First Steps Forward
Welcome to First Steps Forward! We're here to help parents and caregivers learn about developmental milestones for children ages birth to three and the resources available to support your child's growth.
First Steps Forward is produced by Benchmark Human Services, a First Steps System Point of Entry (SPOE) provider in Regions 1 and 2 of Missouri.
First Steps Forward
Support for Parents, from Staff Who've Been There
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
When you're seeking support for your child, it's nice to work with someone who's been in your shoes.
In this episode, we hear from two parents-turned-providers, Courtney Stites and Juanequa' Hardieway. Courtney and Juanequa' both have children who have been through the First Steps program, and now, they work as First Steps Service Coordinators to help other families through the process.
- - -
First Steps Forward is hosted by Benchmark Human Services, a First Steps System Point of Entry (SPOE) provider in Regions 1 and 2 of Missouri.
Interested in submitting a referral? Please call us at (314) 453-9203.
- - -
Learn more about Missouri First Steps: dese.mo.gov/childhood
Explore the CDC Milestone Tracker app: cdc.gov/act-early/milestones-app
Follow us on Facebook: St. Louis Area First Steps
I do have situations during a meeting where a parent is talking about their struggles that they're experiencing. I have sometimes like going to a restaurant out to eat, they're like, no, we don't do that. Like that's not a thing. We don't, we don't go into public. And I'm like, well, that's a shame. Like, do you want to? You know, I and they're like, yeah, that would be amazing to be able to go to the zoo or to go out to eat with the family and like whatever it is that their situation is. We can go, well, let's go do that. Let let's let's put that in the IFSP. Let's talk about what that would look like for you. Maybe one time a month. Let's plan a trip. And your provider's gonna go with you. And we're gonna be there for that process to try and witness it, see what we can do to help.
Howard SmithWell, welcome to First Steps Forward, the St. Louis Area podcast. Here we help parents and providers learn about developmental milestones for children ages birth to three and the resources available to support them. I'm your host, Howard Smith.
Christina NarasimhanAnd I'm Christina Narasimhan.
Howard SmithTogether, we oversee the St. Louis Area First Steps program in Missouri.
Christina NarasimhanWe connect families with specialists to support each child's growth. Please visit dese.mo.gov/ childhood to learn more. The link is in our show notes.
Meet Courtney and Juanequa'
Christina NarasimhanAnd we have a couple of guests here today that are going to introduce themselves.
Courtney StitesMy name's Courtney, and I am a service coordinator in the greater St. Louis area for First Steps, but also a mom of a kiddo that was in First Steps.
Juanequa' HardiewayHi, I'm Juan equa' Hardieway. I'm also a First Steps coordinator in the North St. Louis area and also a former mom of babies that went through the First Steps program.
Howard SmithWell, thank you both for joining us today. We're excited to have you with us and to talk about your experiences in First Steps. Your experience, both of you are currently service coordinators in First Steps, and so you have that experience, but you both also have the unique experience of also being parents of children. So you've gone through first steps from that side and that role too. So we want to talk a little bit today about that. What does your role as a service coordinator mean? What do you what do you do? What does a day-to-day look like for you as a service coordinator?
Courtney StitesGreat question. Different,
What do Service Coordinators do?
Courtney StitesI would say. Every day is different, but I like to kind of think of myself as a link between families and like the program and therapies and services, kind of their advocate, making sure that families are able to not only understand what the programs here, but get the most out of it, ensure that the benefit they're receiving from it is the greatest possible. And trying to also be that emotional piece because sometimes families are in a really difficult position when they come to us or they're going through a hard time. It's not exactly the easiest thing to talk about all the time. So trying to be that emotional piece that is comforting and empathetic as well.
Juanequa' HardiewayAnd I concur with everything that Courtney said. I feel like as a social worker, kind of the glue that bonds all the puzzle pieces. And so just helping families connect to their resources, whether it's our first steps providers or resources that they need outside of first steps, like community resources, and helping them to feel comfortable with advocating for themselves, making sure that their voice is the forefront of their child's IFSP plan, making sure the family's needs and concerns are addressed and continue to be the forefront of services.
