Contributing Factors: A good cross-section of providers have been able to engage in this work.  As a result, ECT has been able to increase the number of screenings completed each year.

Restricting Factors: It is important to consider the influence of the current sectors represented (i.e. Birth to Three and Head Start) on these numbers.  This reinforces the need to engage the Healthcare sector in order to better reach the broader population of children aged 0-5. Additionally, systems and resources are somewhat limited influencing access to resources when delayes are identifed.  

“Healthy development in the early years (particularly birth to three) provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation.” - Harvard Center for the Developing Child 

Science shows that positive early childhood experiences can have major short- and long-term effects on cognitive and social-emotional development. Money spent on high-quality early care and education (ECE) is an investment. One dollar spent on high-quality early care and education yields an average return of $4 over time. In circumstances where children are extremely vulnerable, the return can be as high as $13.

Access to quality early care and education (ECE): School readiness varies across communities. Factors include urban/rural settings, wealth, and the extent and quality of community supports available to families. Almost 77% of non-rural White children were proficient in letter recognition upon entering Kindergarten in 1998 compared to 66% of rural White children. What might account for rural/non-rural differences in school readiness? While rural students are more likely than non-rural students to be enrolled in a Head Start program prior to Kindergarten, rural children were less likely than non-rural students to attend a center-based ECE program in the year before Kindergarten.

Dodge County’s childcare desert is 4 times worse than Milwaukee County’s. In our region, we have fewer than 1 “slot” available for every 3 children. Even though parents are paying higher fees than ever (19% of gross income when national guidelines suggest 7%), childcare centers struggle to remain staffed and open. Why? A broken business model means parent fees don’t cover the true cost of care, leading to razor-thin margins and low pay for ECE professionals. Innovative models that have shown success in stabilizing childcare revenue use a “three-legged stool” approach, with financial support coming from parents, government and employers.

Learn more: Buffett Institute - About the Early Years
Helping parents understand the benefits of developmental screening - Ages and Stages
Kindergarten Readiness in Wisconsin

Developmental Screening Team Members

• Broader engagement of cross-sector services
• Engagement of healthcare
• Solid systems in place to ensure access to resources for children who are identifed to be in the monitoring zone or below cut-off.

• Identify and engage key healthcare partner(s) interested and ready to engage in implementation of Developmental Screening.  Leverage Beaver Dam Pediatrics as a partner in this effort. 

• Shore up and streamline referral processes to Birth to Three, Head Start, ECE, Medical, and others as identified.

• Identify and mitigate barriers to accessing needed services. 

• Utilize data to track and assess referral processes.

• Support 18 exisiting organizations in continued implementation of developmental screening for the children and families they serve. 

GWCHF collects ASQ screening data from approximately 17 area partners - listed on the map below. 

*Not all community partners are able to submit data in each year. 

*Listed numbers reflect number of ASQ 3 screenings completed in which the child scored above cutoff within all five domains of the questionnaire* - Those five domains are communication, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, problem solving and personal & social.