1. (a) Beginning October 1, 2019, there is established a Help Me Grow Program ("Help Me Grow"), which shall be administered by DOH in accordance with this section. The purpose of Help Me Grow shall be to serve as a comprehensive resource and referral system for child development and family support services by providing:

   1. (1) A direct toll-free phone number for families with infants and toddlers, and health professionals, that offers oral language services in accordance with the requirements of subchapter II of Chapter 19 of Title 2, including oral language services in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Amharic, and French;
   2. (2) A current directory of public and private programs and services available to support families with infants and toddlers, including all programs administered by DOH, CFSA, DBH, OSSE, DHCF, and DHS;
   3. (3) A process that assesses the health care needs of families with infants, toddlers, and children between 3 and 5 years of age, identifies gaps in the provision of community navigation services to such individuals, and measures the effectiveness of the home visiting referral and enrollment process;
   4. (4) A centralized screening and referral mechanism, developed in collaboration with the Home Visiting Council, to facilitate the provision of home visiting services to families with infants and toddlers;
   5. (5) Linguistically appropriate outreach and materials to enhance the knowledge of families with infants and toddlers of available child development services; and
   6. (6) Training for health professionals to promote knowledge of screening for child developmental disorders and of Help Me Grow.
2. (b) DOH shall coordinate with DMHHS, DHCF, and OSSE to establish a data system to store and share health data pertaining to the screening of infants, toddlers, and children between 3 and 5 years of age for early childhood developmental health issues.
3. (c) By January 1, 2021, DOH, in collaboration with DHCF, shall develop and implement a plan to track data pertaining to the early childhood development of infants and toddlers by providing a unique child identifier for each live birth which occurs in the District.
4. (d) Beginning January 1, 2020, and semiannually thereafter, DOH shall submit a report to the Mayor, Council, Interagency Coordinating Council, SECDCC, and the Quality Improvement Network Interagency Steering Committee regarding the implementation of Help Me Grow.

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-179: § 301 of D.C. Law 22-179 provided that the creation of this section by § 104 of D.C. Law 22-179 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

History

Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-179, § 104

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-179: § 301 of D.C. Law 22-179 provided that the creation of this section by § 104 of D.C. Law 22-179 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Section 7182 of D.C. Act 26-146 amended the applicability provison in Section 301(a) of D.C. Law 22-179. Therefore the amendments to this section by Section 104 of D.C. Law 22-179 have been implemented.

Section 7182 of D.C. Act 26-210 amended the applicability provison in Section 301(a) of D.C. Law 22-179. Therefore the amendments to this section by Section 104 of D.C. Law 22-179 have been implemented.

Section 7182 of D.C. Law 26-55 amended the applicability provison in Section 301(a) of D.C. Law 22-179. Therefore the amendments to this section by Section 104 of D.C. Law 22-179 have been implemented.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7182 of Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-146, Sept. 3, 2025, 72 DCR 9623).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7182 of Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-210, Nov. 24, 2025, 72 DCR 13514).