Help Me Grow in Central Alabama

Courtney Nix is the Program Manager for Help Me Grow Central Alabama (HMG-CA) and he works directly with each family connected to Help Me Grow. The Central Alabama site reaches five counties through United Way of Central Alabama: Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker. Courtney's been working hard to serve these communities. Read on to find out more about his work...

Alabama is in its infancy as a Help Me Grow state affiliate, so there is a lot of exciting development regionally and statewide. We have begun building a solid foundation by focusing on the following five goals:
1. Creating parent and physician brochures and other marketing materials
2. Building infrastructure: policies and protocols for data collection, processes for referrals, etc.
3. Training local pediatric offices in Help Me Grow
4. Data tracking and database management
5. Recruitment of new pediatric offices

Everything we are doing in the beginning stages of HMG-CA is focused on the four components of the Help Me Grow national model:
· Child Health Care Provider Outreach
· Community Outreach
· Centralized Telephone Access Point
· Data Collection

These components guide HMG-CA's emphasis on early detection and early intervention for children at risk of developmental and behavioral problems by using the ASQ-3 developmental screening tool. We provide and promote the use of this tool in medical homes, with child care providers, and to parents. HMG-CA is currently partnering with the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to reach out to physicians. This important collaboration is funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

We are also utilizing the 2-1-1 Connects Alabama resource database along with BeeLocal to assist us with connecting children and their families to local resources. In addition to building a great foundation for statewide expansion, we have begun intake for Help Me Grow cases. We currently have approximately 40 open cases. If you would like any additional information on Help Me Grow and how we can assist you or someone you know, please call 205-458-2070 or email HelpMeGrow@uwca.org.