Reach Out and Read, Northeast
If you missed our information
sessions, watch one here!
Apply today!
Check out the resources below and feel free to contact us if
you have questions that aren’t answered. If you have any
trouble with the application – we are here to help!
WE WANT TO MAKE IT EASY
"Our families have been so excited to have books again - and some
infants are getting books for the first time, which is amazing. But I
think the most incredible part for me has been providing books to
our young refugee patients in their native language. Their parent’s
eyes just light up when they realize they’ll be able to read the book
with their children. Such a powerful moment to be a part of."
-- Annie Powers, MD ROR Medical Champion at Penobscot Community
Health Center Pediatrics
BRINGING THE PROGRAM
TO MAINE
We have never had to apply or report before, why do you have these
requirements?
Reach Out and Read does not have the resources to bring the program to every clinic in every state. Having a national
application process helps us plan, fundraise, and budget for bringing on new sites. It also helps ensure that our expansion
is equitable and prioritizes historically marginalized communities.
And having a reporting requirement helps us:
- Identify clinics where we need to provide additional program support;
- Anticipate what fundraising we will need to do to meet the region’s book needs; and
- Ensure that all of the programs in our region meet the same high quality standards.
Why do we have to complete training before we can start the program?
Anyone who conducts well child visits (MDs, DOs, RNs, PAs) needs complete a one time, online, CME-qualified training. We
know that there are tremendous pressures on their time but we believe that the quality of their anticipatory guidance is
essential to the success of the program and that they are the vital link to improving outcomes for children and families.
We want everyone to have the same tools and language to communicate that anticipatory guidance.
What do I need to have in order to complete an application?
You can start and stop an application as many times as you would like. You can temporarily put “n/a” in a section in order
to move through other parts of the application you are ready to complete, but you will eventually need:
- Information about how many children you see each year and their demographics (age, race, language spoken at home,
and insurance coverage). - Your clinic’s W9 (a federal form that documents your Taxpayer Identification Number)
- If you are a nonprofit organization, a copy of your IRS 501c3 determination letter
- A letter from your organization’s leadership indicating that they support your clinic’s participation in Reach Out and
Read. (There is a template on the National Center’s website, and we have a special one for our region’s Federally
Qualified Health Centers.)
If you are having trouble answering a question, please contact us.
What if we are a Federally Qualified Health Center?
We are prioritizing bringing on Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics. If your organization is
one of those, some of the National Center’s application questions do not apply to you but you cannot leave them blank.
Please contact us directly for help in filling out your application.
What does your timing look like for bringing on clinics?
We want to serve as many children and families as possible but we haven’t had time to build the funding and program
capacity we would need to bring on all of Maine’s sites at once, so we are phasing our expansion. We are starting with
high priority sites and working our way through a waiting list to bring on other sites as funding becomes available.
Should my fundraising team start applying for grants to purchase books for
our clinic?
To sustainably support Maine going forward, Reach Out and Read plans to seek funding from corporations, foundations,
and individual donors. We generally have more success and are able to tap into larger grants than individual clinics doing
their own asks because we fundraise on behalf of entire communities, states, or regions. We encourage you to let us
fundraise on your behalf and not pursue funding specifically for books at this moment.
Is it possible to support Reach Out and Read in Maine directly?
Absolutely! We need all the help we can get to make this a smooth transition for families and clinics. We’d encourage you
to visit the donation page we have created just for Maine programs.
what will be the same
- The basic program model: we
promote early literacy and relational
health during well child visits and
send families home with a beautiful
new culturally and developmentally
appropriate book for their home
library.
- Specially trained clinical partners
(MDs, DOs, NPs, PAs) deliver the
program. They give families guidance
at every visit and a new,
developmentally appropriate book
beginning at the 6 month exam.
- We support programs by providing
sites with training and technical
assistance as well as book funding.
- Each site needs to fill out its own online application.
- Everyone who conducts well child visits will have to take a one-time, CME-accredited online training.
- Sites purchase their own books. We put funds into accounts with our preferred book vendors and sites use it to purchase the books of their choice.
- Sites report twice a year on how many children they saw, what their demographics were, and how many books they received.
- At least annually we will check in to be sure you have enough books and provide any needed help.
what will be different
- We prioritize bringing on Federally
Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs),
Rural Health Clinics, and sites
identified by Maine’s Department of
Health and Human Services as High
Priority.
- Interested clinics should let us know by
beginning an application or contacting
our Recruitment Team.
- Accepted sites that are not brought on
immediately will be added to a waiting
list and onboarded as soon as funding
is available.
next steps
What Maine Clinics Need to know
our model
At routine health checkups from infancy through age five, Reach Out and Read-trained pediatric clinicians:
Talk with parents about the
benefits of reading aloud and
engaging with their young
children in language rich
activities
Show caregivers how to look at
books and talk about the stories
with their infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers
Encourage families to cuddle
up, read together at home, and
build routines around books
Give the child a new,
developmentally and culturally
appropriate book for their
home library
During the exam, practitioners use the book for developmental surveillance,
observing how the child and caregiver interact with the book and each other
Reach Out and Read, Northeast
89 South Street, Suite 201
Boston, MA 02111
617.455.0600
https://rorne.org/
Reach Out and Read is 501(c)3 nonprofit that gives young children a foundation for success by
incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. To support our
expansion of programming in Maine: