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Developmental Milestone Checklist Program

CDC’s Developmental Milestone Checklist program for WIC

The Developmental Milestone Checklist program for WIC, developed through a collaboration with WIC programs and CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program, helps WIC providers engage parents in monitoring their children’s development from age 2 months through 5 years and support them with timely referrals when developmental concerns are identified.

Simple messages and easy-to-use tools are integrated seamlessly into your clients’ regular visits, typically taking less than 5 minutes per visit.

  • Environmental Graphics - Engaging graphics on the walls and floors of the clinic to introduce milestone monitoring.
  • Administering Checklists - Parents complete a milestone checklist during certification and mid-certification visits, or whenever there is a question or concern. When in-person visits are not possible, staff can encourage parents to complete the checklist within CDC’s Milestone Tracker app and share their child’s summary by email.
  • Making a Referral - Staff review the checklist and make a referral if there are missing milestones or other concerns.

For more guidance on getting a program up and running in your WIC clinic, visit the Developmental Milestone Checklist Program for WIC Program Staff page.

The “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program offers free, research-based, parent-friendly tools to make it easy and fun for parents to track their child’s milestones from age 2 months through 5 years.

WIC staff will find many of these resources available in multiple languages, such as:

On the page dedicated to Developmental Milestones Resources for WIC Programs, you can find information about how to promote developmental monitoring within your WIC clinic using the Online Implementation Guide for WIC Program Staff. WIC staff can take advantage of the free “Introduction to Child Development for WIC Staff” online training module that provides WIC staff basic information about developmental milestones.

In addition, staff will find resources, available in English and Spanish, to help promote parent awareness, and if needed, to support a referral to the child’s healthcare provider and/or early intervention program.

Enter the Milestones Photo and Video Library by clicking on the buttons below:

Milestone in Action               Indicadores en acción

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