Help Me Grow National Center

Susan Hibbard, executive director of the BUILD Initiative, recently invited me to participate in a session on Health Equity at the October annual conference of Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families (GCYF) in Detroit.    Maxine Hayes, a pediatrician and...

The danger of asking the wrong questions and adopting the wrong outcome measures is an important consideration in our efforts to evaluate the efficacy of Help Me Grow. Our crucial task is to assure that we ask the right questions...

Throughout our work to support affiliates in their Help Me Grow replication efforts, no issue has been more prominent or challenging than long-term sustainability. One of the more secure forms of Help Me Grow sustainability has been inclusion in state...

 A New Avenue for Collaboration in Early Childhood System Building This past year, the College of Education of Niagara University in Western New York became the first higher education institution to serve as a Help Me Grow organizing entity. Though...

Family Engagement Is More than Just Engaging Families Two recent articles from the Business Day section of the New York Times attracted my attention. The first… The first, “The Baby Food Battle,” described the efforts of the baby food industry...

During a 2013 Help Me Grow National site visit to Minnesota, one of our newest affiliate states, I gave a presentation to a large audience in St. Paul. Following my talk, I invited questions and comments from the audience.   Saciido...

In a January 2014 New York Times op-ed column, Nicholas Kristof invited readers to suggest topics that deserve more attention this year. He offered up the topic of mental health as a systematically neglected issue. I am confident that few...

The Institute for Child Success, a strong and committed partner of our Help Me Grow South Carolina affiliate, recently convened its first statewide meeting — the South Carolina Early Childhood Research Symposium.   We’ve been impressed with the vision and...

In mid-August, while enjoying the beach, dining, and the usual vacation amenities with my family in Charleston, S.C., I received an unexpected invitation from the White House to attend a special forum, 50 Years Forward: Building Ladders of Opportunity. This...