State Grantees Meet for Peer-to-Peer Exchange on Developmental Screening and Beyond

December 18, 2014

SPHARC Peer-to-Peer Exchange

On August 5, AMCHP's State Public Health Autism Resource Center (SPHARC) held a Peer-to-Peer Exchange on "Screening and Beyond: Improving Systems for Developmental Screening and Early Identification" in Baltimore, Maryland. Hosted by the Maryland autism state implementation grantee team, a total of eight state autism grantees - AR, CO, CT, MD, MS, ND, OH and VA - met to share resources, challenges and successes related to improving developmental and ASD/DD screening, early identification and related systems of care.

The Maryland team shared information on their "Screening and Beyond" Quality Improvement (QI) Learning Collaborative for primary care practices across the state. The 12-month long project includes web-based learning conferences, chart audits to measure care and improvement, a patient roster tool to identify and track children with ASD/DD in participating practices, and hands-on QI coaching in practices and by phone. Additionally, the Learning Collaborative pairs each participating practice with a trained Parent Partner that provides follow-up and resources to families, collects and reports data and provides input as part of the quality improvement process. During the meeting, state and local partners involved in Maryland's efforts to improve screening, referral and diagnostic services also shared their roles and experiences. Participating states also shared updates and strategies with each other during roundtable sessions.

Resources from Peer-to-Peer, included state developmental screening profiles, can be online found here.