Helping Kids Grow
November 1, 2012
Meeting Children's Challenges
The Alameda County Children's Screening, Assessment, Referral and Treatment (SART) pilot program was initiated in 2009 to support the development and well-being of children 0-5. Through increased identification, referral and intervention efforts, we worked to improve outcomes for children with developmental, learning or behavioral concerns or challenges. To this end, SART collaborated across agencies and partners to build a county-wide system of screening, identification, referrals and family support. SART helped over 2,000 children and their families receive needed services in Alameda County, and trained and supported 34 pediatric practices and seven early care and education sites to integrate developmental screening systems into their practices and programs.
SART →"Help Me Grow"
With the SART pilot project coming to an end this October and a new affiliation with the national Help Me Grow initiative, SART has changed its name to Help Me Grow Alameda County! This change reflects our transition to new and expanded efforts to identify young children with developmental and/or behavioral concerns and connect them and their families to appropriate community resources. While our training, support and services will remain the same, new strategies will be implemented, such as:
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Expanding efforts to identify and screen children with developmental concerns
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Launching a public education campaign to promote child development awareness , early identification and intervention
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Expanding community outreach activities and networking opportunities for providers
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Developing a county-wide early childhood resource database
Linkage Line in Three Languages
One of the core components of a Help Me Grow system is a centralized access point for connecting children and their families to services and care. Our "Linkage Line"
- 1- 888-510-1211 - has long served as a pathway for healthcare and early care and education providers to connect families to services. In 2013, we will be making the Help Me Grow Linkage Line public to all providers and parents in Alameda County. We recently added new Asian language capacity to English and Spanish and are getting the word out about the line by publicizing it on brochures and other materials. This is an exciting new endeavor and we look forward to better supporting the needs of our families in Alameda County.
