Child, Family & Development / Early Intervention
SUB-T02-049Early Risk Screening
Definition
Early Risk Screening is the systematic study and design of conditions, interventions and safeguards affecting children or families within early intervention.
Why this matters
Children have evolving capabilities and limited power over many systems affecting them. Errors in early risk screening can create developmental, relational, educational, health or safety consequences that persist.
Research questions
Which brief, equitable screening approach identifies emerging need while minimising stigma and false positives?
Hypotheses
Repeated low-burden screening combined with contextual review will outperform one-off universal thresholds.
Proposed methods
prospective screening validation, service-pathway mapping, referral audit, implementation trials, time-to-support analysis and multidisciplinary case review; adapted specifically to Early Risk Screening; child-appropriate participatory methods; caregiver and practitioner input; age-stratified analysis; validated developmental measures; service-pathway testing; safeguarding review; delayed or longitudinal follow-up; implementation-fidelity assessment
Stakeholders and beneficiaries
children; families; GPs; paediatricians; schools; social workers; allied health; child-protection services; funders; early risk screening specialists; lived-experience family advisory panel; independent child-rights reviewer