“The Help Me Grow Difference: A better future starts with Help Me Grow. By supporting our young children today, we promote healthier and more prosperous communities tomorrow.”
Help Me Grow (HMG) Maine is a free information and referral service available to pregnant parents and families with children through the age of eight. HMG provides parents, physicians, and community partners all across Maine with resources to make a difference in the lives of Maine families. The HMG team will listen, link you to services, and provide ongoing support when needed.
HMG Maine is an affiliate of the National Help Me Grow Network. Together, we are working to help all children thrive.
Build & Bloom with Help Me Grow Maine – A free community event on Friday, June 9, 2023, from 4-6pm EST at the Children’s Discovery Museum Waterville, ME.
Help Me Grow Maine Services
Helping Young Children Thrive
A network of community resources works like a power grid. When the grid functions well, families can plug in to an organized flow of resources and easily access the ones they need. Help Me Grow strengthens the grid by supporting a current directory of available services and connecting service providers to each other to create an interconnected system.
Eligibility
Help Me Grow Maine is a free information, referral and care coordination service available to pregnant parents and families with children through 8 years of age throughout Maine.
Developmental Screening
Developmental milestones matter! How your child plays, learns, speaks, acts, or moves is important to their growth. All young children need both developmental monitoring and screening to ensure they are on track for a healthy life.
Visit the Developmental Screening page for more information on the importance of developmental screening and how to access screening services provided through Help Me Grow.
Resources
In any given community, there are quality early learning opportunities, health care services, agencies that supply parent support, and other types of resources that help children thrive. The network of these community resources forms a grid that works to keep children healthy, supplies them opportunities for success, and helps them develop to their full potential. By working to set up partnerships across sectors that affect the lives of children and families, Help Me Grow builds an effective grid of connected service providers that best serves families within the state of Maine.
Maine’s Help Me Grow Collaborating Partners
- 211 Maine
- Access Maine Resource Directory
- Adoptive Foster Families of Maine
- CDC Children: Special Needs Coordinator (Pam Martin)
- Child Care Choices: ME
- Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP)
- Child Development Services
- Children’s Behavioral Health
- Cradle ME
- FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) Maine
- GEAR Parent Network - for parents of children with emotional/behavioral health needs
- Head Start
- Health Care Coverage
- Learn the Signs. Act Early. -Developmental Milestones Information
- Maine Autism Institute for Education and Research
- Maine Autism Society
- Maine Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) - mental health consultation for caregivers of young children
- Maine Parent Federation - for parents of children with special needs
- Earliest Interactions - for parents of children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing
- McKinney-Vento Education in Maine - support for children experiencing housing instability
- NAMI Maine - for mental illness support/respite care
- Public Preschool
- Safe Sleep for ME
- WIC Nutrition Program
Referral & Follow Up
HMG strengthens the resource grid by connecting service providers to each other. This creates a reliable, interconnected system that best serves families. HMG Resource Specialists find existing resources and build a collaborative coalition that creates a well-functioning grid so that families can access resources when they need them.
When families or providers contact Help Me Grow, HMG aids in connecting them to the right services and supports within the resource grid. In addition, families will be contacted at a later point in time to ensure their child has received services and that all children have what they need to grow happy, healthy, and safe.
Refer a Family
If you know a family who may need support, please refer with their permission by using our online referral form, dialing (207) 624-7969 or completing a referral form and faxing to (207) 624-7994.
Data Collection and Analysis
Understanding how our system works is important. Data collection is the process of gathering, measuring, and analyzing data. Evaluation of the Help Me Grow system helps to assess how well it is working or what may need to be changed to improve the service and its outcome. Data is collected at the individual level and personal health information remains confidential.
Data that will be collected:
- Help Me Grow Demographics
- Nature of Call
- Referrals by Help Me Grow to Services/Programs
- Help Me Grow outcomes
- Service System Gaps and Barriers
Resources and Information Sheets
Post Cards
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A Family's Journey: A resource that will guide anyone through the process of Help Me Grow Maine.
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ASQ 3 vs ASQ:SE-2: A resource to show the similarities and differences between ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2.
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Milestone Moments Booklet: A free booklet created by Learn the Signs. Act Early on a child’s milestones. This book covers milestones from 2 months to 5 years of age.
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Help Me Grow, First4ME & ECCP®: A breakdown of the three programs.
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Help Me Grow Maine Timeline: A timeline of how Help Me Grow Maine began in the State of Maine to its launch date.
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HMG & Health Care Fact Sheet: A resource for healthcare providers.
[English] [Arabic] [French] [Haitian Creole] [Khmer] [Lingala] [Portuguese] [Somali] [Spanish] [Vietnamese]
Help Me Grow & Health Care: A two-page resource for healthcare providers.
[English] [Arabic] [French] [Haitian Creole] [Khmer] [Lingala] [Portuguese] [Somali] [Spanish] [Vietnamese]
Locating Services and Supports Fact Sheet: A flyer that can be used to understand what Access Maine and 211 Maine mean and how they can help.
[English]
Forms
HMG ME Authorization Form
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HMG ME Revocation Form
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Help Me Grow Maine Contacts
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Have any questions? We’d love to hear from you.
Toll-Free: 1-833-714-7969
Tel: 207-624-7969
Fax: 207-624-7994
e-mail: HelpMeGrow@maine.gov
Help Me Grow Program Manager
Jessica Wood
Tel: (207) 446-9225
e-mail: Jessica.wood@maine.gov
Help Me Grow Administrative Assistant
Kimberly Montminy
Tel:
e-mail: Kimberly.montminy@maine.gov
Help Me Grow Outreach Specialist
Melinda Corey
Tel: (207) 624-7987
e-mail: Melinda.corey@maine.gov
Help Me Grow Resource Specialists
Sara Baird
Tel: (207) 822-2228
e-mail: sara.baird@maine.gov
Katherine Russum
Tel: (207) 822-1049
e-mail: Katherine.E.Russum@maine.gov
Rachel Williams
Tel: (207) 624-7984
e-mail: Rachel.williams@maine.gov