Mary Krupp is the Co-Director of Progressive Steps, LLC, an organization based in Hazlet, New Jersey, that specializes in early childhood intervention and therapeutic services for children from birth to age three with developmental delays or disabilities. With a background in healthcare and family services, Mary has been instrumental in shaping Progressive Steps into a family-centered, culturally responsive, and outcomes-driven provider of early intervention. Her leadership emphasizes collaboration with families, schools, and healthcare providers to build lasting support networks and improve developmental outcomes for children. Mary is known for her compassionate approach, operational excellence, and unwavering advocacy for inclusive, community-based care.
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Susan Kleiner: Hello, and welcome to The Think Factory podcast where we speak with business leaders and talk about pressing industry issues, ways to grow your business, expand your career, and become better business leaders. My name is Susan Kleiner. I’m with Outside General Counsel Solutions, and I’m honored to be joined today by Mary Krupp, Co-Director of Progressive Steps, a New Jersey-based organization dedicated to early childhood intervention and family-centered therapeutic services.
With a passion for empowering families and a commitment to developmental support for children with special needs, Mary brings decades of experience and insight to the table. Let’s dive into her journey, the mission of Progressive Steps, and also some of the future of early intervention. So welcome, Mary, to the podcast.
Mary Krupp: Thank you, Susan. I’m happy to be here.
Susan Kleiner: So what inspired you to found Progressive Steps?
Mary Krupp: When I started in early intervention, both my children were very young.
My son was not even a year old, and my daughter was a little bit over three, and I was just out in the field working with families, and I saw the tremendous need that there was for providers. And I’m working with moms who were my age, and I saw how scared they were of the unknown, not knowing what the outcomes would be for their child in the future. And at that point, early intervention was going through a tremendous amount of changes, and there was a need for providers. And I had quite a few families that kind of convinced me that I should look into going into business on my own. So that’s how Progressive Steps came to be.
Susan Kleiner: Now, just for people who don’t know, can you explain what is early intervention, and how do families get early intervention?
Mary Krupp: Early intervention is a state-funded program that provides services to children with developmental delays from birth through age three. A family does not need a diagnosis, and they actually don’t even need a referral from a doctor. They can simply call the state.
There is an 800 number available to them, and describe to the intake coordinator what their concerns are. And then from there, the state coordinates an evaluation where a member of, or two people go out to do an evaluation for a child to determine eligibility. And then if the child is eligible, it moves to a RBI, which is a routine-based interview with the family. And then it goes into IFSP, which is an individual family service plan to determine a plan that works best for the family and child based on the child’s individual needs.
Once the plan is put into, once it’s written, it then gets put into place, where it gets sent to agencies such as Progressive Steps, where we fill the recommended services and continue with that child until they either become age appropriate or age out of the program and transition into their receiving district.
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