This policy brief by the ZERO TO THREE Western Office describes the 211 LA County telephone-based developmental screening and care coordination program. It offers policy recommendations for expanding and replicating the model and discusses research supporting universal developmental screening.
In September 2009, 211 LA County launched an innovative Developmental Screening and Care Coordination Program. The screening program uses evidence-based developmental screening tools in the agency’s call center to identify young children with potential developmental delays and disabilities including autism. After receiving standard 2-1-1 service, a portion of parent callers of children birth to five years of age are offered the opportunity to answer questions about their children’s development using an on-line developmental screening tool. Developmental and autism screens are delivered by a trained Care Coordinator. Parents’ responses are entered into a web-based form that immediately generates a report of the likelihood that the child has a developmental issue. In the same call, Care Coordinators share the screening results and help families interpret the results.
