CHRIS BLANK
Associated Press
JEFFERSON
CITY, Mo. - A
state program for young disabled children will drop from 24 offices
to 10 on Wednesday.
The First Steps program provides
therapy and other services for children from birth to age 3 with
physical or developmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, Down
syndrome, blindness and deafness.
Melodie Friedebach, the assistant
commissioner of education for the special education division, said
the changes formalize the oversight and responsibility structure
within the program.
Each of the 10 offices will have a
permanent, full-time director and will be responsible for
determining whether new applicants and people already on the program
are actually eligible. In the past, the regional offices were not
responsible for oversight.
"We're telling them they have to
operate as a business and as a child-related entity," said Dale
Carlson, the coordinator of the Special Education Administration.
Last year, Gov. Matt Blunt initially
proposed to eliminate almost all the funding for First Steps, then
backed a plan to change the way it operates. The Legislature
eventually approved changes to increase oversight and require
insurance providers, Medicaid or families to contribute money toward
the program's costs.
Rep. Kathlyn Fares, chairwoman of the
House Education Appropriations Committee, said First Steps was
designed to teach parents how to help their disabled children.
"It's an education model," Fares,
R-St. Louis, said. "A lot of people want it to be a medical model,
but that was never its intent."
Friedebach said the program began to
grow from its original intent because oversight was left to those
who profit from a bigger program.
"The way this system is set up is a
provider-driven system," she said. "Providers make money by
providing more services. And so we cemented in a philosophy we've
really had to fight in this state."
Like the previous 24 field offices,
the 10 are independent contractors selected through a competitive
bidding process. Three of the 10 will be run by new contractors.
The offices will be located in Cape
Girardeau, Joplin, Kansas City, Mexico, North Kansas City, St.
Charles, Sedalia, Springfield, Town & Country and Union.
