NYU Langone’s Together Growing Strong weaves together a portfolio of evidence-based and evidence-informed clinical-, educational-, and community-based initiatives, each of which has been shown to have a high impact on one or more of our key outcomes. Together, these form an integrated system of continuous care from the prenatal period through school entry in the Sunset Park, Brooklyn, community.

Vroom

Vroom is a national early-learning initiative that empowers caregivers to play a proactive role in their children’s early brain development. It builds from the notion that opportunities to positively impact brain development are all around us, including during daily activities like bath time or mealtime, and provides reinforcing messages and tips to caregivers that promote brain-building interactions in children’s everyday lives. Supports for caregivers are provided through tip cards, a smartphone app, and other environmental and provider-based messaging. Through this process, Vroom creates a platform for a shared language around brain development and can spark conversations about child health, early childhood education, and school readiness. The Vroom program is being implemented in both clinical and community settings in Sunset Park. To learn more, contact Jeannette Martinez at Jeannette.Martinez@NYULangone.org.

Video Interaction Project

The Video Interaction Project (VIP) is a relationship-based, individualized parent-child intervention developed by Alan L. Mendelsohn and colleagues in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone. It is designed for delivery during pediatric well visits. The core component of VIP is a real-time, brief video recording made at every pediatric checkup of the parent and child reading or playing together with a book or toy provided by the program. Immediately following the recording, the parent or caregiver reviews the tape with a parenting coach, who points out and reinforces strengths and suggests additional opportunities for interaction. VIP was originally developed in English and Spanish, and has been adapted for use with Chinese-speaking families.

Evidence of VIP’s impact on parenting and child development has been documented in several randomized controlled trials. VIP has been shown to have impacts on positive parent-child interactions, enhanced socioemotional outcomes, less physical punishment, reduced behavior and attention problems, and reduced parenting stress. VIP has shown that pediatric primary care offers significant opportunity for enhancing the developmental trajectories of at-risk children, at a low cost and with a far reach. To learn more, contact PlayReadVIP@NYULangone.org.

ParentCorps

The mission of ParentCorps is to help schools partner with families to build a future where all children thrive. As an enhancement to pre-K programs, ParentCorps includes three components: a social-emotional learning program implemented by teachers; a parenting program for families; and professional development for school leaders, teachers, mental health professionals, and parent support staff. These work synergistically to bolster parent and teacher capacity to support children’s early learning and development in the face of adversity—including poverty, racism, discrimination, and immigration-related stress.

Strong evidence of ParentCorps’ impact on children, families, and teachers and return on investment comes from two randomized controlled trials with more than 1,200 Black and Brown children in low-income neighborhoods in New York City. ParentCorps has meaningful and sustained impacts on academic achievement, mental health, and physical health, and it is one of very few early childhood programs with demonstrated impact on all three critical areas of development. ParentCorps also engages with community partners to help advance early childhood education. To learn more, contact Sharon Lee at Sharon.Lee@NYULangone.org.

Reach Out, Stand Strong, Essentials for New Mothers

Reach Out, Stand strong, Essentials for new mothers (ROSE) is a postpartum depression prevention program that focuses on psychoeducation, building social supports, reducing and managing stress, and enhancing interpersonal relationships and communication among pregnant women. ROSE has been shown to be effective in reducing the onset of depression in mothers up to 12 months after delivery, and we believe it can provide women with skills to help them reduce stress even after the postpartum period. The program is being implemented in a women’s health center that serves mostly Spanish-speaking patients and has been adapted for the Chinese-speaking population. ROSE will soon be implemented in community spaces as well. To learn more, contact Laura Ibanez Gomez at Laura.IbanezGomez@NYULangone.org.

Parent Education and Breastfeeding Support

Improving young children’s physical and brain development begins prior to birth. At NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, our goal is to educate all prenatal and postnatal medical providers and nursing staff across the entire continuum of care to focus on Together Growing Strong’s key outcomes. To help accomplish this the hospital has focused on Baby-Friendly training for nurses; prenatal classes to prepare families for the birth of their children and parenting; and an expansion of our parent education program to include the Breastfeeding Café, a group that meets weekly and offers new nursing mothers encouragement and feedback. To learn more, contact Eileen Difrisco at Eileen.Difrisco@NYULangone.org.

Community Activities Resources and Education (CARE)

To engage families who are not otherwise connected to the healthcare and education systems, the CARE team has focused on the following community-based efforts:

• Community: outreach and engagement to families through community surveys, events, and social media to understand their needs and preferences as well as promote programs and resources
• Activities: skill-building opportunities and developmentally appropriate activities, communicated through weekly text messages, playgroups and read-alouds
• Resources: food pantry, backpack giveaways, and swap events
• Education: workshops and webinars

To learn more, contact Grace Tian at Grace.Tian@NYULangone.org or Gema Guevara-Jo at Gema.Guevara-Jo@NYULangone.org.