ABCD Screening Academy: Participants Selected

The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has selected 18 states, along with Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, to participate in the ABCD Screening Academy, a 15-month initiative supported by The Commonwealth Fund. During the 15-month project, the 20 teams will receive technical assistance to integrate valid and standardized tools of children's development into preventive health care practice. Use of these instruments has been found to increase identification of young children with or at risk of cognitive, social, and emotional developmental problems, thereby increasing access to early intervention services. Each team will be led by the state's Medicaid program and will include other public agencies, along with child health physician associations, other clinicians, and nonprofit organizations. The jurisdictions selected for the consortium are: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Virginia, and Wisconsin.