Goal
Document and track population-based measures of health and well-being for early and middle childhood populations over time in the United States.
Overview
There is increasing recognition in policy, research, and clinical practice communities that early and middle childhood provide the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional foundation for lifelong health, learning, and well-being. Early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence represent the 3 stages of child development. Each stage is organized around the primary tasks of development for that period.
- Early childhood (usually defined as birth to year 8) is a time of tremendous physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development.
- Middle childhood (usually defined as ages 6 to 12) is a time when children develop skills for building healthy social relationships and learn roles that will lay ground work for a lifetime.
Objectives
Increase the proportion of parents who receive information from their doctors or other healthcare professionals when they have a concern about their children’s learning, development, or behavior.
Intervention: Assuring Better Childhood Development Program (ABCD). The Network and Grand Beginnings / Early Childhood Council Rural Resort Region Northeast have been partnering for the past year to implement the ABCD program in healthcare and childcare provider settings. ABCD requires the use of one consistent tool (in this case Ages and Stages) on all children with the goal that all children are screened minimally three times by the age of three. We have been extremely successful in this initiative.