I am excited to share with you an expanded Annual Report for State Fiscal Year 2024 (SFY24) that highlights the great work Bright Beginnings staff and partners are doing every day, as well as some of the stories of how our work makes a difference in the lives of children and families.
Bright Beginnings works with partners in Cuyahoga County and throughout Ohio to ensure that expectant individuals and families with young children have equitable access to high-quality child development and parenting support services that are individualized and parent driven.
Some highlights from this past year include:
Bright Beginnings expanded its communications and supports to families with in-person groups throughout Cuyahoga County and began a regular blog series that can be found here.
Bright Beginnings completed its sixth year of providing Help Me Grow Central Intake services in Ohio, and has since been awarded a contract for another five years!
Please look through our Annual Report to see some of the great work happening throughout our programs.
I want to share my appre All of the families who their amazing, compli The 100+ Bright Begin of committed, caring
Bright Beginnings fun this important work.
With joy, gratitude and hope,
Karen Mintzer, Director
Karen Mintzer, Director
OUR WORK
Bright Beginnings promotes the health and development of young children by partnering with expecting parents, caregivers and families to ensure that every child starts school ready to learn and able to reach their full potential.
Through the Parent Support Department and Early Intervention Services in Cuyahoga County and the Help Me Grow Central Intake and Referral system statewide, we provide families with essential services, resources, and guidance in support of all children.
Early Intervention and Parent Support Departments (Cuyahoga County)
Help Me Grow Central Intake and Referral (Statewide)
Our Mission
Bright Beginnings supports families during the crucial early years of a child’s life to help children
GROW,LEARN,ANDDEVELOP to their fullest potential.
To read about our vision and values, click here
EARLY INTERVENTION:
Early Intervention (EI) works with families with children birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or disabilities so that they have the best possible start in life.
Referrals in SFY24
2,835 3,130 3,322
Cuyahoga County Early Intervention has experienced steady annual growth, reaching a record 3,322 children on an IFSP in SFY24.
2,602
Intervention Parent Feedback:
“We are so grateful for early intervention. After just a few sessions, our child went from not speaking any words to a language explosion. His verbal progression is amazing “
“My EI worker was wonderful with my child. Everything I learned from her and what she showed me about my baby made me a better mother.”
In SFY24, Cuyahoga County achieved outstanding results in the state’s Child Outcome Summary scores, which measure two key outcomes across three important developmental areas: Early Intervention Outcomes
The two outcomes assessed in each area are:
The percentage of children who substantially increased their rate of GROWTH after starting the program.
The percentage of children functioning within age expectations by the time they exited the program.
Acquiring and Using Knowledge and Skills Taking Appropriate Action to Meet Needs
Cuyahoga County not only surpassed the state average in all areas but also achieved significant GROWTH, improving its scores across the board compared to last year highlighting our ongoing progress and success in fostering children’s development.
An introduction to Early Intervention
CENTRAL INTAKE & REFERRAL: LEARN
Bright Beginnings, with its regional partners around the state, provides Central Intake & Referral (CIR) for Ohio’s Help Me Grow program. When a family is referred to Help Me Grow, CIR works to ensure they LEARN about their options and get connected to the service(s) that will most benefit their family, whether it be Home Visiting, Early Intervention, developmental screenings, and/or other community resources.
In SFY24, CIR processed a record of more than 96,000 referrals. Nearly half of these referrals resulted in families accepting a Help Me Grow service. In addition, more than half a million active users visited helpmegrow.org, which Bright Beginnings maintains, to learn more about the services available, make referrals, and/or access the online Community Resource Directory.
Bright Beginnings submitted a proposal to continue providing Early Childhood CIR for Ohio in April. This proposal included 89 letters of support from around Ohio. With gratitude for this support, we are pleased to have been awarded a five year contract to be the CIR provider through 2029.
Community engagement strategies led to a 13% increase in families referring themselves for Home Visiting and an additional 8% increase in referrals from the medical community.
