First Steps Listserv

To:  SPOE Directors, Service Coordinators

From:  Missouri Schools for the Blind and Deaf

Subject: Parent Advisors

Date: January 31, 2007 

For the past three years, Parent Advisor services for families of children birth through two years old with sensory impairments have been provided through the First Steps system and Parent Advisor services for the families ages 3 through 5 have been provided through local school districts and IEP provisions. 

Effective January 1, 2007, the Missouri School for the Blind’s Missouri Statewide Parent Involvement Network (MoSPIN) and Missouri School for the Deaf’s Early Intervention Outreach Services will resume recruiting, training and assigning Parent Advisor’s as part of the reimplementation of services to families.

IFSP authorizations for individual Parent Advisors will no longer be required effective July 1, 2007.  All new Parent Advisor services for families of children birth through five will be processed and paid directly by MSB or MSD rather than the local school district or First Steps.  When an IFSP team determines that the family would benefit from a parent advisor, the service coordinator will contact the appropriate program (see contact information below) to arrange for the service.  The service would then be listed in the IFSP document under “Other Services” with the corresponding state school program as the funding source.

For additional information, please contact: Ginny Williams, MoSPIN Lead Parent Advisor for Missouri School for the Blind, ginwilliams@aol.com or Robyn Fleming, Lead Parent Advisor of the Early Intervention Outreach Services for the Missouri School for the Deaf, moparlf@hotmail.com.