The Early Intervention Central Intake Bulletin
Central Intake e-Newsletter for Early Intervention providers
December 2021
Welcome back to another edition of the Early Intervention Central Intake Bulletin! This email will provide you with Help Me Grow Central Intake data and updates relevant to Early Intervention so you are informed and prepared to serve families.

Central Intake and Referral wishes you and yours a bright and festive holiday season!

Past editions of this eNewsletter can be found at helpmegrow.org/providers.
SFY22 First Quarter Referral Data
(July-September 2021)
Central Intake and Referral (CIR) processed 10,628 system referrals for Early Intervention from a variety of sources in the first quarter. Of those, more than 8,451 program referrals resulted and were assigned to local Early Intervention providers across the state.

There was a 25 percent increase in referrals from physicians when comparing the first quarter of SFY22 to the first quarter of SFY20 (pre-pandemic). There was a 16 percent increase in program referrals in the first quarter of SFY22 when compared to SFY21.
From the Ohio Department of Health, CIR received 433 referrals for children with elevated blood lead levels (EBLL) across 61 counties and 125 referrals for children diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)* across 30 counties.

*The NAS referrals referenced here are referrals CIR receives from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). These referrals are only for children whose NAS diagnosis has been verified through ODH’s Ohio Connections for Children with Special Needs (OCCSN) system and constitute a small subset of the overall number of children diagnosed with NAS.
Outreach and Public Awareness
CIR and its regional partners shared the Help Me Grow system of support messaging and materials at more than 2,000 outreach activities throughout the state. CIR worked with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities to develop PowerPoint presentations for multiple different audiences to be used by Central Intake outreach staff and local EI providers for educating referral sources. These PowerPoints will be shared with EI providers soon!

Advertising for the “Don’t Wait. Act Early” and EBLL campaigns from SFY21 carried over into the first quarter of SFY22. Ads can be found in parent magazines, and on NPR and PBS stations throughout Ohio. Outreach also distributed EBLL information to pediatricians and local health departments. Outreach staff continued to distribute messaging and materials related to the NAS campaign to birthing hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Medication Assisted Treatment Centers.

CIR outreach staff continued to collaborate with local EI providers and coordinate presentations as opportunities became available. Early Intervention was represented on a statewide level during the second quarter at the American Academy of Pediatrics - Ohio Chapter, the National Association of Social Workers - Ohio Chapter, and OCALICON conferences.
Above: Parent magazine advertisements
Developmental wheels
Revised developmental wheels that now include social-emotional milestones will be available for local EI providers to order through the Help Me Grow website starting January 1, 2022.
New Early Intervention webpages
New webpages for EBLL and NAS/NOWS are now available on helpmegrow.org. These pages explain how Early Intervention can help families address developmental concerns related to EBLL and NAS/NOWS and provide helpful resources.
Act Early ECHO Training
Join these free, interactive virtual sessions to gain information and resources about early identification as well as supporting resiliency for families and children. These sessions are targeted to reach early childhood professionals and families in Ohio, Wyoming, and Virginia to encourage cross-state collaborations.
Do you have questions about anything in this email? Please contact us at communications@helpmegrow.org.
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