Improving Developmental Screening and Supporting Families with Paid Parent Partners

Area of Science:

• Pediatric primary care
• Quality improvement science
• Community health integration

Background:

• Developmental screening and timely referral are crucial for children aged 0-3.
• Gaps exist in screening rates and appropriate follow-up for atypical results.
• Parent partners (PPs) can aid care coordination and service connection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance developmental screening and referral rates for children aged 0-3.
• To integrate parent partners (PPs) into primary care settings.
• To improve follow-through on referrals for children with atypical developmental screens.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project involving nine Maryland practices.
• Provided training and technical assistance for screening, referral, and data collection.
• Integrated paid, part-time parent partners (PPs) to assist with care coordination.

Main Results:

• Developmental screening rates increased from 65% to 95%.
• Autism-specific screening increased from 75% to 94%.
• Appropriate referral rates tripled from 6% to 20%; PPs served 292 families.

Conclusions:

• Quality improvement processes effectively increase developmental screening rates.
• Parent partners (PPs) enhance access to community services cost-efficiently.
• Further research is needed for scalable parent partner service models.