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HMG Spotlight: Ashley Wagner

Ashley was hired in January 2016 to be the North Alabama Help Me Grow Care Coordinator for 2-1-1 at Crisis Services of North Alabama (CSNA). She earned her Bachelors in Sociology from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and has been involved with 2-1-1 Information and Referral for two years with CSNA. She’s enthusiastic about the goals of the Help Me Grow program and is looking forward to helping the HMG team achieve them!

National Parent Survey Blog Series Part 2: Do You Believe Parenting Can Be Learned?

A parent’s interaction with their child in the first 5 years of life is a strong indicator of how the child’s brain will develop. So, for parents, the pressure is on. Are all people born with the knowledge of how to be a parent or is this something that can be learned? According to the National Parent Survey, 83% of parents agree that good parenting can most definitely be learned. Watch this short video to hear from a few parents about their outlooks on how they have learned to be a better parent for their child.

Zero to Three Video 

HMG Spotlight: Patricia Locker

Patricia is thrilled to be a part of the Help Me Grow Alabama team as the Northwest Alabama Care Coordinator! Her unique qualifications for this position include a B.A. in Psychology, experience as a preschool teacher, and years of working with individuals with disabilities. Patricia has served her community as an active volunteer in many different capacities, and she has also served on a local school board for several years. Through these experiences, she has seen the tremendous impact of early intervention in a young child’s life, and for her, there is no greater purpose than to help a child reach his/her optimal development. She wholeheartedly believes Frederick Douglass’s words to be true: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." Help Me Grow improves lives, and she is grateful to be a part of this process.

HMG Spotlight: Chandler Barrett

Chandler is excited to be part of the HMG team as the Regional Care Coordinator for East Alabama. She received a B.A. in Religion at Birmingham Southern College and a Master’s of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the University of Colorado. She previously worked for the Alabama Law Foundation and Alabama Access to Justice Commission. Chandler is currently a member of the staff at United Way of Lee County where she is responsible for community initiatives and direct service programs.

Parents of Young Children Tell What They Think, Know, and Need

A child’s experiences in the first three years of life shape a child forever. Help Me Grow cares about babies and toddlers, therefore we care about, listen to, and meet the needs of parents too. ZERO TO THREE, with support from the Bezos Family Foundation, undertook a comprehensive research effort to go directly to parents of young children to gain a clear and in-depth understanding about different challenges they face, the help they seek, and how satisfied they are with the support and information they receive. Any effort to set young children up for success in the long term is strengthened by helping their parents put valuable brain science into action.

There are many important findings from the National Parent Survey. Our first highlight is a video showing how parents answered the questions, "How Do Your Children Learn From You?"

Credit

Alabama: 46th in Nation for Child Well-being

Mike Cason from AL.com reports, "Alabama's national ranking on well-being of children fell to 46th in the latest annual report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

It was the second straight year for Alabama to drop in the Kids Count Data Book, which lists 16 indicators of child well-being in four areas: economic, educational, health and family and community.

Alabama had ranked 44th in 2014 and 45th in 2015."

Read more about this here and find more information in the 2016 Kids Count Data Book.