Statements
Mission
The mission of First Steps, Inc. is to educate and care for children with special needs and medical conditions alongside their typically developing peers in an inclusive environment and support their families. The vision of First Steps is to: Enhance the quality of life for children and their families, eliminate barriers to services for children with special needs, empower families as they seek to meet the needs of their children, celebrate each child's unique potential, and improve the community as a whole; child by child, family by family.
Background
First Steps has been serving children with special needs from the Nashville community for more than sixty years. In July of 2007, Outlook Nashville and First Steps, Inc. merged to become one of the largest providers of early intervention services in Middle Tennessee. First Steps operates a Child Development Center providing early intervention and education services for children with developmental delays, who are medically fragile, or are typically developing. The First Steps Community Outreach Program and the Ayudando Ninos (Helping Children) program support families by providing learning opportunities for their child with disabilities within the activities, routines, and events of everyday life. Teachers take early intervention services to the child in their home, their community day-care, their hospital room, or any other setting that is natural for the child. Our Pediatric Therapy program provides physical, occupational, speech/language and feeding therapies to children ages birth to twelve. Accepting most insurance plans, our experienced therapy team works with families to find a treatment plan that allows each child to set individual, achievable goals. We serve more than 1,000 children every year.
Impact
In 2023-2024, 1,074 children received the education and care they needed to achieve their developmental success. Many children participated in more than one or more programs throught the year and 19,055 therapy sessions were completed. First Steps s one of the only organizations in the Nashville area providing both childcare and Pediatric Therapy on-site.
Research shows that high-quality early intervention programs have a demonstrable impact on short- and long-term outcomes for children with special needs, including benefits in academic achievement, social-emotional development, and reduced need for developmental supports later in life. While participating in First Steps programs, children make measurable progress toward their developmental goals.
In response to parent surveys, 98% of parents reported that they believe their child or children are making developmental progress as a result of First Steps programming this past year. 99% of families also reported they would feel comfortable referring other families to the program.
Needs
As we continue to grow and serve more families, our greatest needs are raising increased funds to support First Steps programmatic operating costs, and raising increased awareness of First Steps' programs. In addition, we have also prioritized the following needs: 1. Board member recruitment, representative of the community we serve, 2. Deepened investment in human resources and ensuring First steps is an employer of choice in Middle Tennessee, and 3. Sustaining the growth we have experienced through increased community investment.
CEO Statement
First Steps believes you should never underestimate a child. Our programs impact the lives of children and families throughout the greater Nashville area. The children we serve each year come from very diverse backgrounds, all benefiting from our commitment to realizing each child's potential to learn and grow. Our Child Development Center represents a unique opportunity for children of all levels of ability to come together to work toward their educational goals. Our staff is specially trained through the support of a nurse to work with diverse populations, including children with feeding tubes, seizure disorders, and special mobility and seating equipment. We strive to be a model environment for quality childcare programs through our individualized curriculum and a focus on early literacy skills. Our Community Outreach Program sends skilled Developmental Therapists to work with children with special needs and to support their families. We are fortunate to have bilingual therapists supporting the ever-changing community. Our Pediatric Therapy program offers physical, occupational, feeding, and speech/language therapy to children age birth to 12 in our easily accessible and child-friendly therapy space in the McWhorter Family Children's Center. Through our variety of programming options, we are able to provide support in many ways in order to meet the challenges our special families face.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Developmentally Disabled Services/Centers |
| Secondary Category: | Education - Preschools |
| Tertiary Category: | Health Care - Health Support |
Areas Served
First Steps serves children and families from throughout Greater Nashville in our McWhorter Family Children's Center in Green Hills. The Pediatric Therapy and Community Outreach Programs serve families in the home and other community-based settings throughout the Greater Nashville regional community, many of whom are low-income and speak a language other than English in the home.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Cheatham |
