Implementing Developmental Screening Programs for Infants and Toddlers in the Child Welfare System

Abstract

In 2003, revisions to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act required states to develop plans to refer children younger than 3 years of age with a substantiated case of abuse and neglect for developmental screening. A decade after legislation was passed, its implementation varies considerably across states. This article explains how research informs the need for careful developmental monitoring of young children, especially those experiencing trauma or living under stressful conditions. Finally, this article presents how one community used colocation to increase developmental screenings for young abused and neglected children.

KEYWORDS:

• child protection
• organizations/systems
• policy issues
• evidence-based practices

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert Herman-Smith

Robert Herman-Smith, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the College of Health and Human Services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, NC.

Kristen Schmitt

Kristen Schmitt, MSW, is a Research Assistant in the Department of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, NC.