Howard SmithHow do you meet the families? When do you meet a family? What's what's your what's your first introduction or how do how are families introduced to their service coordinator?
Courtney StitesI think it can be, it can look different depending on the situation. So sometimes we are the first,
How are families introduced to their Service Coordinator?
Courtney StitesI guess, person like that they get to speak to if they are coming straight to an ongoing service coordinator. Uh it's based on eligibility. But if we know that a child has a diagnosis, that is going to be something that can qualify them. Then it they come straight to us as ongoing service coordinators. Other times, child may need to go through the intake process with an intake coordinator where they have an evaluation first. So they meet the intake coordinator at the intake meeting first. So it depends. We I kind of approach it differently depending on which of those situations is going to be the first. But I like to talk to somebody, a family coming in on the phone first, understand where they're coming from, get their background, their concerns, and then we get to meet in person at the meeting that after following that conversation.
Howard SmithIs that a meeting? Do you meet with the families, you know, at their home or do families come?
Courtney StitesDo you Yeah, everything that we do is is in the home or natural environment as we refer to it. So it's going to be a
Where do families meet with Service Coordinators?
Courtney Stitescomfortable place for the family. Most of the time it's their home, but you know, I've had situations where we've met at a community location, like the library, because it's just more comfortable. Maybe things are very chaotic at home. I've had one family that had construction going on at the time, and they were like, I think it's better if we do the library. So I've done the library as well, but uh most of the time at home.
Christina NarasimhanUh, Juanequa', you mentioned a little bit ago the IFSP, which is our individualized family service plan. Can you talk a little bit more about what that is and what parents could expect from that?
Juanequa' HardiewaySo, yeah, the individual family service plan, it's a unique plan that addresses the family's daily routines. Uh, we have a meeting, we have a family assessment
What are IFSPs?
Juanequa' Hardiewayto help us get information to develop that family assessment. I mean, that family support plan. And so, with that family assessment, we get a lot of great information about the family's life on a daily basis. So, and we go from wake up all the way to bedtime and also address child care concerns as well. And so while when we're asking questions about how those routines are going, we're getting an idea of you know where the family, you know, may need more assistance with what is working well and what's not working so well for families. For example, like if you're having a lot of feeding concerns, child's a picky eater, or you feel like they're just not have having the skills that you feel they should have at that age. We kind of address those things as a team to come up with a plan of how to support the family going forward for the next six to 12 months. And that's doing that family assessment is a time that the whole team really gets to know the family better and understand what's going on and how we can help and what services that we need to get in there to help support the family with those goals and concerns that the family deem to be priority.
Howard SmithNow, Juanequa', who who is the team? You mentioned the team. Like who are those who makes up the team?
Juanequa' HardiewaySo parents and caregivers, you know, they're the ones, they're the S experts. They know the child the best, they, you know, see the child the most their child the most, and they know that their child's likes and dislikes. So they are the forefront of the
Who's on the team?
Juanequa' Hardiewayteam. And then we have like myself, their coordinator, and then whatever other providers that we added to the team, whether it's our special instructors, speech therapies, we have occupational therapists, and then also again, like those caregivers or important people in the family's life. So if like grandparents, if you wanted your grandparents to be a part of that team, if you are a part of the Parents as Teachers program, those are considered team members, whoever has vital input on that child's life. And then also the child is a part of a separate team called our early intervention teams, where our providers meet as the early intervention team once a month. Let's say like the child is getting just special instruction. And the special instructor, they're in there, they're working with this child, they're trying to, you know, teach the baby how to put the blocks in, you know, in the stack blocks or shape sorters, but they're finding like, oh, you know, he we're he's he get has the concept, but there's like some weak grip, or you know, it's like something's going, something else is going on that that particular provider can't address. And so they can bring that to our monthly EIT team that that child is also a part of, and say, hey, I'm working with little Johnny. He's doing this, we're doing this and this and that. He's trying to do it, but something's going on with his hands. And we have our occupational therapists in there that say, Hey, try this, try that. Or they can say, you know what, that sounds like one of us needs to go in and take a look at little Johnny to see what's going on. So then we can ask the parent, like, hey, we discussed this at our EIT. The occupational therapists feel like they may need to come in to take a look to make sure, you know, nothing else is going on. And the parent let us know whether or not that they, you know, will like that assessment. And so they have their individual uh team that consists of all their providers and their family members who you know are part of that individual team, but then they're also part of that broader early intervention team.
