Screening

Professional Resource Brief

Here you will find resources about screening infants, children, and adolescents for chronic illnesses; physical disabilities; and emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. For a list of resources about genetic screening, see the MCH Digital Library's resource brief, Genetics.

Websites

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Guidelines, schedules, health-education materials, policy statements, and other resources for health professionals for strengthening newborn screening services and ensuring healthy development of infants, children, and adolescents.
  
  Bright Futures. Infant, child, and adolescent health-promotion and disease-prevention guidelines and tools for health professionals and families. Also see Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 4th ed. (2017) and Performing Preventive Services: A Bright Futures Handbook (2010).; a chapter on screening covers adolescent alcohol and substance use and abuse, cervical dysplasia, developmental and behavioral considerations, hearing, newborn screening, sexually transmitted infections, and vision screening.
  
  Developmental Surveillance and Screening. Information on developmental surveillance and screening tools and resources for professionals.
  
  Mental Health Screening and Assessment Tools for Primary Care, rev. ed. (2012). [Table].
  
  National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Medical Home. Resources for health professionals about the medical home approach to high-quality, comprehensive health care for all children and adolescents, including those with special health care needs.
  
  
• Baby's First Test. Information for expectant and new parents and health professionals about newborn screening and what to expect from the newborn screening process; state-specific newborn screening programs; health conditions identified by screening; and resources, support, and guidance for families with a newborn diagnosed with a health condition.
  
  
• Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! (Administration for Children &Families (ACF)) Compendium of research-based developmental screening tools and a set of guides for health and social service professionals about the importance of developmental and behavioral screening, how to talk to parents, where to go for help, and how to select the most appropriate screening tool for the population served and the provider implementing the screening. Includes information for parents /families about developmental milestones, tips on how to promote a child's development and what to do when concerns arise, a screening passport for keeping track of and sharing their child's screening history and results, and resources for follow-up and support. Please Note: Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! is no longer a current site but ACF retains the site for reference.
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). A wealth of information, recommendations, and tools for health professionals and families about newborn screening, hearing screening, and developmental screening.
  
  Learn the Signs. Act Early. Information and tools for health professionals, early childhood educators, and parents to improve early identification of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities so children and families can get the services and support they need as early as possible. Materials for parents are available in English and Spanish, and some materials are available in Arabic, Korean, and Portuguese.
  
  
• Children's Hospital Boston: Developmental Screening Toolkit for Primary Care Providers. Information for primary care health professionals who want to learn how to implement effective, validated, developmental screening in their practices. Addresses the issues of time, resources, and budget and includes a video clip of health professionals who describe their experiences with implementing screening programs.
  
  
• Easter Seals: Developmental Milestones Screening. Online screening tool (Ages & Stages Questionnaires®) to help parents track their infant's and child's development from birth to age 5 and address any concerns with professionals.
  
  
• First Signs. Information for health professionals and educators about the importance of early identification and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental and behavioral disorders. Lists key social, emotional, and communication milestones for infants and young children (from birth to age 3) and describes critical warning signs for when a child is at risk. Resources include a collection of video clips about the early red flags and diagnostic features of ASD, a list of validated screening tools, screening guidelines, and an early intervention referral guide.
  
  
• National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health. Information and resources to promote a uniform strategy for children's vision screening before beginning school. Includes links to information about state legislation for vision screening and mandated eye exams for children entering school.
  
  
• National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM). Information and tools to implement and improve Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) systems to ensure that all infants and toddlers with hearing loss are identified as early as possible and provided with timely and appropriate audiological, educational, and medical intervention. Resources address newborn and early childhood hearing screening, diagnostic audiology, early intervention, family support and partnership, medical home, data management, financing and reimbursements, and program evaluation and include training tools, regulations, position statements, presentations, state profiles, legislation, and more.
  
  
• U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Search Child and Adolescent recommendations for preventive measures in primary care, including screening, counseling, immunizations, and preventive medications for cancer; cardiovascular disorders; development and behavior; infectious diseases; injury prevention; mental health conditions and substance abuse; metabolic, nutritional, and endocrine conditions; musculoskeletal disorders; perinatal care; and vision and hearing disorders.
  

Find Journal Articles, Reports, Briefs, Guides, and Other Materials

• MCH Digital Library: MCHLine®. The MCH Digital Library has a large collection of items about screening infants, children, and adolescents for chronic illnesses; physical disabilities; and emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. To identify items about screening, search MCHLine® using the online search form. In the keyword field, type screening and a keyword for the type of screening in which you are interested. Examples: newborn, hearing, vision, developmental, mental. Also see the library's bibliographies, Child Developmental Screening and Newborn Screening.
  
  
• PubMed. Citations and abstracts for biomedical articles indexed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), with links to full-text articles when available. Type your topic and screening in the search box. Click on Search. Use the filters in the left sidebar to further narrow your search. Click on Show additional filters; select Ages and click on Show. Under Ages, select Child: birth-18 years. Also, under Publication dates, select a limit (e.g., 5 years). You may further limit your search by selecting an article type or additional search terms.
  
  
• Search the following databases for access to additional literature about about screening infants, children, and adolescents for chronic illnesses; physical disabilities; and emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. The MCH Digital Library resource brief, Maternal and Child Health Literature and Research Databases, describes these databases and offers tips for searching them.
  Child Welfare Information Gateway Library
  ECRI Guidelines Trust™ (formerly the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC))
  MedlinePlus
  PubMed
  

Related MCH Digital Library Resources

• Autism Spectrum Disorder professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Child Developmental Screening bibliography
• Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) Services in Medicaid professional resource guide, family resource brief
• Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Family Health History resource brief
• Genetics resource brief
• Health Insurance and Access to Care for Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Newborn Screening bibliography
• Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief

Screening: Resource Brief, 3rd ed. March 2014. Updated: December 2014, November 2024.

Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Contributor: Tracy Lopez, M.S.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Reviewers: Lauren Agoratus, M.A., parent of a child with special health care needs, Family Voices and Family-to-Family Health Information Resource Center at the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of N.J.; Lynn L. Cole, M.S., R.N., P.N.P., Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Rochester Medical Center; Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.