A pilot study to identify developmental delay in children in underserved urban community child care settings

Children in underserved community child care were examined to determine the frequency of and a method to identify developmental delay. Initially, during daily experiential observations, child care providers at four urban community centers identified children with or at-risk-for developmental delay. Through the administration of the Denver II screening tool the project directors, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist, confirmed or rejected child care providers' concerns. The frequency of developmental concerns in this sample of 95 children was higher than reported in the general population. The reliability between child care providers' at-risk identification of children and therapists' "Suspect" results of children on the Denver II was remarkably high. This pilot study examines a method that can be implemented in community settings to support the early identification of children with possible developmental delay and to increase access to early intervention and early childhood services.