Promoting Childrens Healthy Development Through Child Development Infoline

Promoting Children’s Healthy Development Through Child Development Infoline, CT’s Help Me Grow Call Center AIRS 2012 Conference- New Orleans May 21, 2012 Marijane Carey, Carey Consulting, MCH Consultant for United Way of CT & The Help Me Grow National Center Kareena Du. Plessis, Director, Child Development Infoline Dierdre Sowa, Senior Care Coordinator, Child Development Infoline 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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 Child. Serv Became statewide in 2002 with administrative oversight provided by the Children’s Trust Fund 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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

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 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

United Way of Connecticut Programs

Help Me Grow for 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 9/10/2020

Help Me Grow for 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 9/10/2020

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 14

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 15

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 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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. 9/10/2020

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 9/10/2020

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

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

ASQ Case Example 24 month old child who’s mother noted concerns for him on the ASQ Questionnaire. 9/10/2020

More information on ASQ Brookes Publishing http: //www. brookespublishing. com/store/books/squiresasq/system. htm 9/10/2020

Core Components & Structural Requirements Centralized Telephone Community & Family Access Point Outreach Child Health Provider Outreach Organizing Entity Data Collection & Analysis Statewide Expansion Continuous Quality Improvement Structural Requirements 9/10/2020

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

Help Me Grow National Center Joanna Bogin, Manager P: 860. 610. 4267 Sara Sibley, Administrative Coordinator P: 860. 610. 4232 Website: http: //www. helpmegrownational. org 9/10/2020

Thank you! Marijane Carey mjcarey 95@aol. com Kareena Du. Plessis Kareena. Du. Plessis@ctunitedway. org Dierdre Sowa Dierdre. CDI@ctunitedway. org www. 211 ct. org www. ctunitedway. org/cdi. html 9/10/2020