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Service Coordination for Ages 0-3

Help Me Grow

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.”

Help Me Grow - Ohio Early Intervention

Early Intervention (EI) is a statewide system that provides coordinated early intervention services to parents of eligible children under the age of three with developmental delays or disabilities. EI is grounded in the philosophy that young children learn best from familiar people in familiar settings. Every family served in EI will have a local EI team that consists of a service coordinator, service providers, and your family. Your team works with you in your home or other places you and your family spend time to develop a coordinated plan called an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). You and your team will work through your IFSP plan to use your existing supports and resources—and build upon them—to learn to enhance your child’s learning and development. For more information, please click here.

To get more information about Early Intervention (EI) in your county, contact your contract manager or Family and Children First Council coordinator by clicking here.

Help Me Grow - Early Childhood Home Visiting

Help Me Grow Home Visiting is a voluntary family support program for pregnant women or new parents. Offered in every county of the state through a well-established network, Help Me Grow Home Visiting is an evidence-based program that promotes healthy growth and development for babies and young children. Our home visitors are well-trained professionals who use a non-judgmental and compassionate approach that empowers parents with skills, tools and confidence to nurture the healthy growth of their children.

Help Me Grow Home Visiting believes all young children deserve the same opportunities to realize their full potential in life, regardless of economic, geographic, and demographic considerations. The parenting education and child development resources provided to families allows them to maximize this critical period of development in their child’s life, providing a foundation for lasting success.

When a parent schedules a home visit with Help Me Grow Home Visiting, they will have the opportunity to share to share their thoughts about parenting, ask questions, and receive reliable information based on their individual family needs or topics of interest. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

    • Healthy Pregnancies
    • Baby and Child Health
    • Breastfeeding
    • Nutrition
    • Immunizations
    • Child Growth and
    • Development
    • Discipline
    • Toilet Training
    • Child Safety
    • Household Safety
    • Local Resources