The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) developed the Well Visit Planner® (WVP) with the Health Resources and Services Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What is the Well Visit Planner?

The Well Visit Planner (WVP) is a free online tool to help families prepare for a well-child visit. Head Start programs can also use the WVP to find out about families’ health questions and needs. The WVP helps programs make sure children get the well-child visits, quality care, and developmental screenings recommended by Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents.

The WVP uses a family-centered approach. Families answer screening questions and choose their priorities for the well-child visit. Families then receive a customized Well Visit Guide with results and resources to teach about topics important for their child’s well-being.

Providers and care teams receive a Clinical Summary of the child’s and family’s strengths, needs, and priorities. These documents make it easier for families and care teams to discuss specific concerns.

The WVP does not take long for families to complete. Many families can answer the questions in about 10–15 minutes. Others may need more time when they fill it out the first time, but Head Start staff can also help them complete the WVP.

Each Head Start program can create an account and customize the WVP for the families they work with. The WVP is available in English and Spanish for children ages 0 to 6.

Using the WVP in Head Start Programs

The WVP helps Head Start programs meet health and developmental screening requirements. It can also help programs work with families to make sure children get complete and regular health care.

Research shows that the WVP:

• Builds trust between families and their health care providers
• Increases personalized care
• Improves the quality of care
• Helps to focus care on family strengths, as well as risks and needs
• Improves well-child visit attendance

Head Start staff have reported the WVP helps them talk with families about well-child visits and the importance of their child having a primary care provider. Head Start staff can use the WVP to discuss what will happen at each well-child visit and prepare families to ask questions and discuss their concerns with their child’s health care provider.

The WVP reinforces the role of parents and guardians as the experts for their child’s health needs. Head Start staff can also send the Well Visit Guide and Clinical Summary to the child’s primary care provider and others on the child’s care team. The WVP helps families recognize the value of well-child visits and allows them to build stronger relationships with their care teams.

The WVP helps families get connected to resources and improves collaboration between primary health care providers, Head Start programs, and other early childhood systems. Families benefit when all the systems that care for their child work together.

For more information:

• Read about CAHMI’s Engagement in Action (EnAct!) Framework for a collaborative early childhood health system.
• View this Zero to Three Evidence to Impact Center webinar on the Well Visit Planner.
• Review the Possibility Prototype to learn how the WVP and EnAct! support Head Start goals.

CAHMI has created resources to help Head Start programs use the WVP with families. These resources can also support outreach to local health care professionals, helping them to use the WVP with the families they serve:

• Well Visit Planner FAQs for Families
• Your Child, Your Well Visit flyer for families
• Example flyer for inviting families to use the WVP
• At-a-glance review of CAHMI’s Cycle of Engagement

Information About the WVP to Share with Families

Share this information with families to help them make the most of the WVP:

• Completing the WVP takes about 10–15 minutes. Ask your Head Start program for help if you aren’t sure how to answer the questions.
• The WVP can help you make decisions about your child’s health care.
• The WVP helps you prepare for what to expect from a well-child visit and has examples of questions to ask your provider.
• The WVP also asks about the well-being of families and caregivers. It can help adults get support.
• The WVP provides information about your child’s growth, development, language learning, safety, and more.
• You will get a family Well Visit Guide and a Clinical Summary that you can give to your child’s health care provider. These reports summarize your family’s and child’s needs and your priorities.
• The WVP helps your care team understand your family’s needs to connect you to resources for support.
• The Well Visit Guide helps you discuss your concerns, needs, and goals with your health care provider.

Last Updated: June 27, 2025