Promoting Children’s Healthy Development Through Child Development Infoline, CT’s Help Me Grow Call

Center

04/22/23

AIRS 2012 Conference- New OrleansMay 21, 2012

Marijane Carey, Carey Consulting, MCH Consultant for United Way of CT & The Help Me Grow National Center

Kareena DuPlessis, Director, Child Development Infoline

Dierdre Sowa, Senior Care Coordinator, Child Development Infoline

Workshop Objectives

04/22/23

Learn about the Help Me Grow (HMG) system and the role of the call center

Understand CT 2-1-1/Child Development Infoline’s (CDI) function and responsibilities in the CT Help Me Grow system

Become aware of the Ages & Stages Child Monitoring Program and how CDI offers the tool to families

Learn about replication efforts of the National HMG Center

Explore the feasibility of establishing a HMG system in your state and the potential role for your call center

Why Help Me Grow?

04/22/23

Assumptions: Children with developmental/behavioral

problems are eluding early detection

Many initiatives exist to provide services to young children, their families

A gap exists between child health and child development/early childhood education programs

Children and their families would benefit from a coordinated, region-wide system of early detection, intervention for children at developmental risk

Help Me Grow Background

04/22/23

Pioneered by Paul Dworkin, Physician-in-Chief of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

Began in 1998 as a pilot project in Hartford, CT for pediatricians called ChildServ

Became statewide in 2002 with administrative oversight provided by the Children’s Trust Fund

Help Me Grow Background

National Replication 2005 – Orange County Help Me Grow was

established

2008 – Expanded to 5 states with funds from the Commonwealth Fund

2010 – Established the National Help Me Grow Center with Kellogg funding and added 9 more replication states

04/22/23

ELEMENTS of the Help Me Grow SYSTEM

Pediatric Outreach

Call Center/ Access Point

Community Outreach

Continuous Quality Improvement

Steering Committee Ongoing Monitoring/Evaluation

Administrative Entity

04/22/23

Child Development Infoline 1-800-505-7000

Child Development Infoline, a specialized call center of United Way 2-1-1, helps families with children who are at risk for or experiencing developmental delays or behavioral health issues find appropriate services.

• Assessment of needs & referrals to services

• Education on development, behavior management and programs

• Ongoing developmental monitoring

• Advocacy and follow up

Care Coordinators provide:

Child Development Infoline Care Coordinators

04/22/23

Utilize 2-1-1’s framework for handling calls-

Building a relationship Conducting a needs assessment Educating on resources Making referrals Providing follow-up

Care Coordinators link to services

04/22/23

The CT Birth to Three System (Early Intervention)

Early Childhood Special Education Services

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Program

Other 2-1-1 Call Centers

Help Me Grow

Referrals to services

04/22/23

Birth to Three- for children birth-36 months of age with significant developmental delays in need of early intervention services

Early Childhood Special Education- for children ages 3-5 with significant delays in need of special education services

CYSHCN- for children birth-21 years with chronic physical, developmental or emotional conditions needing more health/related services than children the same age

United Way of Connecticut Programs

Help Me Growfor children birth thru 8 years

04/22/23

“Safety Net” available to all families

Referrals for families of young children “at risk” for developmental or behavioral problems

Care coordinators research resources that meet the needs of child and family

Referrals to existing programs, such as family resource centers, parent aide programs, early childhood consultation services and other parent supports

Help Me Growfor children birth thru 8 years

04/22/23

Provide information on various parenting issues, such as toilet training, behavior management, sleep issues

Offer developmental tracking and monitoring through mail-out questionnaire called Ages & Stages (ASQ)

Ongoing follow up to ensure family is connected to services & issues are addressed

14

Training components for staff: areas for training

Assessment skills Being family friendly, supportive & non-

judgmental Being holistic- looking at family needs, as well as

child specific needsChild development – both typical and

atypicalDiagnoses and disability informationSpecific program requirementsComplex service delivery systemsData collection and data entry

15

Training for Care Coordinators

On-the-job trainingOne on one supervisionPeer to peer modeling/mentoringCase discussionAttending outside workshops/trainingsRegular inservice trainingsCase audits and call listeningCelebrating successes

Wide range of needs

FY’11: ~ 2,300 CT people call Help Me Grow ~ 3,300 children enrolled in ASQ

Information/assistance with connecting to service

Developmental, health or behavior problem that does not fit eligibility criteria

Programs for healthy development - universalMultiple, overlapping needs

04/22/23

Advantages of utilizing Help Me Grow

04/22/23

One stop shopping

Consistency in data collection and handling of calls

Mandated follow-up to ensure needs are met

Identification of gaps and barriers to inform policy makers

Blended funding is cost effective

Collaboration among partnering programs ensures smooth referral process for families

Case Examples

04/22/23

A mother called in seeking parenting support. She was experiencing personal family stressors and had three children, one with a diagnosed medical condition.

A third party call from a social worker at a domestic violence shelter regarding the mother of an almost three year old child. The worker was looking for community based resources for the mom.

The Ages & Stages Child Monitoring Program

ASQ is an interactive toolDesigned for parents and providersHelps monitor children’s developmentIdentifies developmental concerns When there’s a concern, Help Me

Grow/CDI can help

04/22/23

Advantages of the ASQ system

• Cost effective• Parent driven• Reliable & valid• Easy to use• Available in multiple languages• Flexible- used in a variety of environments

Home Daycare Primary care centers As a mail-out questionnaire

In CT, statewide access to ASQ is available thru

Child Development Infoline (CDI)

• Families send in consent form

• Receive welcome letter

• Receive questionnaire closest to child’s age

• Family fills out & returns questionnaire to CDI

• CDI scores ASQ and

• Provides feedback to family, along with developmental activities

• Results also returned to child health provider

ASQ Case Example

24 month old child who’s mother noted concerns for him on the ASQ Questionnaire.

04/22/23

More information on ASQ

Brookes Publishing http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/squires-asq/system.htm

04/22/23

Core Components & Structural Requirements

04/22/23

Cor

e C

ompo

nent

s

Structural Requirements

Centralized Telephone Access Point

Community & Family Outreach

Child Health Provider Outreach 

Data Collection & Analysis

Organizing Entity

Statewide Expansion

Continuous Quality Improvement

HMG National supports affiliate states by:• Promoting development and expansion of

a national network of states that are building HMG systems

• Providing technical assistance to help states implement HMG’s core components and structural requirements

• Informing the public discourse on the crucial importance of optimal child development

• Providing tools for implementation

Affiliate Statesas of 2012 Alabama California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts New Jersey New York Oregon South Carolina Utah Washington

Help Me Grow National Center

Joanna Bogin, ManagerP:860.610.4267

Sara Sibley, Administrative Coordinator P:860.610.4232

Website: http://www.helpmegrownational.org

04/22/23

Thank you! Marijane Carey

mjcarey95@aol.com

Kareena DuPlessisKareena.DuPlessis@ctunitedway.org

Dierdre SowaDierdre.CDI@ctunitedway.org

www.211ct.org

www.ctunitedway.org/cdi.html

04/22/23