Howard SmithSo, as a service coordinator, what do you guys do with the with the team?
Juanequa' HardiewayOur role is to help connect like those those pieces. So let's say, like, for example, that that example that I gave, if we discussed that at the EIT team, my role is to kind of talk to the parent, let make sure they're they understand their rights. You know, you don't have to get this evaluation, it's just was a suggestion that was brought up. We explain, answer any questions that they have about maybe the new provider that's coming in, just to, you know, so they can understand what that particular provider, what that their specialty is, what they would do, how that would look if that particular provider either did the assessment or came in and started doing services, just help the family get a clear understanding of what that would look like so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not they would like that, you know, particular service to be added to their team. And we make sure that the family is prepared the best way as possible, making sure that if we do add a new service, for instance, can the family handle that? Is that would that be too much? Would it too much for the baby? Just to ask all of those questions and just to answer any other questions that the family has. Am I forgetting anything, Courtney?
Courtney StitesI think you did great. I the big one, like you said, is making sure they're understanding. I think part of being a parent impacted how I personally do like service coordination because I know just how impactful it is to truly understand each step. Instead, I know everybody clicks accept on terms and conditions. And we always nobody reads that, right? I mean, I think it's really important to be able to help the
How our experience as parents informs our work
Courtney Stitesfamily understand those terms and conditions that they're signing to, to understand like what's truly the purpose and the background and uh how to get the most of it. I like to kind of also be like the in-between to more so therapies, a lot of times we'll hear like a clinical word, or you know, therapists they go to school and they learn things in a clinical sense. And so when you're talking to a family, they don't go to school for that. Like I've if you told me like used clinical words that I'm sure therapists hear and that's their whole education, I'm gonna kind of be dear in the headlights and I won't really understand. So I like making sure that both sides of our team, the therapists and the family, are understanding each other and connecting. And I also want to make sure that if there is a delay or a developmental skill that we're talking about, I try to connect that. Like, what does that look like for you as a family? This this is what that can look like on your day-to-day. Instead of just saying their next skill they need to do is XYZ in the list of skills. I like going, well, that can really be impactful when they're eating, or that can really be impactful if it's hard, like the heavier they get and they're not walking yet. That can be impactful because you're having to carry more and you have more things. And I kind of try to connect those two pieces because we have two experts. And like Juanequa' said, there's the families, the expert on their child, and then we have our therapists that are experts as well. And so it's bringing those two pieces and making them mesh together.
Christina NarasimhanWell, and that's such a good point, like talking about the experts. So, you, as you mentioned, we have the expert professionals, and then we have the parents who are experts on their child. And our program is a coaching model, so it is not clinical, it's not like a medical-based model. Would you talk a little bit about that, about coaching and and how that looks for families and providers and kind of what families can expect when they're being coached?
