Strategy: Healthy Child Development Initiative
What We Do > Our Strategies > Strategy: Healthy Child Development Initiative
Why This Matters:
The first five years of a child's life are fundamentally important. Healthy development during these years helps lay a foundation for a child’s future health, development, achievement in school and wellbeing into adulthood. However many children experience developmental concerns and delays that can have a long lasting negative impact, which is why it is important for concerns to be identified as early as possible. The good news is that early intervention works. When children receive timely and effective intervention, they can achieve their best potential and in some cases even overcome developmental delays and concerns. Moreover, early intervention makes economic sense. Identifying developmental delays early can save up to $203,000 in treatment costs per child ages 3-22.
What We Are Doing:
To help children ages birth to 5 in Alameda County achieve their best development, the Healthy Child Development Initiative ensures children have regular developmental screenings as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. If a child has a developmental concern or a parent is worried about their child, we partner with families to help them understand their child’s needs and get connected to services and supports. In 2013, we partnered with 1,373 families to address children’s developmental concerns through the Help Me Grow phone line and supported more than 6,000 developmental screenings throughout the community. We also work with providers and agencies throughout the county to build collaboration and increase awareness of the importance of early identification and intervention.
First 5 Alameda County Programs Supporting This Strategy:
Help Me Grow
AlamedaKids.org
Community Grants
