The Early Steps State Office must provide preservice and inservice training to be conducted on an interdisciplinary basis, to the extent appropriate. ESSO must provide for the training of a variety of personnel needed to meet the requirements of IDEA, Part C, including public and private providers, primary referral sources, paraprofessionals, and persons who will serve as Service Coordinators. ESSO must ensure that the training provided relates specifically to the following:
Understanding the basic components of early intervention services available in Florida.
Meeting the interrelated social or emotional, health, developmental, and educational needs of eligible children.
Assisting families in enhancing the development of their children, and in participating fully in the development and implementation of IFSPs.
To address these requirements, ESSO partners with the LES Training Coordinators to achieve the goal of presenting information consistently throughout the state about the Early Steps service delivery system. Each LES Training Coordinator collaborates with local partners and resources to offer professional development for service coordinators and other providers. With input from the LES Training Coordinators, the ESSO locates, develops, and approves high quality materials that can be used at the local level for professional development. The ESSO supports the LES Training Coordinators who address the local professional development needs.
A statewide training calendar and training plan are maintained at the ESSO.
