"STATEWIDE DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM NOW HAS FAR REACHING IMPLICATIONS THANKS TO THE COMMONWEALTH FUND"

HARTFORD, Conn.—Families across the country will soon be able to reap the rewards of a program that was created seven years ago by Paul Dworkin, MD, physician-in-chief at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Last spring, the New York City-based Commonwealth Fund awarded a $340,709 grant to expand on a national level, “Help Me Grow,” a live, toll-free telephone service through which parents can get connected to services for their child’s developmental/behavioral problems. According to Dr. Dworkin—founder of Help Me Grow—12 to 16 percent of American children experience developmental, behavioral and emotional disorders.

“Lack of early detection and intervention has significant implications for these children’s’ future academic and social functioning,” Dr. Dworkin said. ‘We have to pay special attention to our low-income populations where children living in poverty are at an increased risk for developmental and behavioral problems.”

Help Me Grow began in the summer of 2001 as a statewide expansion of Hartford’s ChildServ program which addressed concerns about children’s health and development. Since the expansion Help Me Grow has received more than 12,000 calls through its toll-free number.

Dr. Dworkin said as a result of the program’s success in Connecticut, there has been interest in replicating Help Me Grow in other states and communities. The latest Commonwealth Fund grant will allow for replication of Help Me Grow to five states over the next two years. The Help Me Grow program already has been replicated in Polk County, Iowa and Orange County, California.

The State of Connecticut’s Children’s Trust Fund administers the program. Its prevention specialists train parents, pediatric and other providers to recognize the early signs of developmental problems and to contact Help Me Grow when they have a concern. The staff also research community-based resources and coordinate networking opportunities for human services providers. Additionally, the Trust Fund contracts with the United Way/211 Child Development Infoline which identifies needed services, provides referrals and follows up with families to ensure that each child is successfully connected.

“The Commonwealth grant supports the education of physicians and other child health providers in conducting developmental surveillance of children from birth through age five,” Dr. Dworkin said.

Joanna Bogin, MS, is the medical center’s program manager for the National Dissemination of Help Me Grow, and said one goal is to motivate and encourage pediatric providers to utilize the program.

“Help Me Grow is a simple concept that we’ve created as an infrastructure for parents,” Bogin said. “After a physician identifies a child, they don’t have the time to connect the child to the appropriate service—that’s where we’re able to help by conducting the research for the families and connecting them to the service they need.”

Founded in 1918, The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy.

“We’re extremely grateful to The Commonwealth Fund for their continued generosity,” Dr. Dworkin said. “Their support will now help guide health care providers throughout the country to utilize Help Me Grow and ultimately help thousands of more children.”