Young children in the Finger Lakes region now have access to free developmental checks, or screenings, that can help families better understand their child’s strengths and possible needs for healthy development. Only 20 to 30 percent of children with health, behavioral, and development problems are identified and receive appropriate interventions prior to entering school.
The Get Ready to GROW collaborative, led by Children’s Institute, features screenings designed to support a child’s doctor by providing complementary information that they would not get during a typical well visit. In addition to height, weight, vision, and hearing, these development checks look at movement, dental, speech and language, thinking and reasoning, and social and emotional well-being, as well as social determinants of health and education. The free checks are an easy and fun way for families to engage in their child’s development, and leverage state-of-the-art technology to ensure best practices.
The Get Ready to GROW comprehensive screening model is more than just a one time check. A GROW navigator partners with the family, school, child care providers, and physicians to better understand a child’s developmental path. Navigators will assist parents and work with the support network to help ensure the child is prepared for success in school.
Providers and families have been benefiting from this new screening model since 2014. Initially called GROW-Rochester, this community effort initiated by Children’s Institute and the ROC the Future School Readiness Outcome Team has been scaling to meet new needs and challenges. With several health provider pilots taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Get Ready to GROW has developed a flexible screening model that can be delivered virtually, through partnering providers, in the child care or school setting, and out in the community in a mobile screening unit.
Dr. Sarah Collins-McGowan, Pediatrician with Rochester Regional Health at Genesee Pediatrics and the Center for Refugee Health noted, “Get Ready to GROW screenings are more comprehensive than what I would normally be able to do in the office, and provides links to services and navigation support not typically available. It’s so easy to work with the GROW team as a provider. They figured out what our office needed and personalized processes for maximum efficiency and value.” She reflected further on the impact of GROW. “I had a parent that was really concerned about her child being ‘labeled.’ She opened up to our practice and began to trust our processes. With GROW she received quick evaluation results, talked with supportive, non-judgmental, knowledgeable specialists, and learned to move past her barriers and obtain services for her daughter, probably at least a year earlier than waiting for school screenings. This was a real success. Actually, if it was available earlier, I would have jumped at the chance to have my children checked by the GROW team.”
Another example of Get Ready to GROW’s impact on school success came from a parent. “The exam by the eye doctor helped pinpoint exactly what was wrong with Gabby’s vision. I did not know that she had an astigmatism and that she needed glasses to correct it. When she wears her glasses her behavior seems to be more focused, now she does not need to sit so close to the television and she seems more interested in school work.”
The Get Ready to GROW community initiative is managed by Children’s Institute but is the result of multiple years of collaborative planning efforts with more than 30 partnering organizations across education, health, and human services. Each partner provides vital knowledge, services, and funding, with roles including funding, family and community connections, direct services such as screening, child care and medical service provision, and parent navigation support.
Parents or providers can learn more about Get Ready To Grow or sign up for a free check at www.GetReadyToGrow.org or by reaching out to the GROW team by email at support@getreadytogrow.org or by phone at 585-295-1008.
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