Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care

Promote Access to Early, Regular and Comprehensive Screenings

Policy Ideas

What policies can states use to move toward this recommendation?

To move toward this recommendation, states may use multiple policy levers, starting from different points. Potential state policies include the following:

Licensing:

• Include requirements based on Early Head Start Performance Standards, such as requiring licensed child care providers ensure vulnerable infants and toddlers receive comprehensive screenings within 45 days entering child care and appropriate referrals and follow-up, including funding to help child care providers do so either individually or by forming local networks.

• Require in state licensing that child care providers receive pre-service training that includes information on age and culturally appropriate assessment for infants and toddlers, including the benefits, recommended screening schedule and information on connecting families to services.

Quality:

• Create and fund local networks of child care providers and professionals who can conduct developmental screenings. Use these networks to identify infants and toddlers who are at-risk and entering child care with providers or family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregivers to ensure these children receive comprehensive screenings within 45 days of entering care. These screenings should be linguistically, culturally and age appropriate, and include motor, language, mental health, social, cognitive, perceptual, emotional, sensory, and behavioral skills.
• Encourage local partnerships between child care centers, family child care providers, FFN caregivers, EPSDT providers, the IDEA Part C early intervention Child Find program, and public health and community social service providers to carry out screenings and follow-up.
• Fund partnerships with Early Head Start programs to allow vulnerable children in child care settings, including FFN care, to receive Early Head Start screening and follow up services.
• Partner with the IDEA Part C early intervention Child Find program to identify infants and toddlers with special needs and create linkages with their child care providers and FFN caregivers.

• Embed developmental screening, referrals, and follow up services for infants and toddlers in the levels of a state quality rating and improvement system.

Subsidy

• Provide additional funding beyond the state child care subsidy payment rate structure to subsidy providers to ensure infants and toddlers receive comprehensive screenings within 45 days of entering child care or FFN care and appropriate referrals and follow-up.
• Provide higher subsidy reimbursement rates to child care providers and FFN caregivers who facilitate access to comprehensive screening for vulnerable babies and toddlers.
• Create contracts that pay higher rates and require child care providers to provide some developmental screening and other comprehensive services to vulnerable babies and toddlers.

Related Project Recommendations

• Promote Access to Comprehensive Services
• Promote Health and Safety
• Provide Access to Training, Education, and Ongoing Supports

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Visit page: http://www.clasp.org/babiesinchildcare/recommendations?id=0011