Conference Abstract Compendium Examples from the ... - CityMatCH

2009 CityMatCH Urban MCH Leadership ConferenceACCOMPLISHMENTS/RESULTSIn the first seven months, the program has trained over 254 participants which reaches roughly 81% of allchildren birth to five in a three county region of Oregon. A universal referral and release form has beendeveloped for all Oregon counties –greatly improving the communication between the differentstakeholders. The majority of providers have implemented at least one screening tool with over halfimplementing two screening tools in their practices. Post-training data is currently being analyzed fromthe first round of trainings.BARRIERS• Gaining access to primary care was a huge barrier – partnering with the local AAP chapter and bringingthe training (and dinner) into the practice helped overcome this barrier.• Overcoming the cultural barriers across disciplines was also significant – the community panels createda dialogue where participants began to share their frustrations and opportunities.• Continued funding is a barrier until the State steps up to support this effort.LESSONS LEARNEDPhysicians and staff are receptive to screening for developmental disabilities and autism and this type ofhands on training is well received. Lack of physician knowledge of community resources and the referralprocesses is significant and widespread. The lack of a universal referral and information release processhas been an additional barrier for physicians and community providers working toward a coordinated caremodel. Public health home visitors are often seeing the same children and there is very little sharing ofinformation/data across these disciplines. Strengthening developmental screening and linkages tocommunity referral in primary care will increase our effectiveness in early identification of challenges.This approach also strengthens working relationships across disparate professional groups to increaseaccess to appropriate services for families with children struggling with suspectedsocial/emotional/developmental delays.INFORMATION FOR REPLICATIONThe approximate annual budget for START is $100,000, which includes the staff needed to coordinate,physician stipends to deliver the training, materials, meals, and travel. This is a very modest amount toinfluence an important public health outcome such as this.The seed monies for this initiative have come from a local managed care organization which managesMedicaid in our region. In states where this type of effort has been sustained, it has included a mix ofMedicaid and private funds.American Academy of Pediatrics-state chapter, Medicaid, Maternal Child Health - State and county, EarlyIntervention (special education), Child Care Resource and Referral, Mental Health providers who workwith young children, Oregon State Early Childhood Matters Council and Commission on Children andFamilies.145