Courtney StitesYeah, I would say that's one of the biggest areas where I came into the program with a different concept of what was gonna happen. Like I had this idea as a mom, and I thought that, okay, my daughter's gonna start services and it's gonna fix the issue. And it's gonna, she's just gonna start this and then it's gonna get better. And they're just gonna, they're like gonna wave a magic wand, I guess. I don't know what I really thought. I think I just came into it with an assumption, and then after starting, it was such a different experience, and it made me feel like I was more powerful and also more able to be impactful in her like growing and learning new skills and like how to then tweak those because the therapists don't. I think when you go to a clinical setting, like you to go to an office or maybe a hospital, like you get a referral, they're gonna, you're gonna sit in the lobby and they're gonna take the kiddo and then bring them back 30 minutes later, 45 minutes, and they might give you some rundown on what they did and some tips you can do at home. When they come to the house and I'm like trying to do five million things at once, and I've got my other kids running around, it's a true example of what goes on. It's my kids not the same in an office one-on-one with the therapist when they are in the middle of my house during what I'm going through. And when the therapist comes in and it seems frustrating at first, it was so helpful to get that help at home. And then I realized I'm never gonna get this again. Like this is the only chance that somebody's gonna come into my home and tell me these are ways that you can make this easier while also working on developmental skills to help and how that's gonna help you. And how can you tweak the things that you're doing at home in real time and not just try to remember to do it in the instance? It's like being able to put that into practice as it's happening and understanding that. And it took a while to kind of like get it, it was huge. And when we kind of transitioned into talking about another setting, I was like, oh my gosh, I'm losing the services at home. Nap time's gonna be so hard. What am I gonna do at bedtime? I mean, I'm kind of that's slipping away. So I think that is a huge part of knowing what your early intervention is about for Missouri. It's specifically like you're getting those that help at home, but it's not just for the kid, it's for the whole family because it's the whole family functioning.
Juanequa' HardiewayBecause my kids were getting both. They were getting a medical model at several places, and then they were also getting first steps. And it's like, like Courtney said, when you're at the medical model, you know, you're just you're going to the office, you're sitting in the waiting room while they're working with your child, unless there's like an issue, then you know, then they invite you in. And then they come out with just, oh, you know, it was it was great. We worked on this, we worked on that. And I'm always like, hey, where's my homework? Can I, can you, you know, show me how I can you keep this up going, you know, while at home? And depending on what provider it was, like some of them was like a beer in the headlights. Like, what do you mean? We don't give you anything. And so I like that that bridge. I would talk to my providers, like, hey, when they went to speech at sensory solutions, this is what they were working on, this is what she said they were working on. I don't know exactly how well she's doing with it, but when I try to, you know, redo it at home, it's not really hidden. What can I do? Then I my first step speech therapist was like, oh, they're using, you know, because they they gave me like workbooks, my not workbooks, like work pages. My child's two years old. And so I had like these worksheets that they wrote saying, you know, you point to this picture and you say that, but you know, the speech therapist, she taught me how to do it in real time. Like, no, put put that worksheet down, grab her toys, and you know, this is how we practice saying this. And so that was very helpful, just that bridge where, you know, they were working on the same sounds at sensory solutions, but then my first step provider showed me how to do work on those same sounds at home in a more child-friendly type, not saying that you know the medical model wasn't child-friendly, but it just wasn't conducive for our home setting. And so they showed me how to, you know, bridge those, those two. And so that was, and I feel like now since I had that experience experience as a parent in first steps, I like over-explained things to my to my current police. It's like yeah, and so I was like, I just I just want to make sure that they have the same experience or better than I had in the first step. Like and coming to this side is a lot of things that I learned that, like, oh, if I would have known that then, you know, I would I, you know, that I could enhance this a little better. And so I kind of like over-explained like those things. I just want to make sure the parent parents have like the big picture and know all the information.
Howard SmithI mean, so you, I mean, you both talked about, you know, there's there's the medical component, the medical model of services, and first steps is obviously you know different. The first steps is an educational, you know, coaching model, but it also seems like that the relationship between the because you've got people coming to your home. I mean, you so you like you said, you know, Courtney, and both of you said, like, you know, this is real time, like this is what's really happening. So like the relationship, you know, between the providers and the service coordinator and the family
Receiving services at home
Howard Smithis important because these are people you're inviting into your home. And now, as a service coordinator, you're going into other families' homes. And, you know, talk a little bit about your own experiences then. As, you know, can you tell us about like how did how did that feel like in the beginning?
