HMG & Cultural Competence

Help Me Grow is a system designed to connect children and families to the services they need. These services should be appropriate to a child's development and the family's culture.

Dr. Paul Dworkin, founder of Help Me Grow, visited Help Me Grow Minnesota and was asked, “How do we ensure that the resources offered by Help Me Grow to families are culturally appropriate and sensitive?” To learn the answer, check out his blog post.

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Alabama's Early Intervention System (AEIS)

When a parent or professional has a question regarding a child’s development, a referral can be made to Alabama’s Early Intervention System (AEIS).  This is done by calling 1-800-543-3098 which is also known as the Child Find number. 

AEIS serves children from birth to age three.  To be eligible, the child must have:

A) A diagnosed condition that has a high chance of leading to a developmental delay; such as, cerebral palsy, deafness, etc.

OR

B) A 25% delay or greater in one of the five developmental areas: physical to include vision & hearing; communication, cognitive; social or emotional; adaptive.

If you would like more information about development, go to www.rehab.alabama.gov/ei.  From there select Resource Library and scroll down the page to Publications.  “A Step Ahead” (pdf) and “AEIS Developmental Flier” (pdf) provide information about developmental milestones. These are important resources because the earlier a child’s delays are identified and treated, the more likely a better outcome.

Once eligible for services, an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is written with the family.  Outcomes or goals for the child are written and the early intervention services that are necessary to help the child and family achieve the outcomes are included in the IFSP.  Every family will have a service coordinator to help the family understand their rights, guide, and inform them.

Before the child reaches the age of three and must leave early intervention, the service coordinator will review options with the family for services at age three; such as, preschool services.

For additional information about Alabama’s Early Intervention System, please visit www.rehab.alabama.gov/ei or call 1-800-543-3098.

2-1-1 Strengthens Alabama's Families and Communities

2-1-1 Connects Alabama is network of call centers whose mission is to provide easy access to health and human services available throughout Alabama. The first call center was established in Montgomery in 2002 and the network has grown to provide services to all Alabama residents.

By making services easier to find, the 2-1-1 network strives to empower individuals with the information they need to "Get Help or Give Help" in their local communities. 2-1-1 serves individuals from all walks of life, but more importantly, vulnerable populations who struggle to connect to local resources and often slip through the cracks.

The objective of a 2-1-1 Call Specialist is to link the caller to information and available services such as:   

• Basic Human Needs: food banks, clothing closets, shelters, rent and utility assistance, emergency food and shelters, State and Federal assistance, grief counseling, emergency financial assistance
• Physical and Mental Health: health insurance programs, Medicaid and Medicare, maternal health, children’s health insurance programs, medical information lines, crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling, drug and alcohol intervention, victims services, rehabilitation
• Employment Support: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) financial assistance, job training, transportation assistance, education programs
• Support for Elderly and Persons with Disabilities: adult day care, activity center meals, Meals on Wheels, respite care, home health care, transportation, homemaker services, specialized services for both young and old with disabilities
• Support for Children, Youth, and Families: advocacy, empowerment, child care, after-school programs, Early Head Start/Head Start, family resource centers, summer camps and recreation programs, mentoring, tutoring, and protective services.

To connect to your local 2-1-1, it’s as easy as picking up the phone and dialing 2-1-1. You can learn more and access the online resource database here.

Quality Child Care Helps Children Grow

 In my 42 years of working with young children and their parents I am saddened to find that today’s families are in more crises than ever. Many parents have lost their jobs and many of those who haven’t are working part-time or irregular work schedules. Few have job benefits and little or no hope for advancement. Now, more than ever, quality child care is a very important family support.

With family members employed or seeking employment (even grandparents), child care is often a necessity. A parent earning minimum wage will often have to pay up to 40% of their take-home income for care for ONE child. If there are two or more children, it can seem impossible for the parent to work and pay for child care. Parents who are making this kind of sacrifice should be confident that they are placing their child in the best possible environment. Together, a community can encourage parents who work to support their families by ensuring that quality child care services are available, accessible, and affordable.

