A photo of children in a classroom

Challenge

The earliest years of a child’s life set the stage for life-long achievement. How do we ensure that every child receives the emotional, social, and behavioral support needed for success in school and life? Research shows that infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is an effective preventive intervention to promote healthy social and emotional growth. Yet few early childhood programs are aware of its benefits or know how to find help.

Through its leadership of the National Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, EDC developed extensive resources and rolled them out nationwide to build capacity to use IECMHC to support children and families. EDC experts also supported states and tribes in developing systems and continue to provide consultation on IECMHC, social and emotional learning, and resilience.

Key Activities

Nationwide, EDC advanced the use of high-quality IECMHC through the following activities:

  • Created and vetted workforce development resources and curricula development guidance
  • Raised awareness of the importance of IECMHC nationwide
  • Developed tools and resources to share best practices and support the use of IECMHC in states, tribal nations, and communities
  • Conducted webinars on topics such as opioid use, maternal depression, engaging families, data use, IECMHC models, financing, and communication
  • Promoted cross-system integration and collaborative public-private partnerships to enhance and sustain early childhood health and well-being initiatives

Impact

  • Provided intensive support to 14 states and tribal nations that enabled them to build and sustain strong IECMHC systems
  • Engaged 5,000 participants in webinars
  • Carried out a social media campaign on the benefits of IECMHC that reached over 242,000 individuals
  • Produced over 150 tools and resources, including the development of the first-of-its-kind online IECMHC toolbox, a free hub of multimedia resources

Learn More

Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
:
PROJECT DIRECTOR
DURATION
2015–2019
FUNDED BY
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Federal Partners Health Resources and Services Administration; Administration for Children and Families
PARTNERS

Center on Child and Human Development at Georgetown University