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Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital

West Central Early Steps

Family Resources

Each local Early Steps office is required to have Family Resource Specialists (FRS) involved in their local area. An FRS is a family member of a child who received early intervention services or would have been eligible for early intervention services. The FRS is a resource for families served through the local Early Steps and serves as a community link to support family centered efforts and activities within the local Early Steps. The FRS advocates for families served by expressing the views, perspectives and needs conveyed by families. The FRS also solicits feedback from families receiving early intervention services to ensure diverse input regarding programs, policies and the delivery of early intervention services.

The FRS also coordinates monthly playtime for Early Steps families to enjoy some fun activities with your child and meet other families. If you are currently enrolled in our program, the cost of these playtimes are covered by us with Family Involvement Funds. Sometimes funds are also available to assist your family in attending a conference. If you would like to request this assistance, please click here for the pre-approval form to send to our FRS. You can also Like Us on Facebook

If you would like to speak to our Family Resource Specialist to assist you in finding Resources for your child enrolled in Early Steps; please call 727-767-4403

Below, you can view our electronic resource file cabinet, as well as view titles from our extensive resource lending library for families. 

Contact Us

Family Involvement Opportunities

Give us a call

Please contact Paula Burns at 727-767-4403 for our current virtual and in person playtimes, parent chats and workshops.

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Links to Common Resources

  • Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) Serves the needs of Floridians with developmental disabilities over the age of 3.
  • Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS) Locates children who are potentially eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and links them with needed services.
  • Florida Kidcare Offers health insurance for children from birth through age 18, even if one or both parents are working.
  • Florida Medicaid Medical assistance program that provides access to health care for low-income families and individuals. Medicaid also assists the elderly and people with disabilities with the costs of nursing facility care and other medical and long-term care expenses.
  • Florida WIC A federally funded nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children.
  • Food Assistance and SUNCAP The Food Assistance Program helps people with low-income buy healthy food. The SUNCAP Program is a special Food Assistance Program for individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
  • Lutheran Services Head Start (Pinellas) A federally funded comprehensive child development program.
  • R'Club Child Care, Inc. Has programs to help families. Project Challenge helps with behavioral challenges in a childcare setting 0-5. Outreach assists families with finding appropriate child care settings for their child with any disability 0-5.
  • Social Security Administration (SSI) Apply for benefits for children with disabilities.
  • TATS Technical Assistance and Training System is a statewide project which supports programs serving prekindergarten children with disabilities by providing technical assistance and training.