A work product of Healthy Chicago 2.0, the “Illinois Healthcare Provider Quick Resource Guide” is a guidance document for physicians on child developmental and behavioral health screenings.

One in four children is at risk of a developmental delay. This Guide provides recommendations and resources on development and behavioral health screenings for young children; specifically on the importance of developmental screening, explaining screening to families, available screening tools, and options for referral post-screening. As cited by Healthy Chicago 2.0, use of a developmental screening tool when assessing developmental growth has been shown to identify three times as many children in need of support than use of clinical judgment alone. The Guide aims to serve as a key resource in efforts to improve identification of children with developmental and behavioral health concerns.

Created by the Beyond Coverage Coalition (EverThrive Illinois, Legal Council For Health Justice, and Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law), the Guide has been endorsed by the Chicago Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Public Health, Early Intervention Training Program, Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, and the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

This and other tools can also be found on UpstreamHealth.org, a digital hub of information for health and human service providers to help them connect patients to health, social, and economic resources.