From The Hill: “Let’s Get Smarter about Preventing Developmental-Behavior Problems”

Gone are the days of “let’s just wait and see if he/she will grow out of it.”  The federal-level initiative, Birth to Five: Watch Me Thrive!,  is heavily promoting developmental-behavioral screening in children 0 to five 5 of age. Healthcare providers are routinely screening  children for developmental delays, autism, behavioral problems and “at-risk conditions.

Politicial candidates in 2016 should know this new “standard of care” has dramatically increased referral rates to early intervention (EI) programs. The next step is to improve our early detection and intervention system for delayed and at-risk/disadvantaged children.  For every dollar spent on high-quality early learning, there’s a 7-10 percent annual return rate in cost savings to society—and the younger the child served, the wiser the investment.

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