EI+ASD Building Healthy Children and Strong Families: Increasing Access to Early Developmental Screening and Early Intervention

2019

Evaluates the early identification of child developmental delays and the implementation of intervention services that optimize child and family well-being in Hennepin County, Minnesota. One in four young children are at risk for a developmental delay. Early childhood screening provides access to early intervention, and a valuable opportunity to intervene during a critical period of brain development. Early intervention is key to strong educational outcomes. Early intervention positively changes a child's developmental trajectory and improves outcomes for children and families. Without intervention, delays contribute to educational underachievement and disparities. A vital component of early intervention is family engagement. Family engagement begins early and is a key ingredient in educational success. Yet families in many diverse communities are not engaged in early intervention, and many children remain unscreened and unconnected to early intervention. A need exists to increase access to early screening and intervention, with a focus on engaging diverse families. This project is funded by a Hennepin-University Collaborative Grant and the objectives of the Hennepin-University Partnership are: Evaluate current Hennepin County screening rates and follow up for early intervention services Evaluate family perspectives on early screening/intervention including cultural/contextual factors in access Determine impact of parent-to-parent navigator model on family engagement and participation in early screening and intervention follow up.

Continuing Education/Community Training

Education & Early Intervention

Community Trainees / Short term trainees, Family Members/Caregivers

Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Geographic Areas, Urban

Single-County

N/A