About Help Me Connect

Minnesota Help Me Connect helps pregnant and parenting families with young children birth to 8 years of age connect to services in their local communities that support healthy child development and family well-being.

Beginning in 2012, a team of early childhood partners including state staff, tribal liaisons, and health care and education providers explored how to expand the state’s Help Me Grow system that supports children experiencing developmental or behavioral concerns and their caregivers. Help Me Connect launched in May 2021 as a collaborative resource for professionals and families to access the vast array of additional early childhood and family support resources. As of May 2023, the site has welcomed over 200,000 visitors from all regions of MN and neighboring states with top searches for autism, food, diaper, housing, transportation services. All are invited to share their ideas for improvements. New content is added based on these recommendations every month.

Help Me Connect is a joint initiative between Minnesota's Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet.

What’s Included in Help Me Connect

Help Me Connect includes resources and services that promote healthy prenatal and early childhood development, education, safety and well-being of children and families. It includes non-profits, for-profits (licensed by the state of Minnesota) and government agencies.

Help Me Connect’s mission is to connect families with resources that support the diverse needs of children and families across the state of Minnesota, especially those experiencing racial, economic, and geographic disparities.

Funding

Help Me Connect is made possible using federal funding, 93.434 - ESSA Preschool Development Grants Birth through Five. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Learn more on the Preschool Development Grant webpage.

Resources

• Outreach Materials, including handouts and videos in multiple languages
• Training Videos