Florida State Resources

Complete update - 5/2008
Partial update - 6/13/2008

The offices listed on this state sheet are primarily state-level offices. Even if an office is not close to your home, they can usually put you in touch with resources in your community, as well as provide you with information and assistance about disability issues in your state. If you find that an address or number has changed or is incorrect, please e-mail us at nichcy@aed.org and let us know.

Age of Eligibility

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 Agencies and Organizations

United States Senators
Honorable Mel Martinez (R)
356 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3041; (202) 228-5171 (Fax)
E-mail: http://martinez.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.ContactForm
Web: http://martinez.senate.gov/public/

Honorable Bill Nelson (D)
716 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-5274
(202) 224-2183 (Fax)
E-mail Web Form: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Web: http://billnelson.senate.gov

United States Representatives
To find the contact information for your representative in the House of the U.S. Congress, visit the HouseÔøΩs Web site at: www.house.gov, or call: (202) 224-3121; (202) 225-1904 (TTY).

Governor
Honorable Charlie Crist
Executive Office of the Governor
400 S. Monroe Street
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
(850) 488-4441
(850) 487-0801 (Fax)
E-mail Web Form: www.flgov.com/contact_form
Web: www.flgov.com

Official State Web Site
Web: www.myflorida.com/

State Department of Education: Special Education
Bambi J. Lockman, Chief
Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services
Florida Department of Education
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 614
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-0475
E-mail: bambi.lockman@fldoe.org
Web: www.fldoe.org/ese

State Coordinator for NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
Pam Kaperak, Senior Policy Director
Office of No Child Left Behind
Florida Department of Education
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 316
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-0501
E-mail: pam.kaperak@fldoe.org
Web: www.fldoe.org

Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 2
Dr. Phyllis Sloyer, Division Director
Early Steps
Children's Medical Services, Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A-06
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1707
(850) 245-4218; (800) 654-4440
E-mail: phyllis_sloyer@doh.state.fl.us
Web: www.cms-kids.com/InfantHome.htm

Lou Ann Long, Director
Florida Directory of Early Childhood Services
2807 Remington Green Circle
Tallahasse, FL 32308
(850) 487-6301; (800) 654-4440
E-mail: lalong@centraldirectory.org
Web: www.centraldirectory.org

Programs for Children with Disabilities: Ages 3 through 5
Marilyn Hibbard, Program Specialist
Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services
Florida Department of Education
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 601
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-0478
E-mail: marilyn.hibbard@fldoe.org
Web: www.fldoe.org

Lou Ann Long, Director
Florida Directory of Early Childhood Services
2807 Remington Green Circle
Tallahasse, FL 32308
(850) 487-6301; (800) 654-4440
E-mail: lalong@centraldirectory.org
Web: www.centraldirectory.org

State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
Bill Palmer, Director
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Department of Education
2002 Old St. Augustine Road, Building A
Tallahassee, FL 32301-4862
(850) 488-6210; (800) 451-4327
Web: www.rehabworks.org

Coordinator for Transition Services
Drew Andrews, Director
The Transition Center
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117050
Gainesville, FL 32611-7050
(352) 392-0701, Ext. 267
E-mail: transitioncenter@coe.ufl.edu
Web: www.thetransitioncenter.org

Kirk G. Hall, VR Administrator
School To Work Transition Services
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Department of Education
2002 Old Saint Augustine Road, Building A
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 245-3360
E-mail: Kirk.Hall@vr.fldoe.org
Web: www.rehabworks.org

Career and Technical Education for Students with Disabilities
Jane Silveria, State Supervisor for Special Needs
Career Education for Students with Special Needs
Division of Workforce Education
Department of Education, Turlington Building
325 W. Gaines Street, Room 701
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-9022
E-mail: Jane.Silveria@fldoe.org
Web: www.myfloridaeducation.com/commhome

State Mental Health Agency
Katharine Lyon, Director
Mental Health Programs Office
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Boulevard, Building 6, Room 275
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700
(850) 488-8304
E-mail: katharine_lyon@dcf.state.fl.us
Web: www.state.fl.us/cf_web/

State Mental Health Representative for Children and Youth
Sue Ross, Assistant Director
Mental Health Programs Office
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Boulevard, Building 6, Room 290
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700
(850) 410-1177
E-mail: Sue_Ross@dcf.state.fl.us
Web: www.state.fl.us/cf_web/

Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities
Jim DeBeaugrine, Director
Agency for Persons with Disabilities
4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 380
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0950
(850) 488-4257
E-mail: Jim_DeBeaugrine@apd.state.fl.us
Web: www.myflorida.com
Web: www.apd.myflorida.com

