Launched in February 2019, the North Carolina Early Childhood Action Plan aims to ensure that by 2025, all young children in the state are healthy, safe and ready to succeed in school. One of the plan’s ten goals is to have a reliable measure of social-emotional health. For example, how well can young children regulate their emotions, follow directions and express wishes?

This project team set out to understand how health systems across the country screen for social-emotional health and to determine best practices for measurement at the population level. Community team members included the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the Durham County Department of Social Services and the Partnership for Children.

The team interviewed 37 experts from 19 states and eight national organizations about efforts to monitor and collect data, the most promising policy levers, and the most vexing barriers to implementation. Drawing on their research and interview findings, team members recommended an equity-based approach that incorporates regular caregiver/child screening, data sharing and improved strategies for patient follow-up. Next steps include developing an implementation framework for social-emotional health measurement at the population level.

Timing

Fall 2019 – Summer 2020

Team Outputs

Social-Emotional Health in Early Childhood (Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase 2020)

Measuring and Addressing Social-Emotional Well-Being in Early Childhood (poster by Nathaniel Neptune, Rasheca Logendran, Ellie Winslow, Emma Garman, Ainsley Buck, Sophie Hurewitz, Reed Kenny, Rushina Cholera, Michelle Franklin, Beth Gifford, KK Lam, Gillian Schmidler; runner up, Bass Connections 2020 poster competition; winner, EHDx 2020 poster competition)

Measuring and Addressing Social-Emotional Well-Being in Early Childhood (presentation by Ainsley Buck, Emma Garman, Sophie Hurewitz, Reed Kenny, Rasheca Logendran, Ellie Winslow, Nathaniel Neptune, Duke-Margolis Seminar in Health Policy & Management, Duke University, April 17, 2020)

Video

Measuring and Addressing Social-Emotional Health in Young Children

Reflections

Sophie Hurewitz

This Team in the News

Senior Spotlight: Reflections from the Class of 2022

Three Duke Alumni Named to Inaugural Class of Samvid Scholars

Senior Spotlight: Reflections from the Class of 2021

Duke Faculty Member and NCSP Scholar Published in Pediatrics Journal

Measuring the Well-Being of North Carolina’s Youngest Residents

Bass Connections Teams Share Research Highlights in a Virtual Showcase

Doctoral Students Honored for Commitment to Outstanding Mentorship

This project team was originally part of the Education & Human Development theme of Bass Connections, which ended in 2022. See related team, North Carolina Early Childhood Action Plan: Evidence-based Policy Solutions (2020-2021).