Funded Projects

"Three To All You Can Be"

Project Year

2025

City & State

Long Branch, New Jersey

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Child Development/Developmental Delay

Program Description

According to the NIH, the prevalence of developmental disabilities among children aged 3 to 17 rose from 7.40% in 2019 to 8.56% in 2021. Early Intervention services play a vital role in addressing developmental delays across various skill areas and are available for children up to age three. However, interventions can still be implemented for older children, as brain development continues beyond that age cutoff.  In New Jersey, each county has a Special Child Health Services Case Management Unit that collaborates with families and specialists to create individual service plans. Unfortunately, a 2020 Monmouth County Needs Assessment showed that 63% of the population is unaware of available services, and 22% face cultural barriers.   In Long Branch, NJ, more than 34% of the inhabitants are Hispanic, and 19% of the population above 5 years of age speaks Spanish. According to the New Jersey Department of Education, 95.77% of children in special education programs in this area are non-English learners; hence, it is essential to implement programs that are easy to navigate and help overcome language and cultural barriers for these families in need.     The Problem: There is a failure to follow up and manage identified developmental delays in children aged 2.5 to 5 years despite outstanding screening rates by medical providers through the SWYC (Survey of Well-being of Young Children). This issue arises from a lack of understanding of developmental delays and their implications, language barriers, and/ or  social determinants of health.  Primary Setting: Monmouth Family Health Center   Number of Children Affected: 10 children between ages 2.5-5 who have screened positive for developmental delays through SWYC.  Project Goal:  Short term: Reduce the gap in access to resources for children approaching three years of age up to five years old who no longer qualify for early intervention services.  Long-term: Reduce the unmet service needs of children around three to five years of age with identified developmental delays who could not access or transition from the state's early intervention program; increasing their readiness for kindergarten.  Proposed Intervention: Select ten children between the ages of 2.5 and 5 who have screened positive for developmental delays via SWYC at MFHC and whose parents are willing to participate in this intervention. Then, a series of four educational workshop will be planned and held by several experts in the field of early childhood intervention. The aim is to educate, empower, and connect these families with the most appropriate services to help their children thrive and transition to Kindergarten effectively.  The objective of the workshops is to: 1. Educate: Provide each parent with a comprehensive explanation of their child's developmental stage, identified delays, and the implications of not addressing these delays promptly, both now and in the future.   2. Empower: Educate parents about available community resources so they can become their child's number one advocate.  3. Connect: Create a support group for parents experiencing challenges related to their child's developmental delays. This group will provide a space for sharing stories, challenges, and successes. Meetings will be held once every other month to enhance adherence and accountability, allowing us to monitor children's progress throughout the project's implementation.  Anticipated Outcomes: 1. Increase community awareness of the importance of understanding early childhood development, what is considered age-appropriate, and the red flags that indicate the need for intervention. 2. Empower parents to advocate for their children and use available community resources. 3. Enhance the quality of life for children with developmental delays by addressing their needs and preparing them and their parents for successful integration into Kindergarten with a dedicated team of therapists in place.

Project Goal

Educate parents about typical and atypical development in preschool-aged children, and assist them in understanding the options available for obtaining necessary services for those with identified developmental delays or transitioning from Early Intervention services through educational workshops.

Project Objective 1

Specific: Host four "Three To All You Can Be" child development workshops, providing a variety of resources and services for the ten families selected from our family health center.  Measurable: Engage and educate ten families. Evaluate effectiveness with pre and post surveys.  Attainable: Partner with local health, education, and social service organizations, such as professionals in child development, Child Care Resources, Acelero Learning, Project Child Find, and others to provide accurate information, appropriate resources, and support at each workshop.  Realistic: With the assistance of our advisory group, we will utilize an affordable venue or community space and recruit volunteers to help manage costs, ensuring broad outreach for community participation.  Time-phased: Host the first workshop within four months of receiving the grant award and every two months thereafter, while continuing to monitor the progress of children's developmental delays during scheduled well-child visits.  Inclusive: Ensure materials and resources are available in the most commonly spoken languages of our target population: Spanish, Portuguese, and English. This includes information for families with diverse needs.  Equitable: Offer free admission and services to all attendees, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Project Objective 2

Specific: Conduct pre- and post-workshop surveys to assess parents' understanding of normal and abnormal child development and their confidence in advocating for necessary interventions for their children.  Measurable: Aim to increase parental knowledge of normal and abnormal child development and available local resources to advocate for their children once a delay is identified and they no longer qualify for EI measured by survey results.  Attainable: Develop a simple, brief survey that parents can complete on-site before and after each workshop.  Realistic: Utilize event staff and assigned survey volunteers to assist in survey collection and ensure response for data collection.  Time-phased: Surveys will be distributed at the beginning and end of the event, and data will be analyzed within two weeks after each workshop.   Inclusive: Ensure that survey questions are clear, culturally appropriate, and accessible to parents from all educational backgrounds.   Equitable: Provide language assistance and alternative formats (e.g., paper, digital) for families with diverse needs and preferences.

Project Objective 3

Specific: Offer workshops and expert-led sessions to increase parents' confidence and understanding to promptly advocate for their children's developmental needs.   Measurable: Improve the developmental progress of identified children measured via the SWYC screening tool until the child is age-ready for kindergarten. The progress of selected children will be contrasted with that of a similar cohort of children with similar developmental delays whose parents did not participate in the "Three To All You Can Be" intervention.  Attainable: Organize at least three parent support group session with the local Family Success center every 3 months for them to share their progress, challenges and emotionally decompress.  Realistic: Identified children will be followed up closely at scheduled well-child visits to see if one or more identified developmental delays progress to better direct or redirect parent's endeavors in helping their child be ready for kindergarten.  Time-phased: Tracking of developmental progression will be conducted until the child is ready to transition to kindergarten.  Inclusive: Ensure the screening tool addresses developmental concerns, including speech delays, motor skills, and behavioral challenges.  Equitable: Provide resources and advocacy tools that can be accessed by all families, regardless of their background or income.

AAP District

District III

Institutional Name

Monmouth Family Health Center

Contact 1

Nathalie Martinez, MD