What Is Bright Futures?

Bright Futures is a vision, a philosophy, a set of expert guidelines, and a practical developmental approach to providing health supervision for children of all ages, from birth through adolescence. Bright Futures is dedicated to the principle that every child deserves to be healthy and that optimal health involves a trusting relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community as partners in health practice.

Bright Futures Mission

The mission of Bright Futures is to promote and improve the health, education, and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, families, and
communities.

Bright Futures Project Goals

* Foster partnerships between families, health professionals, and communities

* Promote desired social, developmental, and health outcomes of infants, children, and adolescents

* Increase family knowledge, skills, and participation in health-promoting and prevention activities

* Enhance health professionals' knowledge, skills, and practice of developmentally appropriate health care in the context of family and community

Bright Futures Project Objectives

* Develop materials and practical tools for health professionals, families, and communities

* Disseminate Bright Futures philosophy and materials

* Train health professionals, families, and communities to work in partnership on behalf of children's health

* Develop and maintain public-private partnerships

* Evaluate and refine the efforts

Development of Bright Futures

* Was initiated in 1990 and guided by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, with additional program support from the Health Care Financing Administration's Medicaid Bureau

* Developed comprehensive health supervision guidelines with the collaboration of four interdisciplinary panels of experts in infant, child, and adolescent health

* Was reviewed by nearly 1,000 practitioners, educators, and child health advocates throughout the United States

* Published Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents in 1994

* Launched Building Bright Futures in 1995 to implement the Bright Futures guidelines by publishing practical tools and materials and providing technical assistance and training

* Published updated guidelines in 2000 to incorporate current scientific knowledge in health practice

Funding of Bright Futures

Since its inception in 1990, Bright Futures has been funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under the direction of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

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