Thursday, March 21, 2013

HMG Washington Video

Take 5 minutes and enjoy this powerful video from Help Me Grow Washington. Consider the impact HMG is having on families in central Alabama already!

 

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Robin on Strengthening Families

Robin Mackey has worked with Alabama Partnership for Children (APC) for the past two and a half years and she coordinates Strengthening Families for the state. Prior to joining APC, Robin worked in a variety of settings with children, youth, and families as a licensed social worker. We posted about Strengthening Families back in January, but we wanted to hear Robin’s vision for the initiative...

Through my work at APC, I’ve been involved in communities across the state to implement the Strengthening Families Protective Factors framework within agencies and early care and education settings. I enjoy this work, and its connection to Help Me Grow, because I believe in the power of families. I see Strengthening Families and Help Me Grow as strategies which families can parlay into a customized support network.

Strengthening Families is not a program, but it is a framework of Protective Factors that can be embedded into any organization. The five Protective Factors are:
- Parental Resilience
- Social Connections
- Concrete Support in Times of Need
- Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
- Social and Emotional Competence of Children


HMG services such as developmental screening and surveillance reinforce Strengthening Families Protective Factors within a family’s daily life. Help Me Grow provides a much needed in-road for families to access developmental screening, surveillance, and services. It promotes all five Protective Factors for families who engage with Help Me Grow, fortifying families, and extending the impact of the Strengthening Families Initiative.

If you have any questions, I hope you’ll contact me at rmackey@smartstartalabama.org or (256) 310-6621.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Harvard: Early Childhood Mental Health

The framework for stable mental health is constructed when we are all very young. As infants and toddlers form connections regarding people and the world around them, their mental health is developing. When there are unhealthy relationships or adverse experiences, a child's brain can be negatively impacted.

Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child continues to produce sound research to explain why it's important to protect all children's early life experiences. The newest publication in their InBrief series presents a solid case for why investing in young children's early development can help prevent many common problems in the future. The research presented supports the very core of Help Me Grow.