Good quality early learning programs help prepare children for school, but health care providers also play key roles in screening for developmental and health problems.

The Urban Institute reports the federal government’s biggest health care program for children, Medicaid, has huge gaps in screening for developmental, health and behavioral problems in the first years of a child’s life.

When these problems are missed in infants, toddlers and preschoolers it can create problems and costs later, affecting a child’s performance in school, increasing special education services and adding health care costs, according to the Urban Institute report. 

Many young children have health, developmental or behavioral problems that are not identified before entering kindergarten, preventing them from receiving such services as medical care, early intervention services, or simple equipment like eyeglasses or hearing aids.

Yet large gaps in early identification exist in Medicaid, the nation’s largest health insurance program for children, in which eligible children are entitled under federal law to get regular health and developmental screenings. – Improving the Lives of Young Children: The Role of Developmental Screenings in Medicaid and CHIP. Urban Institute. 12/10.

The report lays out the reasons:

• Not all eligible children are enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP.
• Not all those who are enrolled see a health care provider for well-child visits, and many do not have a regular provider who tracks their care over time.
• …Even when children visit health care providers, not all providers have the appropriate tools or skills to carry out effective developmental screenings.

Quality Early Learning Associated with Better Health: A new study shows a link between high quality early education and better health in adult years, Science Daily reported yesterday.

“What we have found is that this educational intervention (the Carolina Abecedarian Project), also reduced health risks like smoking and improved health outcomes as early as age 21," said Dr. Muennig, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia's Mailman School and principal investigator of the new study. "The health benefits were quite dramatic." – Enhanced Early Childhood Education Pays Long-Term Dividends in Better Health, Science Daily. 1/17/11.

Check it out.

(Thanks to the Child Trends Twitter report for highlighting these stories.)