HELP ME GROW

Last week, the Escambia Children's Trust board approved the issuance of an Invitation to Bid for a local organization to implement a Help Me Grow system in Escambia County for the early identification of developmental and behavioral concerns in children from ages birth-8. The selected organization will receive $1.6 million and start work on July 1.

Help Me Grow is a national program first implemented in Florida in Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties as a 2-1-1 hotline to refer parents to service providers in 2011. The switchboard was later expanded to neighboring Monroe County. In the 2014-2015 session, Gov. Rick Scott budgeted $2 million through the Office of Early Learning to support statewide expansion.

The state money created five additional 2-11 regions and was later expanded to all 16 of the 2-1-1 regions covering Florida's 67 counties. The Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services lists United Way of Northwest Florida's 2-11 as a Help Me Grow affiliate. However, the state cut funding in 2018 when it transitioned the program to the Children's Forum for administration. Achieve Escambia was interested in taking on Help Me Grow at the time but needed state funds to do it.

The ECT grant expands the program to include more screening, education for parents and case management. According to ECT executive director Tammy Greer, only 10% of referrals for services come from the 2-1-1 service, and pediatricians supply the remainder. Plus, the data regarding children with developmental delays is not coordinated.

However, we know that 16% of the children (6,061) in Escambia County public schools have disabilities, slightly higher than the state average of 15%. Surprisingly, the five elementary schools with greater than one out of five students with a disability are some of the district's higher performing schools—Warrington (grade C), Holm (C), Navy Point (B), Molino Park (A) and Lincoln Park (B).

We also know that children of color are less likely to receive screening before they enter the school system. How many? We don't know because the data collected only provides a picture of received help, not those who didn't. The Hechinger Report covers inequality and innovation in education. It recently reported its research had found Black toddlers were five times less likely to receive services than their white counterparts.

At the board meeting on Tuesday, March 14, Kim Krupa, the ECT director of programs and performance, pointed out that Black students comprise 34% of all students with disabilities enrolled in Escambia County public schools.

"They're 42% of the thirdgrade students with disabilities. So that's the disparity that we want to fix. This is our baseline. This is the number that we want to turn around."

Currently, Ascension Sacred Heart manages the Early Steps program for Escambia County. Early Steps is Florida's early intervention system that offers services to eligible infants and toddlers, birth-age

4. Ascension Sacred Heart receives referrals, assesses the infants to determine eligibility and passes them on to providers.

How the Escambia County Help Me Grow Collaborative will interact with Early Steps is yet to be determined. Greer told her board that $1.4 million of the grant would go for direct services. "Because the earlier you intervene, the better the results, the better the outcomes, the more likely they are to be ready for kindergarten and academic success moving forward."

I spoke with experts outside of the area, and they suggested a less expensive three-part approach. They recommend a quick developmental screening tool that volunteers can easily give and invest heavily in early childhood screening. From screenings, case managers, managed by Early Steps, would funnel out for more intense screening and other services as needed. ECT could then partner with UWF on research and compile evidence-based outcomes.

However, I realize Help Me Grow sounds better, but, in the end, the effort will only be successful it has more screening, case managers and data analysis. The proposals are due April 26. {in} rick@inweekly.net