Latvia lacks sufficient and detailed data on children's health, while the prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders and developmental issues is increasing, with approximately a third of children at risk, reports Diena.
In order to identify them as early as possible (before the age of six) and provide the necessary support, a special set of early screening tools for child development (BAASIK) has been developed. Its implementation will require a number of changes to legislation, including addressing issues related to the processing and access to personal data.
Funding will also be necessary: this year, the pilot project will be implemented with the support of the European Union, and in the future, approximately 2 million euros will be needed annually for its nationwide implementation.
A long journey was taken before the tool was introduced - in 2021, a task was set to start developing BAASIK with the involvement of an interdisciplinary group of expert scientists, and it was completed in 2024. As experts note, without such a tool, only a small portion of the risks in children's development can be identified, whereas with its application, up to 80% of disorders, such as speech development delays, socio-emotional difficulties, attention and behavior problems, and learning difficulties, can be detected. Late identification of such disorders not only creates an emotional burden for the family, worsens the child's self-esteem, and leads to difficulties in learning and school, but also increases the costs of the healthcare, social, and educational systems.
Every euro invested in preventive measures yields savings of 4 to 14 euros in the future. Research shows that the use of such complexes reduces the number of advanced cases, injuries and accidents, substance abuse, and decreases the number of students repeating a year and children dropping out of school. Subsequently, the participation of such children in the labor market improves, their incomes in adulthood increase, and thus the volume of taxes paid also rises, according to a report from the Department of Interagency Coordination of the State Chancellery.
BAASIK is considered a first step towards recognizing developmental risks that affect about 25% of children.
