Family-Engaged Developmental Monitoring in Practice: Considerations for Providers, Programs and Systems
The Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems (ECDHS): Evidence to Impact Center hosted a webinar on Monday, September 25, 2023 from 3 – 4:30 pm EDT focused on family-engaged developmental monitoring (FEDM). Experts from the Help Me Grow National Center, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and ZERO TO THREE introduced FEDM, explained what it looks like in practice, and shared available resources and tools to apply FEDM. FEDM is a best practice for systems and providers that serve families with young children.
The webinar recording below is relevant for early childhood system leaders at both the community and state levels to learn how FEDM can be implemented across early childhood systems. The presentation slides can also be downloaded here.
Speaker Bios
Melissa Passarelli
Melissa serves as the associate director of implementation and system-building at the Help Me Grow National Center. Prior to this role, Melissa served as the director of programs at Docs for Tots where she directed Help Me Grow Long Island, acted as the local Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Grant (ECCS) team lead, provided technical assistance to physicians and other providers on implementing screening initiatives, and coordinated Help Me Grow efforts across New York State. Melissa was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Act Early Ambassador for New York State from 2019-2022 and has been a board trustee for T1International since 2020.
Melissa has an MA in International Disaster Psychology from the University of Denver and a BA in Psychology and Public Policy from The George Washington University. During her education she trained as a trauma therapist and helped establish Denver’s Trauma & Disaster Recovery Clinic, as well as worked for nonprofits such as First Book that focused on promoting equitable opportunities and outcomes for all.
Sherri Alderman
Sherri is a board certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, faculty at Portland State University, senior policy and technical assistance specialist for ZERO TO THREE’s ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Center, CDC’s Act Early Ambassador to Oregon, and Help Me Grow physician champion. She holds infant mental health endorsement in both policy and clinical practice. Sherri serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Healthy Mental and Emotional Development executive committee, as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality. She is the AAP Early Childhood Chapter Champion in Oregon, immediate past chair of the AAP Council on Early Childhood, and past president of the Oregon Infant Mental Health Association.
Deepa Srinivasavaradan
Deepa is the director of early childhood initiatives at SPAN Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN). Deepa is also the CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” Ambassador and the Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices (aRPy) Ambassador. Deepa is deeply passionate about and committed to improving early childhood and family engagement outcomes because of her own experiences as an immigrant mother. Deepa is also committed to enhancing family-professional partnerships and supporting parent leadership development to ensure that families are equal partners in decision-making at all levels. As the State Parent Lead for New Jersey’s Help Me Grow, ECCS Prenatal-Three, and Home Visiting initiatives and as the lead at SPAN for the Transforming Pediatrics for Early Childhood/NJ SEEDlings Project, Deepa provides support for activities related to family engagement.
Deepa is NJ’s Association for Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Family Delegate and a NJ Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders (NJLEND) Family Fellow. Deepa has also received her endorsement as an Infant Mental Health Specialist from the NJ Association for Infant Mental Health. In collaboration with the NJ state team, she has helped create several NJ-specific resources to address gaps in connecting to services when developmental concerns are identified in young children.
