The Screening Technical Assistance & Resource Center (STAR Center) seeks to improve the health, wellness, and development of children through practice and system-based interventions to increase rates of early childhood screening, counseling, referral, and follow-up for developmental milestones, perinatal depression, and social determinants of health.

Child on father's lap giving a high five to a pediatrician.

AAP Recommendations

Whether you are new to screening or looking for resources to improve your process, you’ll find foundational resources that can help you learn about the importance of screening, counseling, referral, and follow-up based on current recommendations for child development, perinatal depression, and social determinants of health.

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Promotion and Prevention

Optimal early childhood development has consistently been linked to Family Strengths and Protective Factors like Positive Childhood Experiences. Learn more about how to reduce the negative impact of risk factors or adverse experiences, build resilience and support environments that allow children to thrive.

Surveillance / Monitoring and Screening

Tools and Resources to get you started on developing a process for surveillance and screening, counseling and referring, including assessing your office environment, creating a family centered screening process and understanding your community resources.

Care Coordination Referral and Linkage

Practice resources to connect patients with specialist and community supports, as well as information into how to better incorporate referrals within your workflow.

Engaging Families in Care and Practice Transformation

Family-centered care starts during patient and family encounters. Learn how family engagement is an integral approach to plan, deliver, and evaluate health care that is grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships with families.

Resources for Families

The AAP recommends that pediatric care providers integrate patient- and family-centered care in their practices, which includes asking about and reinforcing family strengths. Bright Futures offers tips for implementing a system for eliciting parental strengths and needs.

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Related Section / Council / Funded Program 

Bright Futures
Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported, in part, by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)​, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
Council on Child Abuse and Neglect
The Council on Child Abuse and Neglect is dedicated to improving the care of infants, children, and adolescents who are abused and neglected.​​
Council on Early Childhood
The Council on Early Childhood is the AAP home for pediatricians actively working to make pediatrics, children’s health care, and society more focused on young children and families, so that every child can reach their full potential.
Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Our mission is to strengthen collaboration between primary care pediatricians, developmental and behavioral subspecialists, and families to ensure children receive comprehensive high quality developmental and behavioral (DB) pediatric care.
Last Updated

04/07/2025

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics