Many times parents may turn to you for direction and advice on issues ranging from parenting support , education, and child development to discipline and behavior management.

Help Me Grow acts as a liaison between the various programs and professionals in a child or families life. Here is what Help Me Grow Marin can do for your agency:

• Free developmental and/or behavioral screenings with an evidence-based tool.
• Connection to community resources and service agencies for families.
• Care Coordination and follow-up for families to ensure success of connection to services.
• Reports back to referring provider detailing outcomes of Help Me Grow referral.
• One-stop-resource to refer families
• Training, materials, coaching to provide developmental and behavioral health screening services to your program
• Refer a child/family

A developmental screen provides a snapshot of how your child is growing and learning. Screening allows you to monitor how your child is developing overall and catch concerns early. See the table below for more information and to start a developmental screening!

• How do I complete a screening?

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Are you interested in tracking your child’s development? It’s easy when you enroll in the developmental screening program! The Developmental Screening Program helps families track their child’s development in 5 key areas from 1 month to 66 months of age: Communication (Receptive and Expressive Language), Big Body Movements (Gross Motor), Small Body Movements (Fine Motor), Problem Solving (Cognitive), and Personal-Social.

Follow these EASY STEPS TO HELP YOUR CHILD GROW:

1. It’s free. Complete a free developmental screening questionnaire online: English & Spanish
2. No internet access? Contact Help Me Grow Marin at (415) 720-1283 to request assistance with filling out the screening over the phone or having a copy sent to you in the mail.

• Follow up. After you have completed your screening, a member of the Help Me Grow team will contact you with your child’s results by telephone. The Help Me Grow Care Coordinators will discuss how well your child is developing and answer any questions you might have. If your child is found to need special support, our team will connect you with agencies and resources that can help.

START NOW                                   EMPEZAR AHORA

• Why is it important?

Reasons to track your child’s development

• Early Detection. Completing a developmental screen allows you to catch possible developmental delays early.
• Reliable. Evidence-based developmental screening tools, such as the one found on this website, have been proven to be more reliable at catching delays than completing a developmental milestones checklist.
• Early Intervention. Research shows that identifying delays and getting children into supportive services early has long-term positive effects for children’s readiness to learn and school performance.
• Recommended. Developmental screening is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics at least at the ages of 9 months, 18 months and 24 or 30 months.
• Fun and Positive. Doing the developmental screening activities with your child can be a fun and positive bonding experience!

Tips to help you complete the screening

• The screening will ask you to answer each question as Yes, Sometimes, or Not Yet. A “Yes” answer means your child does this regularly. “Sometimes” means you have seen your child do the activity a few times but it hasn’t become a regular thing yet. “Not Yet” refers to activities you haven’t seen your child complete yet.
• Fill out as many questions you already know the answers to first.
• Work with your child to complete the activities you don’t know the answers to. Make sure your child is fed and well-rested before trying any new activities!
• Ask other family members and friends to help you answer the questions. Doing the developmental screening can be a fun activity for everyone, especially older siblings.
• Be patient and enjoy this time with your child!

A behavioral screening provides a snapshot of your child’s social-emotional functioning and well-being. Completing the behavioral screen allows you to objectively monitor your child’s behavior and may highlight areas of possible concern. See below for more information, instructions for completing the screening, and activities you can do to improve your child’s social-emotional functioning.

• How do I complete a screening?

Behavioral Screening

This screening shows how well your child processes thoughts and feelings, and interacts with others. Click the link below to access the online screening, or follow the instructions to contact Help Me Grow and do the screening over the phone or have one sent in the mail!

Follow these EASY STEPS TO HELP YOUR CHILD GROW:

1. It’s free. Complete a free behavioral screening questionnaire online: English & Spanish. ​
2. No internet access? Contact Help Me Grow Marin at (415)720-1283 to request assistance with filling out the screening over the phone or have a copy sent to you in the mail.
3. Follow up. After you have completed your screening, a member of the Help Me Grow team will contact you with your child’s results by telephone. The Help Me Grow Care Coordinators will discuss your child’s behavior and answer any questions you might have. If your child is found to need special support, our team will connect you with agencies and resources that can help.

START NOW                      EMPEZAR AHORA

• Why is it important?

Social-emotional development: Just as important as walking and talking

The significance of social and emotional development is seen in every area of a child’s life. A child will have a strong foundation for later development if he or she can manage personal feelings, understand others’ feelings and needs, and interact positively with others. Differences in social and emotional development result from a child’s inborn temperament, cultural influences, disabilities, behaviors modeled by adults, the level of security felt in a child’s relationships with adults, and the opportunities provided for social interaction. Click on the learning tab at the bottom of this page to learn more about what you can expect for your child’s social-emotional development, plus fun activities that will help your child grow to have strong connections with others throughout their life.

Tips to help you complete the screening.

• The screening will ask you to answer each question as: Often or Always, Sometimes, or Rarely or Never. An “Often or Always” answer means your child does this regularly. “Sometimes” means you have seen your child do the activity a few times but it hasn’t become a regular thing yet. “Rarely or Never” refers to activities you haven’t seen your child complete yet.
• The behavioral screening also allows you to mark questions as a concern. Putting a check in the concern box will let the Help Me Grow Care Coordinators who review the screening know that you and your child might need extra support for this area of their social-emotional development.
• Fill out as many questions you already know the answers to first.
• Work with your child to complete the activities you don’t know the answers to. Make sure your child is fed and well-rested before trying any new activities!
• Ask other family members and friends to help you answer the questions. Doing the developmental screening can be a fun activity for everyone, especially older siblings.
• Be patient and enjoy this time with your child!

Screening young children for developmental delays and linking them to effective services can provide immediate relief to concerned families and reduce the costs for special education or other services down the road. But in California, most developmental concerns are not identified or addressed until children start kindergarten. These are missed opportunities to begin interventions early, when they are more likely to be successful and cost-effective.

How to Refer a Family to Help Me Grow Marin

Referrals are easy to make and can be completed in several ways.

• Fill out the Help Me Grow Referral form:
• Download English Form Here
• Download Spanish Form Here
• Call a Help Me Grow Care Coordinator and give the referral over the phone: 415-720-1283.
• Mail a completed referral form to:
  • Help Me Grow Marin
  • 1050 Northgate Drive, Suite 130
  • San Rafael, California 94903