Kids Connect Integrated Hybrid program: a tiered care approach to optimise access to screening and support for child’s developmental, parental mental health, and family psychosocial needs for ALL families (including priority populations).

The Kids Connect hybrid program will be used as a universal digital screening and ongoing monitoring tool with pathways to universal and targeted tiered care services. The Watch Me Grow-Electronic (WMG-E) platform will provide a digital front door to systematically identify the child’s developmental, parental mental health, and family social care needs through relevant measures on REDCap. Families will be recruited at the postnatal checks through child and family health clinics, GP practices or community groups, when a child is 0-10 weeks (BASELINE). After completing the baseline WMG-E survey, participants will be randomised into intervention and control groups. Both groups will be followed up every 6 months post randomisation up till 24 months, with the link being sent via email or SMS automatically through REDCap. The survey takes 20-30 mins to complete. The Kids Connect Tiered service approach: -Universal services (Tier 1): both intervention and control groups will get enhanced usual care including anticipatory guidance on general health and developmental literacy resources and tips. Intervention group will further receive: - Additional resources (Tier 2): Parents/carers with mild concerns will be provided with guidance on locally accessible services for child development and parental mental health. These will be sent via automated REDCap email when families have certain scores on relevant measures. Uptake and adherence will be assessed through survey-specific measure at following time-points. - Targeted services (Tier 3): Parents/carers with moderate child developmental concerns, or mental health issues will be connected via digital navigation to online/in-person services (e.g., Parent groups, Karitane, Tresillian, etc). Digital navigation means that a service navigator will contact the family through email/SMS to provide customised resources/links for family to access based on their scores on the WMG-E. Uptake and adherence will be assessed via a follow-up email/SMS 1-2 weeks after initial contact as well as through survey-specific measures at the next timepoint. - Service Navigation (Tier 4): Parents/carers with complex health and family psychosocial needs will be linked with a Service Navigator through a 15-30 minutes check-in call, Based on survey responses and initial call, service navigator will connect them with relevant and appropriate health (developmental assessments and interventions); and social care providers (e.g., place-based hubs, intensive parenting interventions, programs to improve family and community connectedness) so that the families receive wraparound care with ‘warm handover’ to referred services and ‘continuity of care’ to ensure the referral needs are met. Uptake and adherence will be assessed via a follow-up calls once a month for 3 months after initial contact as well as through survey-specific measures at the next timepoint. Controls: Participants in the control group will complete the baseline measure and receive enhanced care (Tier 1), and will then be followed up every 6 months till 24 months through a study specific survey assessing the completion of child developmental checks, parental mental health and family psychosocial needs without the provision of further support (tiers 2,3 and 4). The baseline and endpoint survey for intervention group and control group will be the same, but the control group will only be monitored (through study-specific survey) for issues in the domains of child development, parental mental health and family psychosocial needs in the follow-up time points post randomisation.