BFH Leads Collaborative Efforts to Improve Early Childhood Systems
In the beginning of May, the Bureau of Family Health’s (BFH) developmental screening program convened key stakeholders in New Orleans and Lafayette to map out current practices and identify gaps in Louisiana’s developmental screening and early intervention systems for children. A total of 76 attendees consisted of on-the-ground developmental screening and early intervention service providers (public health nurses, physicians, and family representatives), those at front lines of family support, and a representative from the Governor’s Office.
Findings and recommendations from the meetings will be shared with relevant stakeholders in Louisiana, who will then assess them for feasibility and provide input into next steps for Lafayette and the state. The national Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center is also providing technical assistance on this project and will be analyzing the feedback from the discussions to inform future systems improvement opportunities and immediate and longer-term action steps.
In addition to these meetings, interviews were conducted with those with touch points around developmental screening and early intervention. Efforts to survey all Lafayette-area pediatric and family medicine practices on developmental screening and early intervention services and referral is underway.
Other efforts to ensure that children and youth with special health care needs receive appropriate and adequate health services include the Children’s Special Health Services Resource Catalogue, which has been updated and converted to an electronic publication. The Resource Catalogue includes region-specific resources around screening and referral, early intervention and education, transition, behavioral health, and community supports. Regional resource guides can be found here.
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