Help Me Grow is Ohio’s evidenced-based parent support program that encourages early prenatal and well-baby care, as well as parenting education to promote the comprehensive health and development of children. Help Me Grow System includes Central Intake, Help Me Grow Home Visiting and Help me Grow Early Intervention.

Making a referral to Help Me Grow is the first and easy step for parents who have questions or concerns about their infant or child. One referral to Help Me Grow opens the door to many programs that support families including Early Intervention, Home Visiting, Moms and Babies First.

If you are not the child’s parent, you may still make a referral. Help Me Grow will first contact the child’s parent before proceeding. Click Here to complete the referral form.

In January of 2017, Senate Bill 332 established Help Me Grow as Ohio’s evidenced-based parent support program that encourages early prenatal and well-baby care, as well as parenting education to promote the comprehensive health and development of children. Additionally, the legislation required Help Me Grow to utilize only evidence-based or innovative, or promising home visiting models to accomplish the following goals:

• • Improve maternal and child health;
  • Prevent child abuse and neglect;
  • Encourage positive parenting;
  • Promote child development and school readiness
    In March 2019 , Governor DeWine also announced the formation of a pilot program, Pay for Success, a public-private partnership aimed at increasing the availability of, and participation in, home visiting programs.

Governor DeWine will be asking the legislature to double the funding of Ohio’s home visiting programs, investing an additional $50 million over the biennium into evidence-based home visiting programs, bringing the total state funding for home visiting to $90 million over two years.

“Evidence-based home visiting programs help give children the best possible start in life and increasing participation can help lower infant mortality rates, increase kindergarten readiness and improve parenting skills,” said Governor DeWine. “Strong children grow into strong adults, so an investment in these proven programs is an investment in our state’s future.”