AIRS 2012 Conference- New Orleans May 21, 2012

1. AIRS 2012 Conference- New OrleansMay 21, 2012 Marijane Carey, Carey Consulting, MCH Consultant for United Way of CT & The Help Me Grow National Center KareenaDuPlessis, Director, Child Development Infoline Dierdre Sowa, Senior Care Coordinator, Child Development Infoline Promoting Children’s Healthy Development Through Child Development Infoline, CT’s Help Me Grow Call Center

2. Workshop Objectives • 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

3. Why Help Me Grow? • 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

4. Help Me Grow Background • 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

5. 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

6. Steering Committee Community Outreach ELEMENTS of the Help Me Grow SYSTEM Continuous Quality Improvement Ongoing Monitoring/Evaluation Administrative Entity Call Center/ Access Point Pediatric Outreach

7. 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. Care Coordinators provide: • Assessment of needs & referrals to services • Education on development, behavior management and programs • Ongoing developmental monitoring • Advocacy and follow up Child Development Infoline 1-800-505-7000

8. Child Development Infoline Care Coordinators • Utilize 2-1-1’s framework for handling calls- • Building a relationship • Conducting a needs assessment • Educating on resources • Making referrals • Providing follow-up

9. Care Coordinators link to services • 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

10. Referrals to services • 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

11. United Way of Connecticut Programs

12. Help Me Growfor children birth thru 8 years • “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

13. Help Me Growfor children birth thru 8 years • 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 needs • Child development – both typical and atypical • Diagnoses and disability information • Specific program requirements • Complex service delivery systems • Data collection and data entry

15. Training for Care Coordinators • On-the-job training • One on one supervision • Peer to peer modeling/mentoring • Case discussion • Attending outside workshops/trainings • Regular inservice trainings • Case audits and call listening • Celebrating successes

16. 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 - universal • Multiple, overlapping needs

17. Advantages of utilizing Help Me Grow • 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

18. Case Examples • 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.

19. The Ages & Stages Child Monitoring Program • ASQ is an interactive tool • Designed for parents and providers • Helps monitor children’s development • Identifies developmental concerns • When there’s a concern, Help Me Grow/CDI can help

20. 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

21. 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

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

23. More information on ASQ • Brookes Publishing http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/squires-asq/system.htm

24. Core Components & Structural Requirements Centralized Telephone Access Point Community & Family Outreach Core Components Child Health Provider Outreach  Data Collection & Analysis Organizing Entity Continuous Quality Improvement Statewide Expansion Structural Requirements

25. Affiliate States as of 2012 • Alabama • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Iowa • Kentucky • Louisiana • Massachusetts • New Jersey • New York • Oregon • South Carolina • Utah • Washington • HMG National supports affiliate states by: • Promoting development and expansion of a nationalnetwork 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

26. Help Me Grow National Center • Joanna Bogin, ManagerP:860.610.4267 • Sara Sibley, Administrative Coordinator P:860.610.4232 • Website: http://www.helpmegrownational.org

27. Thank you! • Marijane Careymjcarey95@aol.com • KareenaDuPlessisKareena.DuPlessis@ctunitedway.org • Dierdre SowaDierdre.CDI@ctunitedway.org • www.211ct.org • www.ctunitedway.org/cdi.html