Early Intervention public awareness efforts saw a 24% increase in referrals from early care and education programs and an additional 17% increase from WIC. 13% increase in family referrals 8% increase in referrals from the medical community 24%
increase in early child care/education program referrals 17%
increase in referrals from WIC
Other important and remarkable achievements in SFY24 i l d
10,000 PREGNANC KITS DISTRIBUT
35,000 SAFE SLEEP KITS DISTRIBUTED
29 KIOSKS INSTALLED
47 BABY SHOWERS HOSTED
EI CHILDCARE CAMPAIGN REACHED 47 COUNTIES
6,329 OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
CIR puts information about early childhood resources at Ohioans’ fingertips with the Community Resource Directory at helpmegrow.org. The Directory includes information from all 88 Ohio counties. In SFY24, CIR made significant updates based on user feedback, including:
Improved search function with mapped results
Ability for providers to “add your organization” and submit updates
Improved results sharing via text, email, print, and link
Easier to use on both desktop and mobile device
CIR also provides an ASQ online developmental screening service.
Nearly 600 children ages 0-3 were screened in SFY24
Over 50% of those screened were found to have a developmental concern in at least one area
You can read more about all of the significant Bright Beginnings CIR accomplishments in the SFY24 CIR annual report, linked at right.
This illustration depicts one example of how a family connected with Help Me Grow Home Visiting services through CIR.
Sarah’s son was born
Community Hospital
The hospital’s social worker referred Sarah through CIR’s web referral form noting that, as a single mother, Sarah “would benefit from ongoing support and education ”
An intake specialist processed this referral by contacting Sarah to explain services, determine her interest and eligibility, and share information about available programs
Sarah accepted services and chose the Healthy Families America home visiting model provided by Catholic Charities.
Home visitor Chrystal from Catholic Charities began working with Sarah
Watch the video, recorded during a home visit in fall 2023, to see what Sarah and her home visitor have
at Wooster
PARENT SUPPORT DEPARTMENT: DEVELOP
In SFY24, the Parent Support Department has continued to DEVELOP and enhance programs to better support families in Cuyahoga County.
PARENTS AS TEACHERS
Parents as Teachers provides parents with knowledge and tools to support their child’s development. Parents gain practical strategies to nurture growth, build learning foundations, and develop parenting confidence. All services are home-based or virtual, voluntary, and at no cost to families.
Did you know: In SFY24, we bridged cultural and linguistic diversity by offering services in eight languages: English, Spanish, Nepali, Pashto, Albanian, Swahili, Ukrainian, and Hazaragi.
SFY24 Parent Satisfaction Results
We polled Parents as Teachers families on their satisfaction with services over the past year. When presented with these prompts:
The program has helped me increase my understanding of my child’s development, the program motivates me to try new parenting strategies, my parent educator helps me work towards goals that I have set for my family, I am satisfied with this program, and I would recommend this program to a friend... chose strongly agree or agree
“I’ve been with this program for awhile & it has been amazing. To call it rewarding would be an understatement. This program has helped me in more ways than one, from practicing patience to finding new ways to teach my children, this is a program I feel all new and old parents could utilize.”Parents as Teachers parent 100%
of respondents
PARENT SUPPORT LEAD PROGRAM
Expanding Awareness and Services
Bright Beginnings provides a wide array of individualized services to caregivers and children in Cuyahoga County impacted by lead exposure. All services aim to mitigate the impact of lead exposure on child development and support strategies to reduce lead exposure in the family home and community.
This year, our Parent Support Lead Program has helped children DEVELOP by providing the tools, education, and resources to reduce the impact of lead.
Help provided to families of children with elevated blood lead levels (ages 3 to 5) include:
Child Development/Literacy: 24%
Basic Needs: 16%
Lead Related Information: 13%
Housing Related: 12%
Nutrition: 10%
Cleaning: 8%
Medical Related: 8%
Other Efforts: 9%
One of our parents will take you on a journey through their Bright Beginnings experience, beginning with services for children with high lead, including the Parent Support Lead Program.
TRIPLE P
Positive Parenting Program
Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is a globally recognized, evidencebased program with 35+ years of research. It equips parents with practical strategies to build strong relationships, manage behavior, and prevent issues.
Our Triple P Positive Parenting Program met families' unique needs through individualized consultations on screen time, co-parenting, selfesteem, and more. This tailored approach helped parents develop practical strategies, leading to a rapid increase in demand for Triple P services.
To further support this growth, our Fatherhood Coordinator became a certified Triple P facilitator, ensuring that fathers had greater opportunities to engage in sessions.
