About CHILD Profile

Click here for more information if you are a Parent.
Click here for more information if you are a Provider.

Who we are

CHILD (Children's Health Immunizations Linkages and Development) Profile is Washington State's Health Promotion and Immunization Registry system designed to help ensure Washington's children receive the preventive health care they need. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for the system and contracts with Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC) for primary CHILD Profile operations. From 1992-2001, the Snohomish Health District and PHSKC developed and managed the CHILD Profile system in collaboration with DOH. The CHILD Profile system has grown from a two-county pilot project to a statewide system that now serves parents and health care providers in every county in Washington.

BACK TO TOP

About CHILD Profile Health Promotion

CHILD Profile health promotion materials provide parents with age-specific information about growth, development, safety, nutrition, and other parenting issues. The materials include reminders for well-child checkups and immunizations. Parents receive these materials from the time their child is born until their child's sixth birthday.

Who develops the materials? A workgroup comprised of public health professionals develop the materials and revise them annually. Materials are reviewed by a group of parents and professionals. All materials are translated into Spanish. Some materials are translated into other languages.

Who receives the materials? Any child residing in Washington State and under 6 years of age. However, there are some instances when CHILD Profile does not mail to families (e.g., adoption or child born of very low birth weight). Parents and providers can e-mail child-profile.health@kingcounty.gov or call 1-800-322-2588 to initiate mailings to these families or to add other families (e.g., those who have moved from out of state) or to request that materials be sent in Spanish.

When do parents receive the materials? Materials are sent approximately 30 days prior to each American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended well-child checkup. To ensure parents receive the information in a timely manner, the CHILD Profile Registry is linked with the public portion of birth certificates through Washington State's Center for Health Statistics.

BACK TO TOP

About the Immunization Registry

The CHILD Profile Immunization Registry is a tool for a child's health care provider to access patient immunization information in a shared, secure database. Health plans and local public health jurisdictions can get population-based immunization information to help with reporting. To help providers manage their immunization services, the Registry includes:

• Immunization histories
• Recommendations and forecasts of immunizations needed
• Recall/Reminder lists, mailing labels or postcards for patients who are due or who have missed immunizations
• Vaccine usage reports
• Data for practice-specific immunization assessment reports
• Tracking of children eligible for state-supplied vaccine
  

If a child changes health care providers, the new provider may access the CHILD Profile Immunization Registry to review the child's record. This ensures that the child's health information continues to be updated in one central location. Access is available to providers who sign an information sharing agreement that assures confidentiality, privacy, and security of the Registry.

BACK TO TOP

History

• 1993 - CHILD Profile was developed by the Snohomish Health District and Public Health - Seattle & King County.
• 1993 - parents in King and Snohomish Counties began receiving health promotion materials and providers began participating in the Immunization Registry.
• 1995 - CHILD Profile expanded to Island and Kittitas counties with the help of the Washington State Department of Health.
• July 1998 - CHILD Profile began statewide expansion.
• January 1, 2002 - DOH assumed responsibility for administering the CHILD Profile system.
• May 2004 - CHILD Profile completed statewide expansion effort by sending well-child checkup and immunization reminders to parents of children turning six years old.
  

BACK TO TOP

Evaluation

CHILD Profile has a comprehensive evaluation plan in place to make sure CHILD Profile is meeting its intended goals. A registry evaluation plan is currently in development.

For Health Promotion, to ensure the materials are appropriate and relevant, all CHILD Profile materials are pretested, which can include focus groups, intercept interviews and review by parents and professionals. In addition, the materials are regularly evaluated to make sure parents are satisfied with the materials. Mailed parent satisfaction surveys have been conducted statewide every three years to assure the materials meet parent needs. Recent surveys (see CHILD Profile Parent Survey 2005) have explored parent satisfaction across different age groups, and have examined behavior changes and satisfaction with partner materials. An in-depth phone survey of lower income families has also been recently completed (2007). Results overall have shown that survey respondents read and are satisfied with the materials, and find the materials useful.

For more information on the evaluation of CHILD Profile, e-mail dkupfer@u.washington.edu.

BACK TO TOP

Home | About | Parents | Providers | Partners | Resources | Contact | En Español