Help Me Grow Washington News

Help Me Grow WA Featured in Zero to Three Policy Resource

Zero To Three's publication, Strengthening Connections: State Approaches to Connecting Families to Services, highlights HMG WA as exemplar in using policy levers to strengthen families' connections to services. Read the case study on Washington's Help Me Grow Coordinated Access Point and learn how the HMG WA network is building a system that connects services and organizations to one another, and families to the resources they need. 

Help Me Grow WA Flyer Available in Four More Languages!

The HMG WA flyer, a highlight of the Partner Toolkit, can now be accessed in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Amharic and Somali. The toolkit was created to provide communication and outreach tools to support partners and providers, as well as data-informed messaging that resonates with families in different communities.

HMG WA Partnership with Paid Family & Medical Leave

Efforts to build a strong connection between Help Me Grow WA and Paid Family & Medical Leave have included training each other's staff, so we can refer to both programs, and highlighting important information on the Paid Family & Medical Leave and ParentHelp123.org websites. Help Me Grow WA is a community partner of Paid Family & Medical Leave so that when families apply for the program, they can also learn about the resource navigation that Help Me Grow can provide to those with young children.

Have You Seen the HMG WA Accomplishments Report?

Last week we launched the new report, Help Me Grow Washington 2021 Accomplishments, which integrates data across all Help Me Grow systems in Washington to showcase our collective impact during 2021. Thank you for all you do to support this work! Read the report in English and Spanish.

Developmental Milestone Changes

Have you heard that the developmental milestones for children have changed? Wondering what it means for providers, parents and caregivers? Here are some resources that describe what these updates mean and why they are happening now:

• General information from a parenting post in the Washington Post
• From Parents Magazine: an article about what the changes mean for parents and caregivers
• Zero to Three answers some of the common questions providers have about the updates

Help Me Grow National News

New Op-Ed from Dr. Dworkin: The Magnitude of Mental

Health Challenges

Dr. Paul Dworkin, founding director of the Help Me Grow National Center, recognizes the current mental health crisis in a new Op-Ed piece The Magnitude of Mental Health Challenges in the Hartford Courant. Dr. Dworkin contends that expanding inpatient bed capacity alone will not suffice, and that we need a comprehensive response that addresses the crisis' root causes.

Help Me Grow ​Building Impact Headlines Report Released

The new HMG Building Impact Headlines Report shares major findings and trends across the HMG National Affiliate Network in 2021, as well as critical changes from the previous year. This resource serves as an abridged version of the full report, to be released in summer 2022.

Help Me Grow Regional News

In Skagit County...   

The Skagit Child Health Provider Team is working with Perinatal Support of WA to provide a Continuing Medical Education event for providers who practice in Skagit, Whatcom and Island Counties – Perinatal Mental Health Management. The session takes place on April 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Learn more.

In Central Washington...   

Carina, the Help Me Grow Family Resource Navigator in Central Washington, will be attending the Autism Awareness Book Walk on April 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at West Side Park in Grandview. Join in for a fun story walk about Otto, a child with Autism. To learn more, contact Claudia at 509-571-6457.

Resources for Parents & Caregivers

• Strengthening Families Washington offers a free, printable coloring book in English and Spanish for families, titled Discovering Strengths Across Washington.

• Visit the read-aloud storytime by The Conscious Kid – an education, research and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity and bias.

• PBS Kids shares 9 Ways to Help Soothe and Comfort your Child.

Send along ideas and resources for the Help Me Grow Washington website and future newsletters by emailing Taryn Essinger.

You are on this list as someone we think would be interested in partner updates about Help Me Grow Washington. Feel free to unsubscribe any time at the link below.