Ohio Department of Health Ohio.gov

Process for Help Me Grow System Review (HMGSR)

  1. Mailing of the packet to the project director four to six weeks prior to the system review by the Help Me Grow (HMG) Monitoring Team Program Consultant. The packet includes the on-site visit notification letter, request for pre-site materials, HMG program standards and indicators along with the details of the HMSGR process. HMG monitoring program consultant will contact the county approximately one week after the packet has been mailed to answer any questions about the HMGR.
  2. Return of all pre-site information three weeks prior to the review visit to:
                Ohio Department of Health 
                Bureau of Early Intervention Services
                246 N. High Street. 5th Floor
                Columbus, Ohio 43215
                Attn: (Name of HMG Monitoring Program Consultant)
  3. Interview with Consumers three weeks prior to onsite visit
    Participants in the Consumer Focus Group should include: A mix of consumers who have received Newborn Home Visits (NBHV), Ongoing HMG services and Part C specialized services. Include parents who have entered at different levels of eligibility, for example, a family who received NBHV, was referred for ongoing services, then the child developed a delay. Also include consumer(s) who have transitioned out of HMG services into Part B Special Education services and other community services. County should encourage participation from the families whose records were submitted for record review and arrange for interpreters if needed. Participants should plan to be in attendance for the whole focus group; approximately 1 ½ hours.
  4. Site visit by an interagency team of state personnel that includes representatives from the Ohio Department of Health (team leader), Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Ohio Family and Children First and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services if needed. The site visit will include the following:
    1. Interview with Administrative Infrastructure of the HMG local system
      Participants in the Administrative focus group should include: Administrative agent fiscal representative, Family and Children First coordinator and chairperson, County Collaborative Group chairperson, HMG project director, Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Representative and any supervisor(s) that provide clinical supervision to the HMG direct service staff. Appropriate number of supervisors can be decided by the county.
    2. Interview with Help Me Grow Personnel Participants in the HMG Personnel/Provider focus group (not to exceed 20) should include:
      Service coordinators, hospital-based regional child find specialists (urban counties only), home visitors, NBHV nurses, family support specialists, early intervention specialists, and anyone providing direct services paid/not paid through HMG funding (e.g. anyone listed on the Outcome pages of the Individualized Family Service Plan -IFSP)
      NOTE: For larger counties this group may be divided into two focus groups.
    3. Record Review (Additional records may be requested by the state team onsite).
    4. Central Site Operations (HMG project director, Early Track security administrator, central intake and referral staff need to be available for interview/conversation during this time.) Topics include:
  • Intake and referral process
  • County process for tracking qualifications and training of HMG personnel
  • Early Track process
  • Review of Early Track Rights and Responsibility Agreement
    Tentative Schedule
    10:00 – 11: 30 Administrative Interview
    11:30 – 12:30 Central I & R Site Visit
    12:30 – 2:00 State Team Meeting
    2:00 – 3:30 Service Provider Focus Group
    3:45 – 4:15 Wrap Up
  1. Written site visit report of findings sent to the project director and Family and Children First (FCF) coordinator within twelve business days after the visit.
  2. Within four weeks after the monitoring visit, HMG Technical Assistance Program consultants (and possibly the HMG Monitoring Team consultant and/or appropriate state team members) will meet with the county HMG project director and FCF Coordinator to review findings and determine the next steps for the county. This may also tae place via conference call if agreed upon.
  3. County’s updated Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) submitted to the HMG technical assistance program consultant thirty days after receiving technical assistance regarding the findings on the monitoring visit report. The HMG Technical Assistance Program Consultant will send the county a letter stating they have received the county’s CIP within one week of the receipt of the plan. The letter may be sent via e-mail.
  4. The HMG technical assistance program consultant and appropriate state team members will review the updated CIP within three weeks and provide ongoing technical assistance on the indicators that have not been met.

Help Me Grow Standards
Help Me Grow Compliance Tool
HMG System Review Schedule 
HMG Consultants for Monitoring (Map)