Central Intake and Referral (CIR) outreach staff statewide has been working hard since the start of the fiscal year to increase awareness of Home Visiting amongst families and professionals through a variety of campaigns.

Below are updates on how those campaigns are going thus far...

Pregnancy Kits

By the end of December, approximately 10,000 pregnancy kits will have been delivered to more than 250 OB/GYN offices across over 70 counties. The anecdotal response from the medical community so far has been overwhelmingly positive!

Kits include information on Help Me Grow Home Visiting, a picture frame magnet; a HEAR HER flyer; Your Guide to Breastfeeding magazine; a pregnancy journal; pregnancy milestone stickers; and maternity socks. The goal of these kits is to inform pregnant women of Home Visiting and other topics related to a healthy pregnancy.

“THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION WE LOVE IT!!! How do I get more?”

- Supervisor with University Hospitals’ Women’s Health

Outreach staff continued to host baby showers in select counties through December, engaging with pregnant women and new parents to connect them to Home Visiting, resources, and other services in their community. There have been 44 in total statewide! 

Future baby showers are being planned for the latter half of SFY24. If one will be hosted in your county, your local Help Me Grow outreach staff will be in touch for opportunities to collaborate.

Note: There was an error in our last CIR Bulletin. There were six HEA8045 referrals from the Athens County baby shower.

More than 828 Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) Online screenings have been completed since CIR launched the service in May 2022.

Please continue sharing the tool with potential families and professionals you work with in your community!

As a child find tool for Help Me Grow services, the ASQ Online Service is a great self-guided first step for families to understand how a child is developing and whether there are any concerns. After completing the screening, a Help Me Grow specialist will discuss the results with the individual that completed the screening and assist them with next steps-- such as providing age appropriate developmental activities, referring to Early Intervention and/or Home Visiting, and connecting them to community resources.

Note: The ASQ Online Service is not intended for home visitors to use with children on their current caseloads. Please email communications@helpmegrow.org if you have questions.

Central Intake and Referral (CIR) processed 13,179 system referrals in the the first quarter of SFY24. A referral breakdown is below:

• Caregivers (10.8%);
• HEA8045 forms (7%) submitted by HV providers, as well as WIC offices, and other community agencies;
• Medical professionals (12.7%);
• Non-medical community (59%) including WIC, community agencies, county agencies, and electronic Pregnancy Risk Assessment Form (e-PRAF) referrals; and
• Public Children Service Agency (PCSA) 8021 forms (10.5%) submitted by children’s services agencies.

Of those system referrals, about 58 percent of those who accepted Home Visiting were pregnant women, and 42 percent were first-time moms. Acceptance of Home Visiting services was up 17 percent from the first quarter of SFY23!

Have you hired new home visitors since August? We'd like to welcome them with the Help Me Grow Home Visiting retention and appreciation kit, the same one sent to Home Visiting staff statewide earlier this year.

Please share the link below with your new hires so they can order their Help Me Grow goodies. This includes any new managers or supervisors. Kits ordered by December 31st will be mailed during the third quarter of SFY24.

Note: These kits are for those that have not yet ordered or received one. If you have questions, please email communications@helpmegrow.org.

helpmegrow.org/jobs

Continue sharing your agency's HV and/or EI job postings at helpmegrow.org/jobs!

Tailor your job posting to include a detailed description, pay rate, position type (full time, remote, on site), and direct links to the application. Job seekers can search available job postings by keyword, program (such as EI, HV, or CIR), and/or counties served.

helpmegrow.org/success

Have you explored the family testimonials added to the success page of helpmegrow.org website?

We welcome both families and professionals alike to share their Home Visiting and/or Early Intervention experiences! Be sure to include a photo! We may feature your story on our website's homepage.

Do you have any questions regarding anything in this email?

Contact us at communications@helpmegrow.org.

Past editions of this eNewsletter can be found at helpmegrow.org/providers.