Iowa's 1st Five Initiative: improving early childhood developmental services through public-private partnerships.
The Iowa Department of Public Health's 1st Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative is bridging public and private health care systems to improve early detection of social-emotional delays and prevention of mental health problems among young children and their families. Key features of the 1st Five model include: user-friendly mental and developmental health screening and referral forms; ongoing education and support for medical office staff on healthy development and use of screening and referral tools; specially trained care coordinators to identify and address a wide range of children's and families' needs; relationships with community resources that provide early intervention; and timely notification of outcomes to the referring physician offices. With an evaluation under way, early 1st Five experience indicates that families identified through the program have a range of unmet needs: each physician referral results in an average of three to five follow-up referrals for services.
Silow-Carroll
Sharon
S
Health Management Associates, USA. ssilowcarroll@healthmanagement.com
D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005380:Financing, Government; D006078:Government Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007484:Iowa; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017149:Private Sector; D011634:Public Health; D017150:Public Sector; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013221:State Health Plans