His role has been instrumental in helping fathers become more involved, strengthening parenting dynamics, and assisting in teaching essential co-parenting skills reinforcing our commitment to inclusive support.
27 Discussion groups happened across the county at locations such as libraries, Head Starts, and day cares
136 Unduplicated parents were served
192 Individual consultations were provided to parents and caregivers
Hear Danielle share how Triple P helped her grow as a parent.
CUYAHOGA PARENTS CONNECT
Cuyahoga Parents Connect is an online forum where parents can learn valuable information, receive emotional support, ask each other advice, and share successes about raising children in the Cuyahoga County area. We continued to DEVELOP our audience of local parents and caregivers, reaching an audience of
2,027
including 1,016 members on Facebook and 1,011 followers on Instagram.
63% of Facebook group members, on average, actively engaged with us throughout the fiscal year.
14
883
In-person events were hosted, including our Mother’s Day Hip Hop party and our Back 2 School Clothing & School Supply giveaway. Instagram posts including photos, reels, and stories, were released in SFY24.
Check out a couple of our popular reels! Join our Facebook group! Follow us on Instagram!
Hear Danielle share how she connects with local parents in a safe, nonjudgmental space.
FATHERHOOD RESOURCES
Fatherhood Resources provides personalized support tailored to the unique roles and perspectives of fathers. In SFY24, we developed new ways to engage fathers across our programs, including the infusion of fatherfocused practices throughout the department. This intentional approach has allowed us to ensure that fathers feel valued, involved, and equipped with the tools to navigate their parenting journey.
Driving Fatherhood Engagement Across Our Programs
Our Fatherhood Coordinator plays a vital role by:
Serving as a Triple P facilitator, equipping fathers with practical strategies to promote desired child behavior and reduce the stress associated with parenting, using a strength-based approach.
Engaging dads in Parents as Teachers home visits, helping families recognize unique contributions that dads make in support of their child’s early learning and development, as well as the family’s overall health and well-being.
Contributing to our Cuyahoga Parents Connect Facebook Group through weekly Fatherhood Friday posts that foster connection and community among dads.
Collaborating with men in becoming the fathers they want to be by providing information, resources, and one-on-one support.
47%
In SFY24, fathers played an active role in parenting by participating in home visits with 47% of Parents as Teachers families!
THANKINGOUR SUPPORTERS& PARTNERS
Bright Beginnings thanks its funders and partners for their unwavering support and their work making a difference for families in Cuyahoga County and throughout Ohio.
Services are made possible through generous funding and in-kind contributions from:
Cleveland Kids Book Bank
Christ Child Society of Cleveland
Coats for Kids
Cribs for Kids
Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Cuyahoga County Family and Children First Council
Cuyahoga County Levy Funds
Cuyahoga County Library
Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio
Giving Back Gang (a Cleveland Foundation donor advised fund)
Harry Ratner Human Services Fund (a Jewish Federation of Cleveland supporting foundation)
Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio
Invest in Children of Cuyahoga County
Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities
Ohio Department of Health
Ohio General Revenue Funds
Private donations made by advocates for early intervention services
Project MKC (part of National Diaper Bank Network)
Providence House
Shoes and Clothes for Kids
Toys for Tots
United States Federal IDEA Funds
United States Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds
United States Federal Maternal, Infant, Early Child Home Visiting (MIECHV) Funds
University Hospitals for Great Lakes
Regional Partnership Council – Ohio
Children’s Trust Fund
Partnerships are key to our collective work. Thank you to our partners working with us to support thriving children and families, and to improve the quality of life in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and throughout Ohio including partners involved in:
Early Inte and Serv
Help Me and Refe
Home Vi
Infant Vi
Lead Init
Literacy
Parentin
And much
Click to watch a video message from our Director, Karen Mintzer
“ALO CAN LITTL TOG CAN MUC
This message was recorded at a baby shower on June 15, 2024, at Lorain County Community College’s Spitzer Conference Center. The event was hosted by the Cleveland Clinic in collaboration with Ohio Help Me Grow, Humana Healthy Horizons in Ohio, AmeriHealth, and Lorain County Community Partners Bright Beginnings attends multiple baby showers each year to connect with and support families
