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One in 3 US children are living in or near poverty and are disproportionately impacted by adverse social determinants of health that drive health inequities.1–3 Thus, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening for social risks at all child health encounters, and more recently, multiple regulatory bodies including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the Joint Commission launched standard-setting initiatives requiring screening for and addressing social risks during hospitalizations.1,4 In this context, social risk screening is increasingly being integrated into routine pediatric care across various health care environments. However, it remains unclear how social care should be implemented to best identify families in need and to connect them with available resources in the most equitable and family-centered way.In this issue of Pediatrics, Cullen et al report results from their SECURE study, which begins to address this critical evidence gap.5 The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial in multiple pediatric care settings to evaluate the effect of social risk screening on caregiver-reported desire for resources, use of resources, and participation in patient navigation services. Caregivers were randomized to receive one of the following: A social risk/needs screener followed by provision of a zip code–searchable electronic resource map (the “screening” arm)A resource menu in which caregivers could indicate whether they would like to receive information on resources from a list of social domains, followed by provision of the resource map (the “resource menu” arm)The resource map only (the “resource map” arm)All caregivers, regardless of study arm, were offered a same-day social work consult and also received a text or phone call after discharge offering individualized services from a resource navigator, which was intended to help overcome potential challenges encountered when navigating referral systems. Readers may note that all participants were therefore provided with information about resources the same way (resource map ± social work consult ± navigation); rather, what differed by arm was if and how social needs were assessed before provision of resource information (screening vs resource menu vs no social needs assessment). The authors found that caregivers in the resource menu arm had 1.5 times the odds of reporting desire for resources (primary outcome) compared with the screening arm, with effect even larger (2.7 times the odds) for caregivers who preferred languages other than English. Unexpectedly, however, they found no differences among the arms in subsequent use of social resources and engagement with patient navigation.It is encouraging that offering a resource menu identified a greater number of families who desired resources compared with more widely known and used social risk screening methodology. A resource menu or similar option may reduce stigma or caregiver discomfort in being directly asked sensitive screening questions, leading to potentially greater disclosure of social needs as this study found.5 This approach may also empower families to proactively ask for support if and when they want it. It also shifts the focus to “the other side of the screen” to the ultimate goal of social care regardless of social assessment approach: to provide families with resource information and facilitate receipt of community resources to improve health and health equity by addressing poverty- and structural racism–related factors that some families have been facing multigenerationally.Although the potential benefits of this innovative approach are promising and intriguing, we must also consider the value of screening and what benefits may potentially be lost in offering resource information without an assessment of why families want the information. Prior studies have shown that patients appreciate the conversations regarding their lived experiences that are facilitated through discussion of screening results.6,7 These discussions, if conducted humbly and empathetically, can strengthen therapeutic relationships with their pediatric providers. Additionally, we may also miss some opportunities for socially tailored care delivered in real time. Pediatric clinicians can gain a deeper understanding of patients’ current social contexts and their concerns through screening, allowing for adjustment of therapies, discharge plans, and an opportunity to offer acknowledgment and support, ultimately enabling more individualized, compassionate, and comprehensive care.6The study by Cullen et al also raises key questions that will benefit from future social care research such as how best to effectively connect families to resources and improve health and health care use outcomes.5 The approach to social assessment (screening or resource menu vs no assessment) did not ultimately effect downstream outcomes such as use of the resources (resource map) or participation in navigation. Although some prior randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that social risk screening and referral interventions delivered in health care settings can increase family enrollment in community resources, improve parent-reported child health, and improve child vaccination rates, the implementation and benefit to families have been inconsistent in real-world settings.8–10 It is vital that we gain further understanding on “the other side of the screen”—how do we ultimately connect families to resources in ways that are most feasible, acceptable, and sustainable?Prior studies have investigated resource navigation as one such method to connect families to resources with demonstrated benefits.9,11,12 Cullen et al found that participation in resource navigation was significantly higher for caregivers who identified as Black and/or Hispanic, preferred a language other than English, had public insurance, or had less than or equal to high school education.5 These results are heartening and suggest that families with social needs are overall receptive to working with navigators and that resource navigation may be particularly beneficial for historically marginalized groups with the potential to reduce disparities. Nonetheless, it will be important to facilitate a workforce of culturally and racially concordant navigators for navigation services to be most effective. However, it is also important to note that navigation is a resource-intensive intervention that is not feasible for many pediatric practices. Current health care policies focus on, and incentivize, social risk screening.13 Families and patients may benefit from future policies that provide support for social services such as navigation so that these beneficial services may be more equitably delivered across medical settings.The results reported by Cullen et al also raise important questions regarding how to best equip families with helpful resource information across different social need domains.5 Results highlight that not all social domains are created equal. A much larger proportion of caregivers wanted to receive food and housing information in the resource menu arm compared with the screening arm. This may reflect how great food and housing needs are in the United States, with caregivers desiring information on resources even when their needs do not reach the threshold of screening positivity. Tailoring our assistance modalities to different social need domains may achieve greater benefits for families.We still have a long journey ahead in learning how best to integrate social care within pediatric care, and the study by Cullen et al is a helpful step along this journey.5 Perhaps the missing link between screening or simply offering resource information and family receipt of services (aside from a critical expansion of funding for the social safety net) will be the additional context obtained through meaningful and emphatic conversations and human-to-human support. However we learn that families want information on social resources (whether from screening, resource menus, etc), if we are able to build trust, connect families to the resources they desire, and then successfully support families as they navigate through those resources, health care can be an integral piece of the solution to equitably address families’ social needs, further advancing child and population health.