Washington State launches Strong Start: A free, secure online tool for tracking children’s development

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced its unveiling of Strong Start, a universal developmental screening system.

This free online tool empowers parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers to securely monitor and track children’s developmental progress from birth through age 5.

Strong Start is a centralized platform for the secure storage and sharing of developmental screening information. This tool allows families and healthcare professionals to collaborate effectively in supporting each child’s unique developmental journey.

Regular screenings within the system provide insights into a child’s language skills, motor development, cognitive abilities, and social interactions, which is especially vital as the brain undergoes its most rapid development from birth to age 5.

Michele Roberts, Assistant Secretary for Prevention and Community Health at DOH, emphasized in a press release the critical role of universal developmental screenings in giving every child the best opportunity for a healthy future.

“Strong Start empowers parents and caregivers to take proactive steps in their child’s health while ensuring they have access to the necessary resources for their child’s well-being,” Roberts stated.

Parents and caregivers can easily integrate Strong Start into their Secure Access Washington accounts, where they can input their child’s developmental screening results and share them with authorized healthcare providers of their choice.

For those whose children have not undergone a developmental screening with their healthcare provider, the tool provides links to screening resources within Strong Start.

For more information and access to Strong Start, visit the DOH website or subscribe to the DOH blog.