First Steps, Inc.

Center Based Program

First Steps operates a Child Development Center providing early intervention and educational services for children with special needs and medical conditions, who have developmental delays, who are medically fragile and who are typically developing.

Developmental assessments and individually based curriculum.
Child-specific care related to health and medical conditions.
On-site nursing services.
Early literacy programming to increase language development and reading readiness.
Low teacher/child ratios.
Metropolitan Pre-Kindergarten standards adopted for Kindergarten readiness.
Families First Child Care certificates accepted.

Community Outreach Program and The Ayudando Niños (Helping Children) Program

First Steps' Community Outreach Program supports families in providing learning opportunities for their child with a disability, birth to three years old, within the activities, routines and events of everyday life.

Community Outreach teachers:
Offer support, information and resources to family members and child care teachers, involving them fully in the child's intervention program.
Are available to complete eligibility evaluations for Tennessee's Early Intervention System, training for parents and child care teachers, and screening clinics for the children in our community.
Conduct comprehensive developmental and family needs assessments that are provided to generate a thorough plan of intervention.

Outreach services are:
Made available in the family's or a relative's home, in a hospital or other medical setting, in a community child care center or any other setting that is a part of the child's natural environments.
For children who are too medically fragile to join his/her peers in a child care setting.
Chosen by parents who want to be directly involved with their child's one-on-one intervention program.
Chosen by parents who want to enroll their child in a community child care center close to where they work or live.

Referral and Enrollment

Interested in enrolling your child at First Steps, Inc?

If your child is developing typically and you are interested in our high-quality early childhood center, contact Stephanie Underwood at 615.298.5619 orsunderwood@firststepsnashville.org.

Families of children with special needs who are under age three are referred to First Steps by Tennessee's Early Intervention System (TEIS). If you are not currently served by TEIS and you live in the greater Nashville area, you can contact them by calling 615.936.1849. Children with special needs can also be referred to First Steps, Inc. by parents, pediatricians or social service agencies. For enrollment in all of our programs, contact Kelli Jo Hazen at 615.690.3091.

We are currently enrolling children in the McWhorter Family Children's Center.