Early Childhood Mental Health

You might find an IECMH consultant in child care centers, preschools, home visiting programs, early intervention services, and other community environments. ZERO TO THREE developed a set of IECMH Guiding Principles to enhance understanding and application of infant and early childhood mental health. Infant and early childhood mental health is at the center of all parenting, educational, health and policy matters that ZERO TO THREE’s advocates for and supports. For some young children and families, risks to wellbeing exist and, in some circumstances, mental health and developmental disorders can occur even in the early months and years of a child’s life. IECMHC has been shown to improve children’s social skills and emotional functioning, promote healthy relationships, reduce challenging behaviors, reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions, improve classroom quality, and reduce provider stress, burnout, and turnover.

• Most early childhood home visiting models connect new and expectant parents with a designated support person, such as a nurse or early childhood specialist, who provides services in the home.
• As such, prevention or intervention efforts during these time periods are likely uniquely powerful windows of opportunity for correcting early deviations from mental well-being, potentially shifting mental health trajectories for life.
• Evidence-based program that develops parenting skills
• A child psychologist sees a 4-year-old and her parents who were referred by the child’s pediatrician.
• Interventions that enhance health-promoting routines and practices, such as dental hygiene, exercise routines, healthy food choices, regular family meetings, reading together, and shared external experiences that include trips to the playground or park, have benefits for the health of families with young children.

This video informs parents about social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools and how to use the concepts in their own parenting practices. The following are additional resources on mental health and SEL topics, including expulsion prevention, collaboration, screening and assessment, mental health consultation, and more. The following resources include episodes from the Early Childhood Policy Matters Podcast, a presentation on SEL and mental health, and two briefs on I-ECMH consultation.

Sign Up to get IECMHC Network updates sent to your inbox

Riverside County uses a variety of funding strategies to serve families with young children, including MHSA PEI, Medi-Cal and First 5 funding. Through a contract with county mental health and funded by PEI, First 5 identifies and contracts with licensed mental health professionals to provide the services. These partnerships take many forms but, in many cases, the First 5 initiated, developed or designed the program that is now funded by MHSA, and in some cases is also administering the services.41 For example, in Amador County, the First 5 Executive Director and Program Coordinator designed the county’s IECMH consultation program.

How to support a child with mental health issues

Similar to the way a wobbly table may not function well if the floor is uneven, the legs are not aligned, or the tabletop is not level, the destabilizing consequences of problems in mental health can be caused by many interdependent factors. Disruptions in this developmental process can impair a child’s capacities for learning and relating to others, with lifelong implications. Beginning in early infancy, establishing routines at home is a simple and impactful way to promote mental health. I’ve heard from many caregivers that they are experiencing significant stress, and in some cases job insecurity, 88 ways to get mental health support due to the lack of consistent childcare.

Consultation, Caregiver protective factors, ECE support ECE support, Consultation, Caregiver protective factors IECMH consultation model with parenting class component Programs were identified through a review of county MHSA reports, First 5 program data, and other web research. This will require a commitment to whole child approaches at the state and county levels, and significant leadership.

Playgroup program aimed at reducing social isolation IECMH consultation for ECE providers including Tribal centers Evidence-based program that develops parenting skills