BY MORGAN REISS, ERICA PHUNG, AND ASHLEY HOUK
Help Me Grow (HMG) is available to all families, with a focus on reaching, serving, advocating with, and improving policies and practices on behalf of families who have historically been marginalized and denied access. Because the HMG Model is designed to support every family while fitting the unique needs and circumstances of the community implementing it, the Model is able to thrive across diverse political contexts. HMG affiliates are additionally well-positioned to support children and families through ever-changing political landscapes, as implementation requires communities to identify existing resources, think creatively about how to make the most of opportunities, and build a coalition to work collaboratively toward a shared agenda.
In 2024, HMG National had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Five State Power Sharing Convening, a new initiative created by the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers (NCIT) which aims to reduce disparities and improve the quality of life for children and their families in five priority states. HMG National invited early childhood system leaders from the four overlapping HMG affiliate states (Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas) to attend, and HMG leads from Florida and Mississippi were able to join state teams of advocates from diverse early childhood sectors working to leverage existing resources, identify gaps, and brainstorm solutions to challenges in passing crucial prenatal-to-three (PN-3) policy.
By sharing knowledge, skills, resources, and therefore power between the advocates on the ground and the national partners and funders primed to support the advocates, we can continue to broaden and strengthen the scope of early childhood system building efforts across the country, and particularly in states with less investment in these areas.
In this blog, we asked two attendees to speak to their work in supporting strong PN-3 advocacy efforts: Erica Phung from Voices for Healthy Kids and Ashley Houk from HMG Florida.
Erica Phung, National Senior Director of Advocacy for Voices for Healthy Kids, supports the coordination and activation of the Five State Power Sharing Initiative. She provided more context for the creation of the initiative and its goals. Voices for Healthy Kids is an initiative of the American Heart Association (AHA) and provides the staffing and support structure for The National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers.
Erica, what is the Five State Power Sharing Initiative?
The National Collaborative for Infants & Toddlers (NCIT) is an education and advocacy movement committed to ensuring that every child prenatal to age three and their families have what they need to thrive. The NCIT includes nonprofits, medical professionals, policymakers, parents, caregivers, business leaders, and advocates who are committed to supporting families. The NCIT Five State Power Sharing Initiative seeks to advance effective prenatal-to-three (PN-3) policy advocacy by enhancing collaboration between state and local advocates and national partners in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas.
Learn more about the Five State Power Sharing Initiative
Why is NCIT focused on these five states?
These states were selected for this initiative because collectively, they are home to nearly 20% of the nation’s children under age three and have traditionally had a more challenging time passing PN-3 policy. Our intention is to deepen relationships, strengthen coalitions, and provide resources in each of these states to advance public policy that will meet the unique needs of infants, toddlers, expectant parents, and caregivers.
Ashley Houk, Data Coordinator for Help Me Grow Florida, attended the Five State Power Sharing Convening and collaborates with advocates from across her state. She discussed important advocacy work happening in Florida and Help Me Grow’s role in the advocacy ecosystem.
Ashley, how would you describe the prenatal-to-three advocacy climate in your state?
I believe Florida has a vast group of advocates that feel extremely passionate about children, prenatal to three years old. While specific topics may differ among groups, the consensus is that we need to fight for children’s well-being and health because of the overall benefit to our communities. We all understand that by providing services that promote a child’s development, we make impacts to families, adults, and the community as a whole.
What, in your opinion, is the unique value that HMG affiliates can bring to policy and advocacy work?
Working with families in such intimate processes provides HMG Florida with insight into the current and relevant needs of our state’s youngest individuals. This gives us a unique opportunity to use our knowledge to educate others and advocate for services that meet the needs of our children and families.
From your perspective within your HMG system, why do you think advocacy matters for the health and well-being of children?
HMG Florida currently serves 42 counties and has a goal to reach all 67 counties. We understand the importance of families having easy access to a system of care and support that is beneficial to the development of both the child and the family unit. Advocacy gives us the ability to speak to policy makers, legislators, and others about the impact of our work and the significance of maintaining and expanding our work in order to broaden our reach.
Learn more about HMG Florida’s work
How do you use HMG data to advocate for change in your state?
Each year, HMG Florida compiles data for an impact report. The purpose of this report is to be shared with legislators during our legislative session to help advocate for HMG services. We highlight our connection rates between families and the referrals they receive, the number of HMG Physician Champions advocating for our services throughout the state, the average number of HMG Care Coordinator connections showing how often someone communicates with each family about their needs, and much more. We want those viewing our impact report to recognize the efforts of our HMG Florida system and to support the growth of our services.
Additionally, HMG Florida has the ability to utilize data collected in the System for Tracking Access to Referrals (STAR) database to identify community needs for services. For example, in one area of Florida, Northwest Florida, the HMG system has been able to determine, based on the need for communication/speech language referrals, an increased need for speech and language therapists. Based on this identified need, the HMG Northwest Florida was able to contact additional therapists and physicians in the area that could be added to the referral HMG Resource Directory.
HMG Florida has a wealth of data, collected within STAR, to help us advocate for families both on a local-level and state-level.
Read the 2023-2024 HMG Florida Impact Report.