Childcare Resource Network is an advocate for Help Me Grow because we know what a difference high quality child care can make in identifying a young child’s needs and helping a family connect to resources. In many cases, a parent or guardian may know a child has a need, but be unsure how to define it or meet it. This is where a well-trained child care staff can empower parents to be their child’s advocate in the system of services. Help Me Grow has already provided the AL Access Guide to Early Childhood Services (pdf), which is a great tool for child care providers to use with any family. We look forward to further developments from Help Me Grow that will help us help children grow.

- Mary Davis, Executive Director

Childcare Resource Network

The Key to Future Success: Early Identification of Children with Special Needs

The vision statement of the Alabama State Board of Education Plan 2020 is “Every Child a Graduate – Every Graduate Prepared for College/Work/Adulthood in the 21st Century.” In order to have every graduate prepared, early identification and intervention for children with special needs is very important. It is a priority of all Alabama school systems to ensure that all children within their jurisdiction, birth to twenty-one, regardless of the severity of their disability, who need special education and related services are identified, located and evaluated. This process is known as Child Find.

Parents, friends, families, and agencies are encouraged to contact their local zoned school or the school system special education coordinator to request evaluations for children, ages 3 through 21, with special needs. Special education services are provided for children with disabilities who meet eligibility criteria in one of thirteen exceptionalities of the Alabama Administrative Code. The process sometimes seems complicated, but school staff look forward to helping parents and guiding them through the referral, evaluation, eligibility, and services procedures. Parents are the most important member of their child’s Individual Education Program (IEP) team.

For information about special education rights, disability definitions, eligibility criteria, Individual Education Programs, and parent involvement in IEP development, go to the Special Education Services and check out all the information available, including the Alabama Administrative Code. For more information, please contact the Alabama Department of Education, Special Education Services at speced(at)alsde(dot)edu or (334) 242-8114.

Family Resource Centers Help Families Grow

The Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers (ANFRC) is a strong advocate of Help Me Grow. ANFRC is made up of member agencies serving local communities. Each center is unique and provides services geared toward specific community needs. The centers share common ground, however, in the quality of services they provide. In order to become a member of ANFRC, each center must prove that it meets 25 standards of practice, which the Alabama Legislature passed into law in May of 2000.

Each Family Resource Center provides a broad range of services, including services for families of young children. These services are geared toward supporting parents, keeping children safe, and supporting school readiness and school success. Many ANFRC members offer home visiting programs, such as Parents as Teachers and HIPPY, in order to help parents prepare their children for school. Several ANFRC members have also participated in Books, Balls, and Blocks Help Me Grow events.

ANFRC agencies are able to help each family succeed using a comprehensive service plan developed by the family. This process allows families to identify goals they want to achieve, helps them to identify steps to take, and utilize resources for achieving their goals. Once a family’s plan is developed, a Family Resource Center staff member then meets with the family on a regular basis to help the family evaluate their progress toward achieving their goals.

For more information on ANFRC and its member agencies, visit the website at www.anfrconline.homestead.com or call Robin Mackey at (256) 310-6621.

Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive

Maximizing the health and development of children and families in the U.S. is an urgent concern of the Administration for Children and Families. Making sure our youngest children are screened and given support as early as possible is a priority for the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education. They have partnered to launch the Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive program. It highlights the importance of general developmental and behavioral screening for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The initiative is geared toward teaching staff and experts in early care and education, including Head Start and Early Head Start; primary health care; child welfare, and mental health. Staff and experts learn to make sure all parents are aware of the importance of early screening and know where they can receive these services.

The initiative will bring the entire early childhood world together around common goals:

• Getting all children screened on a schedule
• Celebrating developmental milestones
• Promoting universal developmental and behavioral screening
• Identifying possible delays and challenges early
• Enhancing developmental supports

Launch materials include:

• A Compendium of Screening Measures for Young Children (pdf)
• A toolkit of informational resources and tip sheets
• Find Help Near You

Early identification of developmental delays is critical to providing children with services and support they need to thrive. As many as one in four are at risk for a social delay or developmental disability. Early identification allows communities to intervene earlier. It also leads to more effective and cheaper treatment during the preschool years rather than expensive special education services later. Studies have shown that intervention prior to kindergarten can have large academic, social, and economic benefits, including savings to society of $30,000 to $100,000 per child.

Follow this link to learn more about the Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive initiative.