Raising a child is hard work that can bring up a lot of questions for parents and caregivers. The early years present incredible opportunity to build the brain’s neuro connections as it is rapidly developing during this time. Science has shown that 85% of an individual’s brain is mapped for life by the age of 3.

All children benefit from an organized system of community resources to help them thrive, like health care, quality early learning experiences, healthy nutrition, and parent support. However, when the system is not well organized, it can be difficult for families to access resources for their children and challenging for service providers to connect families to needed supports. This can have long-lasting consequences on children’s health and well-being. Research shows that families strengthen when they know where to turn when they have concerns.

Rather than function as a stand-alone program, Help Me Grow Marin County networks with a growing coalitions of community organizations and individuals invested in building an organized system of resources to help families and children thrive. We are part of the national Help Me Grow network as well as the California State network, working with local communities and individuals that are invested in improving early childhood systems.

Help Me Grow Marin is designed to be a centralized access point that connects children and their families to services, education and supports they need. Through a case management system, Case Coordinators and Child Development Specialist work with families around specific developmental or behavioral concerns or questions they may have, provide information regarding typical developmental milestones, make referrals to community-based supports, assist and empower families to overcome barriers to services, and follow up with to ensure that linkages are successful.