Gulfport sits inside two different Mississippi school districts depending on the address — the Gulfport School District within city limits, and the Harrison County School District in the surrounding unincorporated areas — so which office handles a Child Find request depends on exactly where your family lives.

Early intervention under age 3 runs through Mississippi's First Steps program, and longer-term developmental disability supports go through the Gulf Coast Mental Health Center, the regional community mental health center covering Harrison County under the state Department of Mental Health.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Mississippi page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Gulfport (Harrison County).

Early intervention under 3: Mississippi First Steps Early Intervention Program — Harrison County

First Steps, Mississippi's Part C program for children under 3, is administered statewide by the Mississippi State Department of Health and delivered locally through nine Local Early Intervention Programs. A parent or pediatrician can call the toll-free line directly; the referral is forwarded to the Local Early Intervention Program serving Harrison County, and a service coordinator typically follows up within 48 hours of receiving it. Evaluation doesn't require a diagnosis already in hand, only a documented concern about a child's development.

• Mississippi First Steps Early Intervention Program — Harrison County
• Referral phone: 1-800-451-3903

New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.

School districts and special education

Gulfport is unusual for a Mississippi city its size in being covered by two separate public school districts rather than one: the Gulfport School District serves the city itself, while the Harrison County School District serves the surrounding unincorporated parts of the county. Both carry the same federal Child Find duty to locate and evaluate children with a suspected disability at no cost, so a family's starting point comes down to which side of the city line they live on.

• Gulfport School District — covers students within Gulfport city limits; offers services across autism and other disability categories
• Harrison County School District — special education office at 16049 Orange Grove Road, Gulfport, 228-832-9344; covers the unincorporated areas around Gulfport and Biloxi

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Gulfport

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Gulfport. That is a gap in our research, not a sign there is nothing here — and it does not stand between you and an evaluation. The school district evaluation above is free, and early intervention under 3 does not need a private diagnosis first.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Gulf Coast Mental Health Center (Region 13), under the Mississippi Department of Mental Health

Mississippi's Department of Mental Health delegates much of its intellectual and developmental disability casework to regional community mental health centers, and Harrison County's is the Gulf Coast Mental Health Center. A family can call directly to start the process toward diagnostic and case management services, and toward an application for Mississippi's ID/DD Waiver if a child's needs rise to a level that would otherwise require an intermediate care facility.

• Gulf Coast Mental Health Center (Region 13), under the Mississippi Department of Mental Health
• Phone: 228-863-1132

Local organizations that help Gulfport families

We have not yet verified a local parent organization in Gulfport. Statewide help still covers you: the Mississippi guide lists the federally funded parent center and the free disability rights organization for the whole state, and both take calls from families anywhere in Mississippi.

Documented waits and access notes

Wait times change. Each note below links to the public source it came from — confirm current status directly with the program.

• Mississippi Department of Education guidance gives Gulfport-area districts 14 school days to hold a meeting on a written evaluation request, and, once testing wraps up, another 14 days to hold the eligibility meeting, with the evaluation report due to parents at least 7 days ahead of that meeting. (source)
• First Steps is required to complete a Harrison County child's evaluation, family assessment, and first IFSP meeting within 45 days of the referral reaching the Local Early Intervention Program. (source)
• Mississippi's 2024 autism advisory report counted about 2,588 people on the ID/DD Waiver's statewide planning list, roughly 680 of them with an autism diagnosis, with a typical wait cited at close to nine years. (source)