Each state sets eligibility ages for services to children and youth with disabilities. For current information concerning this state, please contact the office listed under Department of Education: Special Education.

State Department of Education: Special Education
Melodie Friedebach, Assistant Commissioner
Division of Special Education 
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-4444
E-mail: melodie.friedebach@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov/divspeced/

State Coordinator for NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
Delores Beck, Coordinator of Federal Programs
Division of School Improvement
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-3520
E-mail: dee.beck@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov

Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 2
Debby Parsons, Coordinator
Special Education Services
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 522-8762; (866) 583-2392 (First Steps)
E-mail: debby.parsons@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov/divspeced/

Programs for Children with Disabilities: Ages 3 through 5 
Kate Numerick, Director 
Effective Practices Section
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-0187
E-mail: kate.numerick@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov/divspeced/

State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency 
Jeanne Loyd, Assistant Commissioner 
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation 
Department of Education 
3024 Dupont Circle
Jefferson City, MO 65109-0525 
(573) 751-3251 
Web: www.vr.dese.mo.gov

Coordinator for Transition Services 
John Bamberg, Assistant Director 
Special Education Effective Practices Section 
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0480 
(573) 526-0298
E-mail: john.bamberg@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov

Office of State Coordinator of Vocational Education for Students with Disabilities 
Shawn Brice, Director
Vocational Special Needs 
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 522-1775
E-mail: shawn.brice@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov/divcareered/special_needs_index.htm

State Mental Health Agency 
Dorn Schuffman, Director 
Department of Mental Health 
1706 East Elm
P.O. Box 687
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-3070; (800) 364-9687
Web: www.dmh.mo.gov

State Mental Health Representative for Children and Youth 
Linda Roebuck, Deputy Director
Department of Mental Health
1706 E. Elm
P.O. Box 687
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-4970
E-mail: linda.roebuck@dmh.mo.gov
Web: www.dmh.mo.gov

State Mental Retardation Program 
Anne Deaton, Director 
Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
1706 E. Elm
P.O. Box 687
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-8676; (800) 207-9329
E-mail: anne.deaton@dmh.mo.gov
Web: www.dmh.mo.gov

Councils on Developmental Disabilities 
Susan Pritchard-Green, Director
Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities
1706 E. Elm
P.O. Box 687
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-8611; (800) 500-7878 (In MO) 
E-mail: susan.pritchard-green@dmh.mo.gov
Web: www.mpcdd.com

Protection and Advocacy Agency 
Shawn de Loyola, Executive Director 
Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services 
925 S. Country Club Drive
Jefferson City, MO 65109 
(573) 893-3333; (800) 392-8667 
E-mail: mopasjc@earthlink.com
Web: www.moadvocacy.org

Client Assistance Program 
Contact Protection and Advocacy Agency listed above

Programs for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Diane Poole, Interim Chief
Special Health Care Needs
Department of Health and Senior Services
930 Wildwood Drive
P.O. Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-6246; (800) 451-0669 
Web: www.dhss.mo.gov

State CHIP Program
(health care for low-income uninsured children)
MC+ for Children
Missouri Department of Social Services
(888) 275-5908
Web: www.dss.state.mo.us/mcplus/index.htm

Programs for Children and Youth who are Blind or Visually Impaired or Deaf-Blind 
Michael Fester, Deputy Director
Rehabilitation Services for the Blind
Family Support Division
615 Howerton Court
P.O. Box 2320
Jefferson City, MO 65102-2320
(573) 751-4249; (800) 592-6004 
E-mail: kimberly.gerlt@dss.mo.gov
Web: www.dss.mo.gov/dfs/rehab/index.htm

Missouri School for the Blind
3815 Magnolia Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 776-4320; (800) 622-5672
E-mail: webmaster@msb.k12.mo.us
Web: www.msb.k12.mo.us

Programs for Children and Youth who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing 
Dr. Roy E. Miller, Executive Director
Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
1103 Rear Southwest Boulevard
Jefferson City, MO 65109
(573) 526-5205 (V/TTY)
E-mail: mcdhh@mo.gov
Web: www.mcdhh.state.mo.us

Missouri School for the Deaf
505 E. 5th Street
Fulton, MO 65251-1799
(573) 592-4000
E-mail: webmaster@msd.k12.mo.us
Web: www.msd.k12.mo.us

Telecommunications Relay Services for Individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or with Speech Impairments
(800) 735-2466 (V)
(800) 735-2966 (TTY); 711 (TTY)
(877) 735-7877 (Speech to Speech)

State Education Agency Rural Representative
D. Kent King, Commissioner
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 
P.O. Box 480 
Jefferson City, MO 65102 
(573) 751-4212
E-mail: pubinfo@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov

Regional ADA & IT Technical Assistance Center 
Jim de Jong, Director
ADA and I.T. Center
Great Plains Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center
University of Missouri/Columbia
100 Corporate Lake Drive
Columbia, MO 65203
(573) 882-3600 (V/TTY); (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY)
E-mail: ada@missouri.edu
Web: www.adaproject.org

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
Carl F. Calkins, Director 
UMKC Institute for Human Development
Health Sciences Building
2220 Holmes Street, 3rd Floor
Kansas City, MO 64108 
(816) 235-1770; (800) 444-0821 (V)
(800) 452-1185 (TTY) 
Web: www.ihd.umkc.edu

Technology-Related Assistance
Diane Golden, Project Director
Missouri Assistive Technology
4731 South Cochise, Suite 114
Independence, MO 64055-6975
(816) 373-5193; (800) 647-8557
E-mail: matpmo@swbell.net
Web: www.at.mo.gov

State Mediation System
Pam Williams, Director
Special Education Compliance
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
P.O. Box 480
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-4909
E-mail: pam.williams@dese.mo.gov
Web: www.dese.mo.gov/divspeced/

Special Format Library
Dr. Richard Smith, Librarian
Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped 
P.O. Box 387 
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0387 
(573) 751-8720; (800) 392-2614 (in MO) 
(800) 347-1379 (TTY/ in MO)
E-mail: wolfner@sos.mo.gov
Web: www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/

Disability-Specific Organizations

Attention Deficit Disorder
To identify an ADD group in your state or locality, contact either:

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
8181 Professional Place, Suite 150
Landover, MD 20785
(301) 306-7070
(800) 233-4050 (Voice mail to request information packet)
Web: www.chadd.org

Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)
P.O. Box 543
Pottstown, PA 19464
(484) 945-2101
Web: www.add.org

Autism
Julia Kaufmann, Director
Children's Services
Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
1706 E. Elm
P.O. Box 687
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-8237 
E-mail: julia.kaufman@dmh.mo.gov
Web: www.dmh.mo.gov/mrdd

Blind/Visual Impairments
Jay Stiteley, Director
American Foundation for the Blind - Midwest
401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 350
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 396-4420
E-mail: chicago@afb.net
Web: www.afb.org

Brain Injury
Scott Gee, Chief Executive Officer
Brain Injury Association of Missouri
10270 Page Avenue, Suite 100
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314) 426-4024; (800) 377-6442
E-mail: info@biamo.org
Web: www.biamo.org

Donna Mueller, Director
Missouri Head Injury Advisory Council
P.O. Box 809
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-9003
E-mail: donna.mueller@oa.mo.gov
Web: www.tbi.mo.gov

Cerebral Palsy
Richard Forkosh, Executive Director
United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater St. Louis
8645 Old Bonhomme Road
St. Louis, MO 63132-3999
(314) 994-1600
E-mail: forkoshr@ucpstl.org
Web: www.ucpa.org

Epilepsy
Darla Templeton, Executive Vice President 
Epilepsy Foundation of the St. Louis Region 
7100 Oakland Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63117
(314) 645-6969; (800) 264-6970
E-mail: darla@stl-epil.org
Web: www.stl-epil.org

Learning Disabilities 
Ginger Johnson, President
Learning Disabilities Association of Missouri 
1942 E. Meadowmere, Suite104
P.O. Box 3303
Springfield, MO 65804
(417) 864-5110; (800) 473-4965 
E-mail: ldamo@cland.net
Web: www.ldamo.org

Mental Health 
James House, Executive Director
Mental Health Association of St. Louis
1905 S. Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63104-1542
(314) 773-1399
E-mail: mhagstl@aol.com
Web: www.mhagstl.org

Cindi Keele, Executive Director
National Alliances for the Mentally Ill of Missouri
1001 Southwest Boulevard, Suite E
Jefferson City, MO 65109
(573) 634-7727; (800) 374-2138
E-mail: namimockj@aol.com
E-mail: namimochildren@aol.com

Donna Dittrich, Executive Director
Missouri Statewide Parent Advisory Network (MO-SPAN)
440 Rue St. Francois
Florissant, MO 63031
(314) 972-0600
Web: www.mo-span.org

Speech and Hearing 
Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association 
Central Office
901 Missouri Boulevard, PMB 355
Jefferson City, MO 65109-1759
(888) 729-6742
E-mail: msha@showmemsha.org
Web: www.showmemsha.org

Spina Bifida 
Mark Abbott, Chairperson
Spina Bifida Association of Greater St. Louis
8050 Watson Road, Suite 115
St. Louis, MO 63119
(314) 843-2244; (800) 784-0983
E-mail: sbastl@charter.net
Web: www.sbastl.com

Organizations Especially for Parents and Caregivers

Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) 
Mary Kay Savage, Executive Director
Missouri Parents Act (MPACT)
One W. Armour Boulevard, Suite 302
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 531-7070; (800) 743-7634 (V/TTY)
E-mail: msavage@ptimpact.com
Web: www.ptimpact.com

Parent-To-Parent 
Contact Parent Training and Information Projects listed above

Partners in Policymaking
Susan Pritchard-Green, Program Director
Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities
P.O. Box 687
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-8611; (800) 500-7878 (in MO)
E-mail: susan.pritchard-green@dmh.mo.gov
Web: www.mpcdd.com

Parent Teacher Association (PTA) 
Tina Zubeck, President
Missouri Congress of Parents and Teachers
2100 I-70 Drive, S.W.
Columbia, MO 65203
(573) 445-4161; (800) 328-7330
E-mail: office@mopta.org
E-mail: tinaz@mopta.org
Web: www.mopta.org

Other Disability Organizations
Craig Byrd, CEO
Easter Seals Missouri
5025 Northrup Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110 
(314) 664-5025
E-mail: cbyrd@mo.easterseals.com
Web: www.mo.easterseals.com

Lisa Kemper, Executive Director
VSA arts of Missouri
P.O. Box 1763
Columbia, MO 65205-1763
(573) 875-2872; (866) VSA-ARTS (872-2787)
E-mail: director@showmevsa.com
Web: www.showmevsa.com

Independent Living 

To find out the contact information for the Statewide 
Independent Living Council (SILC) in your state, contact:
Independent Living Research Utilization Project
The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research
2323 South Sheppard, Suite 1000
Houston, TX 77019
(713) 520-0232 (V); (713) 520-5136 (TTY)
E-mail: ilru@ilru.org
Web: www.ilru.org

To find out the contact information for centers for 
independent living (CILs) in your state, contact:
National Council on Independent Living
1916 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 209
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 525-3406; (703) 525-4153 (TTY)
E-mail: ncil@ncil.org
Web: www.ncil.org