A Psychometric Study of the Modified Bridges for Newborns Screening Tool

Welcome Baby, a program that First 5 Los Angeles (First 5 LA) sponsors, provides new mothers with supportive services intended to create enriching environments for their children. To identify mothers in need of these services, First 5 LA employs hospital liaisons who administer a maternal risk assessment tool, the Modified Bridges for Newborns screening tool, during postpartum interviews of mothers. First 5 LA uses risk assessment scores from the Modified Bridges to classify mothers as low, moderate, or high risk; high-risk mothers are eligible for additional supportive services that are not available to low- and moderate-risk mothers. This article describes RAND Corporation work evaluating the psychometric characteristics of the Modified Bridges.