Minnesota participated as both an ABCD II and an ABCD Screening Academy state. The Minnesota ABCD II Project was a catalyst for activities around screening, diagnosis, and treatment of infants and toddlers experiencing mental health and developmental disorders and generated long term impact in the community. Activities included: training sessions, creation and distribution of a list of professionals who are now trained to diagnose infants and toddlers, a growing interest in other agencies to give dedicated attention to children 0-3, the adoption of a common screening tool by Head Start and Early Head Start programs, and routine training of professionals who come in contact with families and their young children and who are now better informed about referral resources.
Minnesota's ABCD Screening Academy activities included:
- Collecting data on demonstration sites’ screening efforts and providing feedback to improve performance.
- Providing training on standardized screening at locations throughout the state.
- Working on the identification of a national Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Code to use when billing for mental health screening.
- Searching and applying for funding to support the ongoing work of the Screening Academy.
- Finalizing maternal depression screening coverage policy for individuals enrolled in Minnesota’s Medicaid fee-for-service program.
- Supporting the practice teams in working with the publishers of the screening tools to integrate the use of the tools within an electronic medical record.
