WithinReach Hosts Help Me Grow Visit with Dr. Paul Dworkin

Last month, WithinReach had the honor of hosting a visit by Dr. Paul Dworkin, Director of Help Me Grow’s National Center.  Dr. Dworkin is Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Physician in Chief at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Based on his extensive work with children and families and a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, he established the Help Me Grow National Center. The center supports the building of HMG systems so that states can implement effective, universal, early surveillance and screening for all children and link those at risk for developmental and behavioral problems to appropriate programs and services.

Young children who are at risk for developmental and behavioral issues often miss out on crucial early screenings which, experts agree, is the key to helping kids with developmental challenges.  According to Dr. Dworkin, “Early detection and connection to services lead to the best outcomes for children with developmental or behavioral challenges.” 

Through a competitive grant process, Washington State became one of the thirteen Help Me Grow affiliate states. During his visit Dr. Dworkin participated, along with key state partners, in a leadership meeting on child developmental screening and explored how Washington could create a synchronized developmental screening and referral system. 

“Making sure that all kids get a healthy start in life is central to WithinReach’s mission and we are proud to be an affiliate of Help Me Grow to improve families’ access to critical services for their children,” says Executive Director Patty Hayes. “We look forward to sharing future developments on this project in the coming months.”