HMG National Center | Help Me Grow National Center

Helping affiliates strengthen systems for every young child.

The Help Me Grow National Center is dedicated to ensuring every young child has the chance to reach their full potential by supporting the growth and excellence of Help Me Grow systems across the country.

The National Center strengthens the work of affiliates nationwide by:

Sharing lessons learned across the Network so success in one place benefits all.
Creating and refining tools that help both new and established systems implement the Model effectively.
Introducing timely innovations that keep systems responsive and relevant.
Raising the visibility of Help Me Grow as a trusted solution for early detection, referral, and connection to services.

The 5 Branches of HMG National

The Help Me Grow National Center has grown and evolved to better meet the needs of our Affiliate Network and the children and families we all serve. Our work now takes shape through five interconnected branches—each one essential on its own, and even stronger when they work together.

Implementation & System-Building

Helping states and communities put the HMG Model into action.
We provide coaching, tools, and tailored support to help affiliates design, strengthen, and grow coordinated early childhood systems that fit their local context. From onboarding new communities to strategic planning for long-standing affiliates, we walk alongside partners every step of the way.

Impact & Network Performance

Measuring progress, learning what works, and making data meaningful.
This branch leads the collection and analysis of key measures across the Network, helping affiliates track fidelity, sustainability, and outcomes. We translate data into insights that affiliates can use to improve practice, tell their story, and demonstrate the value of HMG to funders and policymakers.

Policy & Community Change

Creating the conditions for sustainable, equitable early childhood systems.
We work with affiliates to advance policy and community change at the local, state, and national levels. This includes coalition-building, advocacy, and aligning HMG with broader early childhood initiatives so systems can thrive and families can access the resources they need.

Strategic Partnerships & Network Relations

Connecting people and partners to scale what works.
We cultivate high-value partnerships and peer networks that help affiliates do more together than any one system can do alone. This branch brokers cross-sector collaborations, creates network-to-network pathways to share what works, and builds economies of scale—so proven ideas, tools, and trainings spread faster, costs go down, and practice improves across the Network. We also steward a strong sense of belonging and co-ownership, so affiliates can learn from each other, align efforts, and move farther, together.

Business Development & Operations

Powering the National Center behind the scenes.
This branch manages the financial, administrative, and operational backbone that keeps our work moving forward. It also drives initiatives like the HMG Return on Investment (ROI) tools, helping affiliates demonstrate cost savings and make the case for sustained funding.

Together, these five branches form a coordinated engine for impact—aligning technical assistance, measurement, policy, communications, and operations to strengthen early childhood systems nationwide.

Our Areas of Focus

While the five branches describe how the National Center is organized, our areas of focus describe what we do together with the Affiliate Network to drive change. Each branch contributes to these priorities in different ways.

System Development

We partner with new communities and states to expand the Network’s reach, offering tailored technical assistance that helps them design and launch HMG systems grounded in proven strategies.

Driven by:

Implementation & System Building (coaching and technical assistance)
Strategic Partnerships & Network Relations (matching peers, convening collaborators)
Business Development & Operations (building financial and operational sustainability)

System Enhancement

We work alongside affiliates to adapt and evolve the HMG Model in response to real-world challenges. This includes spreading effective practices, supporting innovation, and ensuring the Model remains relevant and impactful in a changing environment.

Driven by:

Implementation & System Building (advancing system improvements)
Policy & Community Change (creating supportive conditions for innovation)
Strategic Partnerships & Network Relations (amplifying affiliate voices and sharing lessons learned)

System Assessment

We collect, analyze, and share data that captures the reach and impact of HMG. This helps affiliates evaluate their progress, identify opportunities for growth, and tell a stronger story about the value of their work.

Driven by:

Impact & Network Performance (measurement and evaluation)
Business Development & Operations (ROI tools to demonstrate cost savings)
Policy & Community Change (translating data into advocacy and system change)
Strategic Partnerships & Network Relations (promoting affiliate values, building learning loops, elevating transferrable strategies)

Together, these areas of focus ensure that the National Center is not only expanding the Network, but also strengthening it, and proving its value to families, funders, and policymakers alike.

The National Center provides technical assistance to new states and communities ready to advance early childhood systems through the Help Me Grow Model.

Interested in bringing Help Me Grow to your state or community? Connect with us to learn how your organization can serve as the Organizing Entity for a local system.