Watch Me Grow Rhode Island

Rhode Island has long given careful attention to the health and developmental needs of its youngest children. While significant gains have been made to improve the health of all children in Rhode Island, gaps in services still exist.

Many Rhode Island children experience multiple risk factors for poor development, including poverty and living in stressed environments. In addition, an increasing number of young children are asked to leave their child care due to behavioral and developmental concerns.

Research shows that developmental screening identifies physical, cognitive, and emotional health issues that may otherwise go undetected, providing the opportunity to intervene to correct these problems at the earliest points possible. A system that promotes early and regular screening for developmental delays and behavior problems will help to prevent poor outcomes and ensure that children and families receive the services they need as early as possible.

Watch Me Grow Rhode Island is working with primary care providers, child care providers, and others to:

• Improve rates of developmental screening for young children so that developmental and behavioral concerns are identified early.
• Facilitate early access to developmental intervention services.
• Improve communication between parents, child care providers, health care providers, and community services.

Watch Me Grow RI provides training and technical assistance to child care providers and health care providers on developmental screening and related topics. The project is partnering with the Washington County Coalition for Children to pilot the Developmental Services Pathway in Washington County.