The key to our success lies in a shared vision and joined forces.

The Annual Help Me Grow (HMG) National Forum, hosted by the HMG National Center, is an opportunity for affiliates and partners to network, create new partnerships, and learn from each other. Each year, the event provides increasing national visibility of the HMG Network’s collective efforts and accomplishments and highlights promising ideas and innovations from across the Network.

Help Me Grow Forum 2020 | Virtual Forum

Annual Help Me Grow
Virtual Forum | August 10-12, 2020

As a safe alternative to coming together in person, the HMG National Center will host a Virtual HMG Forum on August 10-12, 2020 via Zoom Webinar.

The Virtual Forum will be made available to all members of the National Affiliate Network and National Partners free of charge. Each day will highlight an affiliate presentation .Registration will be required for each day. Please review the agenda below and register for the day(s) of interest to you. Registration is first-come-first-serve, please register as soon as possible.

2020 Virtual Forum Presenters

Day 1: August 10, 2020 1:00-5:00 PM EST

Registration Full

Affiliate-led Presentations

Help Me Connect: Connecting Families to Their Unique Villages
Help Me Connect is an online statewide navigator and referral system that connects Minnesota families with the “villages” they self-identify for greater outcomes. This presentation will share how Help Me Connect was developed and will continue to grow as part of our state’s Preschool Development Grant, as well as the equity focus incorporated throughout. Attendees will consider equity and interagency collaboration strategies to use within their own current state systems. This session will be moderated by HMG Minnesota.

Presentation Slides:

Handouts:

Minnesota Equity Commitments

Help Me Connect

PDG Strategic Plan

The Value of Parent Leadership Within New Jersey Early Childhood Initiative
The Help Me Grow New Jersey & ECCS Impact Parent Leaders will showcase the importance of, examples, and strategies for family engagement at all levels. This session will include concrete strategies and next steps for implementing and improving Family Engagement strategies within your work.

Presentation Slides

Resources

Day 2: August 11, 2020 1:00-5:00 PM EST

Registration OPEN

Affiliate-led Presentation

Using Infant Mental Health Principles to Deepen and Broaden Understanding of Commonly Presenting Parenting Challenges and Address Needs
This virtual training will present, assimilate, process, and integrate research and attachment theory in exploration of relational health from an infant mental health (IMH) perspective. Common parental challenges, e.g., sleep issues, feeding, and emotional regulation, will be re-framed using IMH principles leading to evidence-based services that can have transcend generational impact.

Presentation Slides

HMG National Center Update

Provided by: Kimberly Martini-Carvell, Executive Director, HMG National

Presentation

Guest Speaker

A Moderated Session with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

During this session, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha will join us one year following her dynamic presentation at the 2019 National Forum in Buffalo, New York. This year, Dr. Hanna-Attisha will provide her expertise in the context of our current public health crisis, COVID-19, and our national movement for a more equitable society, in the context of Help Me Grow. Attendees are encouraged to submit their questions in advance during registration. This session will be moderated by Kimberly Martini-Carvell, Executive Director of the HMG National Center.

What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

Washington Post Made By History: A Proposed EPA Rule Prioritizes Industry Profit Over People’s Lives

Washington Post: Is water in Flint safe to drink? It’s not just a question of chemistry.

Union of Concerned Scientists: People are the Purpose of Science

Mlive: Flint Water Crisis Lessons Remain Unlearned with Attacks on Environmental Executive Orders

New York Times: How a Pediatrician Became a Detective

New York Times: Will We Lose the Doctor Who Would Stop the Next Flint?

Day 3: August 12, 2020 1:00-4:00 PM EST

Register for Day 3

Affiliate-led Presentations

Strategies and Best Practices to Spark Child Health Provider Engagement

“Child Health Provider Outreach” is a crucial component of the Help Me Grow (HMG) model because pediatricians have near universal access to young children who can benefit from ongoing developmental surveillance and screening. Despite this important significance, many affiliates find it challenging to work in the pediatric sector at any phase of HMG system work. In this session, attendees will hear directly from pediatricians and pediatric outreach staff about effective strategies to engage providers in HMG system development and implementation at any phase of system work.

Presentation Slides

Guest Speakers

Accelerated Scale and Impact of Help Me Grow

Since its’ inception, Help Me Grow has been characterized by spread and scale to new communities across the country, expanding our geographic footprint and alongside it, our capacity to strengthen families in support of children’s optimal healthy development. Future evolution of the Help Me Grow model will center on accelerated network growth with high fidelity. We see opportunity both in the form of growth to additional states and systems, and in the form of deeper penetration, scale and equitable universal access within existing states and systems. Such penetration also must reflect a greater understanding of how best to maximize the provision of high-quality services to families, integrate Help Me Grow with existing child-service sectors and systems and promote and sustain universal access to Help Me Grow for all families. This session introduces a new initiative of the Help Me Grow National Center, led in partnership with the Bridgespan Group, to conduct a strategic planning initiative aimed at prioritizing the set of National Center initiatives that will best help affiliates and systems in your efforts to accelerate the growth and impact of Help Me Grow. Join this session to hear more about the focus of this strategic planning effort, core strategies to advance our knowledge base and future implementation plan, and the core role of Help Me Grow affiliates in informing our ultimate strategy to support spread and scale. This session is led by The Bridgespan Group and HMG National.

Presentation Slides

More about Zoom:
The Virtual Forum will take place on Zoom Webinar, presentation style. Due to the number of attendees, camera and microphone capabilities will be disabled. Attendees will be able to interact with presenters via the Question and Answer Portal and Polls. Registration is required in advance. Registration is first-come-first-serve.

For questions regarding the Zoom Webinar platform, please visit here.
For assistance with registration, please contact Cassie Therriault.

Help Me Grow Forum 2019 | Buffalo, New York

10th Annual Help Me Grow Forum
Buffalo, NY | May 6 – 8, 2019

The 10^th Annual Help Me Grow National Forum was held in Buffalo, NY and sponsored by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation in partnership with Help Me Grow Western New York.

2019 Forum Highlights

keynote speakers

Angela Santomero
Dr. Mona Hana-Attisha

BUFFALO Site visits

Jericho Road Community Health Center
Family Help Center Daycare
John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital
2-1-1 Western New York Call Center

Thank you to all who attended the 10^th Annual Help Me Grow National Forum in Buffalo, NY, with a special appreciation for the contributions of our host affiliate, Help Me Grow Western New York, the Forum Planning Committee, and all affiliates sharing expertise.

We were honored to be joined by two keynote speakers. Angela Santomero, the co-creator of Blue’s Clues and visionary for research-based children’s programming, and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician whose research exposed the Flint water crisis, provided the audience with their compelling experiences and perspectives for supporting children’s optimal health and development.