Juanequa' HardiewayI had three babies go through first steps. I had my first and then I had twins who went through first steps. So the first one, she was in a NICU for 77 days. And when she came home, I was just happy to have somebody there to know to assume I didn't know what I was thinking. This is my first, and I felt like she was just so fragile, she had some oxygen, she had all these monitors and things going on, and so I was just happy to see somebody coming in and say, Hey, no, you know, we can help you with this. And so it it was different with both experiences. So, with my first one, just because there was so much medical stuff going on that I felt like I was over my head, I was super happy, and then with the twins, because my first one was still in first steps when I had the twins, and so it was a little overwhelming because I was I wasn't yet working with first working for first steps, and so I was just like, wait a minute, so now I have to have more people coming in. The twins, they weren't they were they weren't medical at all. And so it was like, do I do they need it, do they not need it? How does how is this gonna work? But then my service coordinator explained, like, hey, we don't have to have anybody new coming in. If you want whatever providers you currently already have to just, you know, do we do an assessment, check them out to see if they even need first steps, we can do that. So that was very comfortable, comforting knowing that, okay, so the same people that are already here is you know, would be the ones to take on, you know, my my other children.
Howard SmithAnd then you already had a relationship with those people that they would be to [indiscernible].
Juanequa' HardiewayAnd just knowing that, okay, I don't have to have, and that's another thing with the family culture model, like you get a primary provider, you don't have to have all of these people coming in. Like your primary provider can touch on multiple things, multiple concerns. And so that was that was a great help for me with the with the twins, even though I wanted to make sure that they didn't need anything specific, I still was concerned, like, okay, so my baby girl is already getting OT and PT at the time. And then I might have to have somebody else come in for the twins. And then I'm just trying to, in my head, I'm trying to coordinate like all of these, you know, because I just thought it was we'll all be separate, but it ended up, you know, they they did qualify, but the same OT that had my first baby, she was seeing, you know, my twins. It wasn't as frequent, but she was making it work where she was just, she was just. stayed it we didn't have to coordinate so many sessions. Like she will stay for after she get done with my first baby, she'll just stay for the twins. And then they got to split that hour instead of having, you know, like three hours for three kids, we just split the hour between the the twins.
Howard SmithAnd so air traffic control.
Juanequa' HardiewayLike you're coordinating a lot of right and and but they did it so beautifully and it didn't it didn't even feel like two hours you know and and so yeah it it it all worked out.
Courtney StitesI feel like I scarred my poor service coordinator that came for intake looking back like life isn't chaotic enough. I had twins. It wasn't intentional. It sounds like it wasn't no no it was very much not she came and of course I'd just gotten home to meet her and walked in and we had this very old dog who unfortunately was in the process of passing in my living room. And so I I had all of the kids my older daughter and then the twins and then the service coordinators meeting me and I'm like calling their dad
My experience meeting my Service Coordinator
Courtney Stiteslike you're gonna have to come and take him to the vet like I can't and so I was like we probably need to do this on the front porch in the middle of winter. I'm so sorry you don't want to go in and so we had to sit on the front porch then I felt horrendous now we laugh because I know this person but I was like I'm so sorry my dog's dying inside we can't go in we have to sit out here in the winter but you know that's kind of the life of the service coordinator too we kind of just are like sure whatever go with the flow.
Christina NarasimhanThis is just the nature of home visiting right it happens. Right.
Howard SmithYeah I mean we see a lot you see a lot I mean we're in you're in the home yeah I mean like you said from a parent perspective I mean you like someone was coming into that moment for you but as a service coordinator you I mean you're you're going into the into their lives into whatever's happening in that day whatever's happening at that moment honestly like it was more me worried because she acted like it was totally no big deal like did not even face her and I'm just sitting here thinking like I'm gonna scar this person for life and she was like no no you're fine our provider that we had for my daughter we had the same one from the first onset of services and she was in for two years uh actually the my twin only one of my twins qualified so both of them participated I don't know you can't really split them up and be like no no don't do it but that because well that's also life they're together.
