The Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida (ELCNWF) today announced the launch of the ‘Help Me Grow Florida’ program as part of their ongoing efforts to support the community through Operation Kaleidoscope.
As announced in October, 2020, Operation Kaleidoscope is a 2-year, $5.2 million program set to address the child care and early education needs of the community post Hurricane Michael.
A portion of the program dollars were earmarked to bring Help Me Grow Florida to Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties.
The purpose of implementing the Help Me Grow program was to provide free developmental and behavioral screenings for children up to age 8 and connect families with support and resources via 2-1-1.
Help Me Grow is a program model that was conceived to assist families who may have concerns or simply want to learn more about their child’s development.
It is an organized system of community resources to help children thrive, like access to health care, quality early learning experiences, healthy nutrition, and parent support. Core components of Help Me Grow Florida have been shown to build family resilience, lower medical costs, and maximize the efficiency of social service networks.
