© 2025 First 5 Center for Children’s Policy. All rights reserved.
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In California, parents who suspect their child has a developmental delay often wait months or even years to get a formal diagnosis and to obtain services, according to research by the First 5 Center for Children’s Policy.
California has recently made several policy changes to increase the low rate of infants and toddlers receiving screenings to detect developmental delays. Starting in 2020, a new policy allows Medi-Cal providers to receive an incentive payment for screening infants and toddlers using a standardized screening tool that meets Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and AAP criteria, but it leaves out a newly recommended free developmental screening tool that offers distinct advantages.
In California, Black women are roughly four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than women in all other racial/ethnic groups. California’s Black infants are almost three times more likely to die than white infants, regardless of the mother’s education and income. Indeed, a Black woman with an advanced degree is more likely to lose her baby than a white woman with less than an eighth-grade education.
This blog summarizes the three webinars focused on Medi-Cal, managed care, and the important roles these systems play for young children that First 5 in collaboration with the Pediatrics Supporting Parents Project (PSP), led by Manatt Health, Donna Cohen Ross, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy hosted.
Millions of children in California do not receive the preventive health services they are entitled to under federal law. With new data reporting requirements in place, however, California’s administrators and policymakers will be better equipped to develop strategies that increase uptake of these services.
This webinar reviews state and federal laws that govern Medi-Cal, the Medi-Cal managed care delivery system, and best ways to partner with health plans to support young children and families.
This webinar discusses the importance of preventing, identifying, and treating pediatric mental health needs, and opportunities to do so through Medi-Cal.
This webinar discusses opportunities within Medi-Cal to strengthen and expand services for young children, and highlights Help Me Grow (HMG) partnerships with health plans in several counties.
© 2025 First 5 Center for Children’s Policy. All rights reserved.