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Help Me Grow Program Moves to Carousel Center

Once housed in the South Central Ohio Educational Service Center, the Help Me Grow program moved to the Carousel Center on Tuesday, Aug. 14.

Help Me Grow is a family-centered program aimed at assisting young children and families gain and utilize skills that assist children in reaching their developmental milestones. One way the program interacts with Scioto County Developmental Disabilities is through the Intake process, as children younger than 3 years old must be referred to SCDD by the Help Me Grow program. Having the Intake, Early Childhood, and Help Me Grow programs in a single location will allow them to work together more efficiently.

“It’s a natural evolution of change,” said Tammy Nelson, SCDD’s Director of Intake and Early Childhood Services. She will oversee the move and the Help Me Grow program at Carousel.

Five Help Me Grow staff members will be housed at the Carousel Center. Nelson said families won’t feel the change, but the program will work more efficiently as staff with Help Me Grow work more closely with SCDD Developmental Specialists, who do home visits with children and families eligible for services.

“It is a pleasure to partner with SCDD to ensure that the families in Scioto County are served with the programs and resources that are available,” said SCOESC Superintendent Sandy Mers. “Having Tammy Nelson’s leadership and collaboration will strengthen the services that we can provide.”

While the people doing home visits may change for some, those who receive services through the Help Me Grow program should notice no changes to actual services.

“No services stop,” Nelson said. “The program’s intents and purposes can create lifelong changes for children, that’s what it should be about.”

SCDD Superintendent Matt Purcell said the shift is a commonsense one and that service to children and families is the top priority.

“Tammy and the staff at the Carousel Center will provide a quality level of service that will continue to improve the lives of the children and family of Scioto County, and their commitment to helping children reach developmental milestones is unparalleled,” Purcell said. “Having the programs in one building will provide opportunities for partnership that will benefit the children and families of our county, and Tammy, her staff, and the Help Me Grow program staff are an important part of that.”