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This dynamic cohort was established to evaluate the targeted individual promotion of children affected by developmental risks as part of the German federal state law for child day-care and preschools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The project has been conducted in preschools in regions with a low socio-economic profile since 2011. Since 2017, the revision of the standardized Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools (DESK 3–6 R) has been applied. Developmental risks of 3 to 6-year-old children in the domains of motor, linguistic, cognitive and social competencies are monitored. The cohort is followed up annually. In 2020, n = 7,678 children from n = 152 preschools participated. At the baseline (2017), n = 8,439 children participated. Due to the defined age range of this screening, 3,000 to 4,000 5-6-year-old children leave the cohort annually. Simultaneously, an approximately equal number of 3-year-old children enters the cohort per survey wave. N = 702 children participated in all 4 survey waves. On the basis of DESK 3–6 R scores available from survey waves 2017 to 2019 it is possible to compute expected values for the survey wave 2020 and to compare those with the measured values to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. parental home care due to restrictions related to COVID-19). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social skills are valid predictors for school readiness and subsequent school success. The federal state law for child day-care and preschools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a federal state in Germany, provides additional funds for the targeted and individualized promotion of social developmental delays for children in preschools in social hotspots. The law grants additional funds to eligible preschools, provided that each child's development is documented with a standardized, objective and valid screening instrument.Methods: To monitor the development and to detect social developmental delays, the preschools involved use the "Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools" (DESK 3-6). For the prevalence and risk factors, data of 5595 children aged 3 to 6 years from these preschools were analyzed.Results: 9.6% of the children show reasonable findings in their social development; for a further 6.1% the results were inconclusive. Sex, presence of chronic diseases or disabilities and reasonable findings in the domains motor development and language and cognition were risk factors in terms of social development across all age groups.Conclusions: The federal state law is a good example for the implementation of a standardized monitoring of the development of children. With the help of this screening instrument, prevention activities to reduce the prevalence of developmental delays can be conducted in early childhood. Early preventive activities should take into account the reported risk factors for the social development.Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register, ID: DRKS00015134, Registered on 29 October 2018, retrospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]