Early Developmental Screening

Rates of developmental screening among young children in King County doubled between 2019 and 2023.

In King County, 27.0% of children in 5th grade and younger had received a developmental screening in the past year, in 2021 and 2023 combined. Developmental screening is an important tool to assess childhood development as well as for parents and child service providers to understand and celebrate developmental milestones. A developmental screening typically consists of a questionnaire or checklist of skills and milestones commonly observed during a specific age range. Many pediatricians, childcare providers, preschools, and other service providers such as home visitors offer these screenings annually for babies and young children. Regular screenings can ensure that children can access necessary services during the critical developmental period from birth to age five, when the brain is most adaptable.   

• Trends over time: Rates of developmental screening increased from 16.9% in 2019 to 30.6% in 2023. The rate of increase was even greater for children ages 0-5, among whom developmental screening more than doubled. During this same time period, rates of developmental screening increased from 18.5% to 39.2%.  

• Age: Children ages 0 to 5 years old (36.1%) were more likely to be screened than elementary school children (19.5%).  

• Race and ethnicity: Black children (14.7%) and Asian (20.0%) were less likely than County average to receive a developmental screening. More specifically, Ethiopian children (11.0%), Somali children (13.4%), and Vietnamese (20.0%) were among the least likely to have been screened. 

• Family income: Children in families who had a household income of $15,000-$99,000 were less likely to receive a developmental screening than those in families with incomes of $100,000 or more.  

• Region: Children in South King County (23.2%) were less likely to receive a developmental screening than those in Seattle (33.2%) and North King County (30.0%).  

• Language spoken at home:  Children in households that spoke Amharic (9.2%), Arabic (6.8%), Korean (2.4%), Persian (including Dari and Farsi, 6..4%), Somali (7.7%), Telugu (5.5%), Tigrinya (5.9%), and Vietnamese (12.6%)  were all less likely than the County average to have received a screening in the past year.  

• Parent/caregiver’s sexual orientation: Children with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer parent or caregiver (46.1%) were more likely to receive a developmental screening than children with straight parents and caregivers (26.3%).  

• Parent/caregiver’s education: Children whose caregiver had a high school diploma or less were less likely than those with at least some college to have received a developmental screening.  

Low rates may suggest that screenings are not happening as often as recommended, but they could also indicate that parents are unaware of developmental screenings, especially if their child is meeting or exceeding developmental milestones. After working with community, the Best Starts for Kids initiative developed 4 goals around access to developmental screening in King County, which you can read about here.