Councils on Developmental Disabilities
Debra Dowds, Executive Director
Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc.
124 Marriott Drive, Suite 203
Tallahassee, FL 32301-2981
(850) 488-4180; (800) 580-7801 (in FL)
Web: www.fddc.org

Protection and Advocacy Agency
Gary J. Weston, Executive Director
Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities
2728 Centerview Drive, Suite 102
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 488-9071; (800) 346-4127 (TTY)
(800) 342-0823; (800) 350-4566 (Spanish and Creole Speaking Clients)
E-mail: info@advocacycenter.org
Web: www.AdvocacyCenter.org

Client Assistance Program
Corey Hinds, CAP Program Director
Contact Protection and Advocacy Agency listed above

Programs for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Dr. Phyllis Sloyer, Division Director
Children's Medical Services, Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A-06
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1707
(850) 245-4218; (800) 654-4440
E-mail: phyllis_sloyer@doh.state.fl.us
Web: www.myflorida.com

State CHIP Program
(health care for low-income uninsured children)
Florida KidCare
P.O. Box 980
Tallahassee, FL 32302-0980
(888) 540-5437
Web: www.healthykids.org

Programs for Children and Youth who are Blind or Visually Impaired
Michael Elliott, Bureau Chief
Division of Blind Services
Department of Education
325 W. Gaines Street, Room 1114, Turlington Building
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-0322; (800) 342-1828 (in FL)
E-mail: michael.elliott@dbs.fldoe.org
Web: http://myflorida.com/dbs

Programs for Children and Youth who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Cecil Bradley, VR Administrator
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Department of Education
2002 Old St. Augustine Road, Building A
Tallahassee, FL 32301-4862
(850) 245-3353; (850) 245-3350 (V)
(850) 245-3413 (TTY or VP); (850) 245-3404 (TTY)
E-mail: cecil.bradley@vr.fldoe.org
Web: www.rehabworks.org

Telecommunications Relay for People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf/Blind, or Speech Impaired
James Forstall, Executive Director
Florida Telecommunications Relay, Inc.
1820 E. Park Avenue, Suite 101
Tallahassee, FL 32301
E-mail: jforstall@ftri.org
Web: www.ftri.org
Questions or comments: (800) 222-3448 (V); (888) 447-5620 (TTY)
To use the relay dial 711 or the following toll-free numbers:
(800) 955-8771 (TTY)
(800) 955-8770 (Voice)
(800) 955-1339 (ASCII)
(877) 955-8260 (Voice Carry Over-Direct)
(877) 955-5334 (Speech to Speech )
(877) 955-8773 (Spanish)
(877) 955-8707 (French Cr)

State Education Agency Rural Representative
Ginny Change, Program Director
Exceptional Student Education Program Development and Services
Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services
Florida Department of Education
325 W. Gaines, Suite 601
Tallahaseee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-0478
E-mail: ginny.chance@fldoe.org
Web: www.fldoe.org

Regional ADA Technical Assistance Center
Shelley Kaplan, Project Director
DBTAC - Southeast ADA Center
Project of the Burton Blatt Institute - Syracuse University
1419 Mayson Street
Atlanta, GA 30324
(404) 541-9001; (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY)
E-mail: sedbtacproject@law.syr.edu
Web: www.sedbtac.org

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
Daniel Armstrong, Director
Mailman Center for Child Development
University of Miami School of Medicine
1601 N.W. 12th Avenue
Miami, FL 33136
(305) 243-6801
E-mail: darmstrong@miami.edu
Web: http://pediatrics.med.miami.edu

Technology-Related Assistance
Steven Howells, Executive Director
Florida Alliance for Assistive Service and Technology
325 John Knox Road, Building 400, Suite 402
Tallahassee, FL 32303
(850) 487-3278; (888) 788-9216
(850) 922-5951 (TTY)
E-mail: faast@faast.org
Web: http://faast.org/

State Mediation System
Kim C. Komisar, Ph.D., Section Administrator
Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services
Florida Department of Education
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 614
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(850) 245-0476
E-mail: kim.komisar@fldoe.org
Web: www.firn.edu/doe/commhome/

Special Format Library
Michael Gunde, Bureau Chief
Florida Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library Services
420 Platt Street
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-2804
(386) 239-6000; (800) 226-6075
(800) 955-8771 (TTY)
E-mail: mike.gunde@dbs.fldoe.org
Web: http://dbs.myflorida.com/library/index.php