Disabilities of Florida (FND) is a statewide network of families and individuals who may be at-risk, have disabilities, or have special needs. FND provides family-driven support, education, information, resources and advocacy and maintains a database of support, information and advocacy groups.
The Florida Parent Information Center (PIRC) of FND Promotes family involvement in education through partnerships between The Florida Parent Information Resource Center of FND (PIRC) and schools, parents, other organizations, agencies, parent centers, and community-based family partners through technical assistance and in-service training materials and trainings for educators and families. The goal is to enhance family involvement in all areas of decision-making that impact children, birth to 23 years, and their families in meeting their developmental and educational needs.
Florida Institute for Family Involvement (FIFI) FIFI facilitates, and supports family and consumer involvement in the development of responsive, family centered, and community based systems of care for children and youth with special needs and their families.
Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute The mission of the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute is to facilitate the development of knowledge and skills necessary to provide education and clinical services for children and adults with exceptional needs and their families through interdisciplinary research, practice and partnerships.
United Cerebral Palsy United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is a national organization with a network of affiliates whose mission is to strive to ensure the inclusion of individuals with disabilities. There are 10 affiliate offices of UCP in Florida. These affiliates provide services such as housing, therapy, assistive technology training, early intervention programs, individual and family support, social and recreation programs, community living, state and local referrals, employment assistance and advocacy. Each affiliate offers a range of services tailored to its community’s needs.
Early Reading First Early Reading First, is a national program designed to transform existing early education programs into centers of excellence that provide high-quality, early education to young children, especially those from low-income families. The overall purpose of the Early Reading First Program is to prepare young children to enter kindergarten with the necessary language, cognitive, and early reading skills to prevent reading difficulties and ensure school success.
Head Start Head Start programs provide comprehensive, child developmental programs and services for low-income pre-school children ages three to five and social services for their families. Included in the preschool components are Preschool Head Start, Migrant Head Start, and American Indian Head Start. The purpose of the Head Start program is to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of health, educational, nutritional, social and other services. The cornerstone of the program is parent and community development.
Heads Up! Reading HeadsUp! Reading is an early literacy course for educators and parents of young children, focused on strengthening crucial early childhood literacy skills. HeadsUp! Reading delivers research-based education via satellite TV, directly to early childhood programs across the US. All materials are available in English and Spanish.
Technical Assistance and Training System (TATS) The TATS is a statewide project which supports programs serving prekindergarten children with disabilities by providing training and technical assistance. Project field staff (TATS regional facilitators) provide direct services to school districts and early childhood partners. A transition consultant provides statewide TA and training on the transition process as part of Florida’s Transition Project, a project within TATS.
Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program The Department of Education/Office of Early Learning (DOE/OEL) works in collaboration with the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to implement the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education program. This is a voluntary prekindergarten program designed to prepare four-year-olds for kindergarten and build the foundation for their educational success. The program allows a parent to enroll his or her eligible child (four years old by September 1 and residing in Florida) in a free VPK program. The program is voluntary for children and providers.
Florida Transition Project Funded partly by TATS, the Florida\'s Transition Project for Infants, Young Children and Their Families assists local communities in establishing trained teams to develop a seamless sytem of transition among agencies providing services to young children with disabilities.
Office of Early Learning – Early Learning Coalitions The Agency for Workforce Innovation, Office of Early Learning administers early learning programs increases children\’s chances of achieving the educational levels that help them become productive members of society. The purpose of the early learning programs is to provide quality early learning options for children under the age of five. These programs are funded through grant awards for services with 31 local early learning coalitions. The local early learning coalitions work with local child care providers and provide assistance to parents in locating child care.
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