What an exciting show we have for you today! Yvette Nunez joins Amanda and Vickie to discuss the “Help Me Grow” program in Orange County, California. Help Me Grow is a now-national program that got its start being funding by the Proposition 10 Tobacco Tax.
Yvette is a Child Development Community Liaison with Help Me Grow, and has a passion for building relationships with providers and families in the community. She strives to connect families with intervention services that help promote optimal development, she encourages developmental screenings at an early age, and advocates and empowers families so that they understand what resources are available to them. Help Me Grow follows the recommendations of the AAP (the American Academy of Pediatrics).
With so much information in so many different places, it’s easy to get overwhelmed! Listen in and find out how the Help Me Grow program can help your child reach his or her full potential!
Show Highlights:
- “Am I On Track?” campaign with the county
- Pediatricians in the county do a milestone checklist, but most do not perform a full developmental screening
- Getting access to early intervention will not only help the child but also empower and instill confidence in the parents
- Parents need to understand why early screening is important
- Funded through Proposition 10, also known as the "California Children and Families Commission Act of 1998”
- “Prop 10” levies a tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products to provide funding for early childhood development programs, such as “Help Me Grow”
- Orange County is the second county to replicate the model that actually started out in Connecticut
- “Child Care Toolkit” available for families on the website
- “I Need Help”, “I’m Worried”, and “I’m Curious” Help Buttons for more streamlined information
- So much information in different places that it’s easy to get overwhelmed
- Building relationships and networking
- Resources for children with autism and other special health care needs that are approaching the age to transition out of the program
- Overhaul of the Connection Cafe program - changes coming in January 2020
- The difference between the programs available for Birth-Age 8; and Ages 9 -18
- Following up with families to see how the program is working for them
Links/Resources:
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Help Me Grow Resources for Orange County:
Orange County website: http://www.helpmegrowoc.org/index.html