Early Developmenetal Screening and Intervention (EDSI)

The Early Developmental Screening and Intervention (EDSI) Initiative, funded by First 5 Los Angeles, is a strategic partnership led by the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities. Partners include the Center for Healthcare Quality at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Public Health Enterprises Foundation Women, Infants and Children (PHFE-WIC) and the Los Angeles BioMed WIC programs. Organizations and individuals involved in the project team represent parents, parent educators, pediatric primary care providers, and early care and education and family support professionals.

The goal of EDSI is to transform community systems in Los Angeles County to lead to earlier recognition and response for young children with developmental or behavioral concerns. The EDSI logic model includes policy strategies, supporting change within primary care and early care and education settings, and helping parents to be an active partner in the process of “recognition and response” through an educational intervention in local WIC centers. EDSI includes a policy agenda that supports the desired community changes, and enables communities to better define and to improve the pathways to early recognition and family support. EDSI is engaging a diverse group of participants in learning collaboratives to plan, implement, test, and refine a set of system improvements. EDSI is working toward the following outcomes:

1. Enhancing parent knowledge and observations of their child’s development, preparation for talking with clinicians and teachers about their child’s development, and receptivity for services/supports;
2. Clearly defining and improving roles of health care providers, family support and early care and education professionals, and community organizations and interventionists;
3. Strengthening relationships between primary care providers and population-based and targeted family supports and services; and
4. Identifying and promoting policies that support the targeted community outcomes.

To date, this five year $5.5 million strategic partnership has nearly completed the first of two structured learning collaboratives. Participating teams have executed numerous small and large changes in their systems of care and improved the levels of developmental and psychosocial screening as well as the quality of their interactions with parents. Teams have developed relationships across disciplines, leading to increased sharing of information about at-risk children, and improved communication with parents.

For additional information, please contact Tom Rice or Leila Espinosa.