Courtney StitesSo but we had the same provider for my one twin from when she was about 12 months and then about a year ago because in two days they turned four she exited but that person became like a friend of the family almost but like I didn't call that person to like talk and gab and like invite over for a girl's night. It was more like I felt like I could ask her anything because I was so comfortable. I felt like she knew my kid she knew the little nuances the quirks all the little things so if something was abnormal or not she knew like she just got it because she was around so much. I felt like I didn't have to explain that because when you get a new person come in, I feel like you're having to re-explain everything you've already explained re-go through the story. And so having that same person it just made it feel like somebody was going through the journey with me and not like just there to tell me. But and my daughter literally the other day we were eating breakfast and I said our provider's name talking about somebody else and she was like I go to her house she really thought we were going to go to this provider's house to hang out I was like no but like she remembers she I mean if she was like doing something and I had to like take it away like transition to something else she'd call her name oh like be upset and calling for her provider and I'm like well but uh there was definitely a very special relationship there not just for me but for my daughter too.
Christina NarasimhanWell when you talk about like you know everything that happens in day-to-day life I don't know if either of the two of you have had this experience or not but we our families do sometimes have their providers go into other natural environments with them. So like a child might be having meltdowns at the grocery store and the parent has to take them because they that's the only option to get their shopping done. So talk a little bit about that and what how that might look for families and providers and even if maybe you had those experiences what that was like for you.
Courtney StitesI I know I did because my one of the things that was really difficult is my daughter her delay was in the area of gross
Receiving services in the community
Courtney Stitesmotor but she she was she didn't walk until she was probably almost two and so it was really difficult having already a three year old and then plus her twin sister and then having to carry her still and like get from place to place. And so going on trips to like having to get out of the car not just picking it up at Target but like having to go into the grocery store and unpack everybody and carry her and like just dropping off sometimes it was really hard. So that was something that we actually got help with I got a connection to a program in the community as well for help with a carrier and that was amazing. So I got connected to some resources around me that I had no idea existed to be able to like get a little bit of help with the process. But then also I was able to like go somewhere we we went to a park we went to a grocery store and the provider met us there. So like they were there for like unpacking the car, having to be in a parking lot to do each step that you may not think of when you're just talking about it. So it was hugely impactful for her to see it and kind of be there to experience it. But then like be part of the process of going on that trip like either like playing at the park or like going into the store. So that was where we went outside of the home for me myself. But I mean I I do have situations during a meeting where a parent is talking about their struggles that they're experiencing. I have sometimes like going to a restaurant out to eat they're like no we don't do that like that's not a thing. We don't we don't go into public and I'm like well that's a shame like do you want to you know and they're like yeah that would be amazing to be able to go to the zoo or to go out to eat with the family and like whatever it is that their situation is we can go well let's go do that.
Howard SmithLet let's let's put that in the IFSP let's talk about what that would look like for you maybe one time a month let's plan a trip and your provider's gonna go with you and we're gonna be there for that process to try and witness it see what we can do to help so I think that's one of the that's one of the biggest differences and like Juanequa' said like the bridge you know like there's a definite need for that medical clinical component sometimes but then from the first step standpoint like you said you know Courtney we can we will go we will go out into the community we'll we'll go to the restaurant with you we'll go to church we'll go to the you know to Target I hear target a lot we go to target a lot. That that's you know that's the component of you know of first steps of branching out into what's considered that's the natural environment like where do families go? That's not that's not you know that's not where we typically think of like a therapy or something happening.
Courtney StitesSo how did how does that even come up that I need someone to come to Target with me or I need I think Juanequa' was talking earlier about something called a family assessment. It's like kind of our first really deep dive getting to know families. And so we dig into every aspect of your basic routines that you go through. And one of those is going to the grocery store is going like what do you do for fun? What does your family like to do in their leisure time and there's meal times like we really talk about all of that. So it brings up that conversation but let's say it's a problem that develops later it just shows the importance of continued communication. So like being open asking questions wanting to know like how does this go checking in over time being sure that you know if if we have a goal that it came up in the family assessment, we're adapting that goal over time so that if it changes to something where it may be more appropriate to do help in out in the community we're talking about that and that's coming up by making sure that we're hitting the right conversation topics.
