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Improving Systems, Practices, and Outcomes

IECMH Resources

Federal Resources

U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) jointly published a Dear Colleague Letter: Working to ensure that all young children and their caregivers have access to high-quality resources that equitably support social-emotional development and mental health (2022). The letter includes four recommendations with suggested action steps are:

  1. Implement evidence-based practices that support positive social-emotional development and mental health for all children and wellness for every caregiver.
  2. Prioritize workforce wellness and enhance workforce capacity to identify and respond to children's and families' social-emotional and mental health needs.
  3. Leverage policy and funding to increase access to social-emotional and mental health support and reduce barriers to access.
  4. Use data to promote equitable implementation and outcomes.

U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services published Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Needs (2021), which includes seven recommendations:

  1. Prioritize Wellness for Each and Every Child, Student, Educator, and Provider
  2. Enhance Mental Health Literacy and Reduce Stigma and Other Barriers to Access
  3. Implement Continuum of Evidence-Based Prevention Practices
  4. Establish an Integrated Framework of Educational, Social, Emotional, and Behavioral-Health Support for All
  5. Leverage Policy and Funding
  6. Enhance Workforce Capacity
  7. Use Data for Decision Making to Promote Equitable Implementation and Outcomes

Resources from National Organizations

Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health

The Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health supports over 33 member affiliated Associations for Infant Mental Health (AIMH), including licensing of the endorsement process and competencies. State AAIMs provide a range of professional development, supports and advocacy related to the promotion of IECMH policies and funding mechanisms.

The California Association for Infant Mental Health (CalAIMH) is an independent AIMH.

See also: Specific Disability Populations and Children At-Risk: Mental Health and Challenging Behaviors

Center of Excellence for IECMH Consultation

The Center of Excellence for IECMH Consultation provides technical assistance to increase access to high-quality mental health consultation across an array of early childhood programs and includes resources and professional development.

Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Center for Children and Families

Medicaid Policies to Help Young Children Access Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Services: Results from a 50-State Survey asked state Medicaid agency leaders about policies related to screenings and services designed to identify, prevent, and treat infant-early childhood mental health (IECMH) problems.

National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)

NCCP provides a searchable collection of research-informed IECMH policies and research on key IECMH strategies: PRiSM: Promoting Research-informed State Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Policies and Scaled Initiatives.

Partnering with the True North Group, NCCP issued a brief entitled Child Welfare and Early Intervention: Policies and Practice to Promote Collaboration and Help Infants and Toddlers Thrive (2022). The brief, based on case studies from the states of Colorado, Rhode Island and Texas, examines strategies and policies to support access to Early Intervention services for infants and toddlers involved in Child Welfare, and strong support for their development and mental health.

The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI)

The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) supports the capacity of state systems and local programs to implement the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. NCPMI is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, and provides a range of tools and resources, professional development, and technical assistance.

National Institutes for Mental Health (NIMH)

National Institute of Mental Health conducted a study, Mothers' Difficult Childhoods Impact Their Children's Mental Health, which sought to understand how trauma gets passed from one generation to the next. The results indicate that when a mother experiences difficult times during her own childhood, it can affect her mental health when she is an adult, during critical life stages such as during pregnancy and after giving birth. This, in turn, can increase the risk of mental health challenges in her children. The authors suggest one way to break the transmission of risk may be to focus on providing intervention and support to women during these critical time periods.

ZERO TO THREE

ZERO TO THREE provides an array of resources through their Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Policy Series.