Kansas panel: ASQ screenings expand statewide; 2024 data show tens of thousands of assessments

Amanda Peterson, director of Early Childhood, and Stacy Clark of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) told the Kansas Children's Cabinet Early Childhood Recommendations Panel on Jan. 10 that the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) system has been expanded across schools, health and community partners and produced large statewide screening counts for 2024.

The ASQ is a parent-completed developmental and social-emotional screening tool. "Our biggest hope for the next, 40 minutes or so is that we have a good, engaging, interactive conversation," Stacy Clark said as the presentation began. Peterson framed the state's approach and use of ASQ results in transition planning for kindergarten and local early childhood services.

Why it matters: Early, routine screening helps programs and families identify children who may need follow-up supports or referral to evaluation. Panel members and presenters said earlier engagement is more likely to improve outcomes and allow communities to plan services that match identified needs.

KSDE history and access

KSDE selected the ASQ as the statewide tool for a kindergarten readiness snapshot under contract with Brooks Publishing beginning in 2017, the presenters said. The move to make ASQ available beyond schools accelerated in 2020 with contract expansion so community-based partners, health providers and Part C early intervention programs could use the online system via state-paid enterprise accounts.

"We started to think about how we could level the playing field a little bit and make sure that there could be some common access to the ASQ across Kansas," Peterson said, describing efforts to reduce geographic disparities in screening access.

2024 statewide counts and age distribution

KSDE presented aggregate, uncleaned calendar-year 2024 data showing nearly 59,000 ASQ-3 screenings and roughly 50,000 ASQ:SE-2 screenings submitted through the statewide ASQ online account. Clark and Peterson emphasized that the ASQ is a screening—not a diagnostic—tool and that results indicate areas for follow-up rather than definitive diagnoses.

The panel heard that a large portion of screenings in 2024 covered younger age intervals, and that about one-third of screenings were for children in the 60–72 month interval. Presenters urged local leaders to use the data to identify trends (for example, consistently lower scores in fine motor skills) and design targeted local responses.

Local feedback and implementation challenges

Panel members described on-the-ground barriers and local solutions. Janine, a provider from Marion County, said moving from paper to the online ASQ reduced the providers' ability to see and discuss completed forms directly with families. Peterson and Clark replied that the online system supports printing or saving a PDF of family responses and recommended closing local workflow loops so staff review and return results to families.

Several presenters and panel members reported that simple outreach tactics increased family completion rates: on-site sign-up tables at pick-up, offering to complete the form with the parent present using a device, distributing QR codes or flyers, and having agency staff score forms and follow up directly with families. "We actually created a QR code and then typed up a letter and everything to send home with the families," one panel member said, describing a local outreach method that produced good uptake.

Training, technical assistance and events

KSDE said in-state training opportunities are planned: an Intro to ASQ workshop and a deeper follow-up training series for professionals who already use the tool. Clark said role-playing exercises in training help staff gain confidence for parent conversations.

State partners are developing Help Me Grow Kansas screening events—called "books, balls and blocks"—which will pilot in 2025 and let families complete ASQs in person and receive referrals or resource navigation at the event. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) will host a webinar series; the February session will focus on ASQ implementation in health settings, presenters said.

How local programs are using results

Panel members described practical uses of ASQ outputs: printing and distributing activity pages from the ASQ resource book to both families and providers, using a one-page classroom tracking form to spot system-level trends (for example, many children across a classroom flagged in fine motor), and delivering "mini learning experiences"—brief coaching visits tied to an identified need.

"Once you get them started, then by the time they get to kindergarten, they've done it three or four times and they are good to go," a panel member said, describing how repeated completion builds family comfort with the screening process.

Next steps

Presenters asked panel members to flag local practices that work well so the state can adopt consistent indicators and outreach tactics. KSDE offered technical assistance to help local programs pull and visualize ASQ online data.

Provenance (transcript evidence): topicintro — block_24 ["Good morning, everybody. It is great to be here. My name is Amanda Peterson. I'm the director of Early childhood, and it's wonderful to see both a lot of, familiar faces and then some new folks as well."]; topfinish — block_103 ["Thanks to all of you for both, sharing your your insights so generously this morning, but more importantly for all of the incredible work that you do all the time to be able to help kids and families get the best possible start in life."]

Speakers cited

- Amanda Peterson, Director of Early Childhood (state presenter) - Stacy Clark, KSDE (ASQ support staff) - Cornelia Stevens, Chair, Executive Director of Top Early Learning Centers (meeting chair) - Janine (child care provider, Marion County) - Mandy (local program staff) - Kelly France Langford (Systems Progress Communications Group representative) - Karen (panel member)

Authorities

- contract: Brooks Publishing (ASQ publisher) contract with KSDE (referenced by presenters) - policy: Kansans Can vision, Kansas State Board of Education (referenced) - grant: Preschool Development Grant (PDG) (referenced in relation to Help Me Grow and other statewide supports)

Topics and justifications

- early_childhood_screening: {"justification":"Article centers on statewide deployment and use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires in Kansas and 2024 screening totals.","topic_relevance":0.99,"depth_score":0.86,"opinionatedness":0.05,"controversy":0.10,"civic_salience":0.82,"impactfulness":0.78,"geo_relevance":1.00}

Searchable tags: ["ASQ","KSDE","screening","early childhood","Help Me Grow","training"]