Juanequa' HardiewayAnd sometimes it comes up with just therapy sessions with providers because the providers are really like the people who see your who's going to see your family the most often because they're gonna be in there once a week, you know, once a month or however often you guys are familiar having services. And so a lot of that stuff comes up then and the providers can help address it and you know talk talk to the service corner like hey I was in the meeting with this family and they keep you know saying like every time they you know she has mom goes to the grocery store every Monday and Wednesday and she has to take baby with them and she's having a really hard time and they can let us know like hey I'm thinking you know we may need you know all to you know have some community visits or it could just be like a maybe like once or twice thing where they just go out on that family outing with the with the family. You know they coordinate you coordinate that those things with your service providers to make sure that everybody's schedules uh align and things that's not something that they necessarily have to coordinate directly with us unless we're like okay no we need to have these services you know like on a more frequent basis but sometimes it's just like you know you're meeting with your OT this week and it's like hey these past couple of months when I'm you know at at the playground or I'm at the grocery store is it's been really rough and then that OT hey you know let's next week let's just meet you know at you know when you guys go to the grocery store. And so it could be something as simple as that where it doesn't really require you know like a a meeting or it could be something where we need we need a meeting and we need to address like how we want to you know tackle this new concern.
Howard SmithAnd so that's where like as a service coordinator then like the parent would reach out to the service coordinator.
Courtney StitesThat's that role of hey something there's a something came up or there's something you know you know that we need to talk about and then as a service coordinator you facilitate that that that meeting or that discussion or yeah I think families talk either either will let us know like if we're checking in on how things are going it'll come up like any concern comes up if you check in but I hear from providers as well. So like a the primary provider for that family that person that sees them the most that is with them throughout they are in constant communication like either through email text or monthly meetings called EIT or early intervention team meetings that we have so we're constantly giving opportunity to check in in in regards to providers but then and also in regards to families.
Coordinating services and caseload
Howard SmithSo trying to just make sure that we're always available about how many families do you have on your caseload like you you know like as a service coordinator how many other how many how many families do you see do you work with it depends I think we I'm I feel like my uh caseload I'm like do I say the number but I'm right I'm right around 40 families right now for my caseload which is actually pretty low for my experience.
Courtney StitesSo I'm I I don't I'm like I don't know if this is right to say but I'm enjoying it more because I don't feel overwhelmed. I feel like I'm able to connect more with my families having a little bit fewer but it it kind of doesn't spread me too thin.
Howard SmithSo don't be ashamed of having a caseload of 40 Courtney that's that was the reason we we did like that was part of the reason why we added more service coordinators is because we wanted you to have a caseload that you can that's manageable that that you know the family. So yeah don't apologize for it's okay it's a good number yeah that's the whole point as a service coordinator that you're and and I'm assuming as a I mean from your parent perspective you like you both talked about like the you know the role of the service coordinator connecting with you and talking and and being there. So that's that's important. That's that's so don't apologize.
Juanequa' HardiewayYeah yes I think that the lower case loads definitely give you give you more opportunities to have those personal connections with families. And so yeah I'm I'm definitely happy that our service coordinators get a chance to have those lower case loads because I was here when you know when they were much higher and it was it was harder to develop you know you only had those relationships with like the families that had the most need.
Howard SmithSo as as as parents and service coordinators what would you I both of you you're you don't have children in the program now so you've exited you know you've you're you're as as parents you've you've exited the program how did that how did that feel as far as like you know you're leaving this you know this program you're leaving that experience what what would you tell parents uh about the you know you we've talked about coming in we've talked about you know what it's like you know just the the day-to-day kind of stuff then what's what's it like leaving first steps?
Juanequa' HardiewayIt was it was it wasn't as scary because it's I guess my service coordinator and providers did a really good job of just through the whole process preparing us for a transition and you know and making sure that we knew what the what the next step was and if we needed any additional resources we were provided with those resources and I try to provide my current families you know with even more resources than I left with because it can be scary even though in in my child my children what weren't as high needs. And so I I can see you know it's being even more scary and the unknown is you know could be stressful for parents who who has children that that's more high needs. And so just preparing getting that information ahead of time we connect families directly with the with part B, which is your school district your school
What's it like to "graduate" from services?
Juanequa' Hardiewaydistrict's early childhood special education program. And so we can make that connection ourselves like as long as you give us permission to send that information off we invite the school district to the transition plan meeting so that the families will have that you know the comfort of having people that they already know when they're meeting you know the potential next step you know the the new people who will have their baby for the next two to three years. And so I think that's like the the biggest thing it's like okay my providers are here they can help me explain my child's needs to this new entity is and versus you know families just kind of being out there on their own trying to you know make sure that the school district knows their child and their child's unique needs. They have like you know people to advocate for them they have people like people with medical backgrounds to because you know that also helps you know having that person like no you know this is OT she has a she has a medical degree and she's telling you like my child will need this and my child will need that. And so I think like that was the most comforting part for me even though my child my children didn't have like those higher needs they still had you know like little quirks little things because they were NICU babies and you know they NICU babies develop a little slower and so they were there to help me to kind of like explain the the things that may not be necessarily able to see in an asset assessment.
Howard SmithAnd so that's a big deal. I mean that's a big that's a graduation that's the very first graduation at age right um yeah right and you know you have a baby that went to college then how helpful would it have been for you to have the high school there with the college yeah yeah we're still trying to I'm still trying to figure that that that transition out we're still in it we're still in it yeah well any anything else that either both of you from you know the perspective thank you for sharing all of this so you know as a as parents I mean you've both you you were both introduced to first steps as parents and now you're you know you're service coordinators and so you you kind of have a 360 degree view. Anything else you want to share about your experience or that you think you know other parents coming into first steps you know could would would would just need to know or just would help?
Courtney StitesI think that I would say that don't be embarrassed hard to you know put into action easier to say but don't there's nothing that you've done to get where you are and there's nothing wrong with saying I need help in these areas like it doesn't mean that you're not a great parent because you are the you're here you're great like so you're already making the right steps but it's really to help you and we don't like I don't I never would want a family to feel like they had to hold back or feel bad or have any kind
What would you tell parents seeking services?
Courtney Stitesof negative feelings about it because it's a hard topic where you know you're here because your child has a developmental delay or a disability and here we are and we are here to help and we do truly try to understand in empathy there is absolutely no judgment we truly just want to understand where you're at so that we can help the most like get the most benefit out of it that you can by understanding each piece and why it happens. So I would say try try not to hold shame or or regret or or any kind of responsibility for where we're at. It it just is what it is and let's just see what we can do to work together to try and make make it easier for you.
Juanequa' HardiewayAnd so it's a very non-judgmental environment and our providers they are great with like needing kids where they are they are great with getting kids to engage to and because you know we're different than a medical model where you know it's like that you're bringing your child into a whole new setting and so it may take a little longer for them to warm up to those providers because you know that they're not in the comfort of their home and they don't have mommy right there with them. And so you know it's I feel like we it's very friendly very family forward family friendly holistic approach.
Howard SmithAnd me and Courtney can attest to that because we've seen it in our homes and we decided to join the team I would say I think the proof that we're here is something we're very glad you joined the team too yes yes yes we are we are and thank you thank you both thank you both it's been great having you both Courtney Stites and Juanequa' Hardieway as service coordinators and parents who have gone through the First Steps program. So thank you for joining us on our First Steps Forward podcast. First Steps Forward is hosted by Benchmark Human Services as contractor for Missouri First Steps in the St. Louis area we help parents and providers in the St. Louis area learn about developmental milestones for children ages first to three and the resources available to support them. To learn more about the First Steps Early Invention services available in Missouri please visit DESE.mo.gov /childhood this podcast is edited by Courtney Heiser and Larissa Whitaker the views expressed on the podcast are our own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the First Ups program. Follow the St. Louis Area First Ups program on Facebook at St. Louis Area First Steps