IECMHC in Pediatric Primary Care
Families already trust the pediatric visit. Consultation puts mental health expertise inside that visit instead of at the end of a referral list.
What consultation looks like in pediatric primary care
Who the consultant works with
A child development specialist joins the practice and works with pediatricians, nurses, and front-line clinic staff.
What changes
Developmental and behavioral concerns are caught and addressed in the visit families already attend.
Where it fits
Models such as HealthySteps place a specialist on the care team for the whole panel of young children.
How the leading model works
Here's what we know about consultation in pediatric primary care. Every item below has a named source.
Up to 2,000 children per specialist
HealthySteps standards: one full-time specialist can reach up to 2,000 children from birth to age 3 a year.
HealthySteps
Up to 300 children in each of the two intensive tiers
From those, a specialist can give up to 300 children short-term consults (Tier 2) each year. Up to 300 more can get ongoing, team-based care (Tier 3).
HealthySteps
See it in practice
- Going Where the Children Are (opens in a new tab)A 2022 conference panel on one state's consultation programs in child care, pediatrics, obstetrics and home visiting.
- Addressing Equity Across the Early Childhood System (opens in a new tab)A panel of leaders from home visiting, early intervention, child welfare and primary care on bringing consultation into their systems.
Plan and pay for it
- Logic Model Template (opens in a new tab)Build your own logic model using guiding questions for each part.
- Financing IECMHC (opens in a new tab)Questions and answers on the funding streams states use for consultation.
- Program Manual Planning Guide (opens in a new tab)A guide to writing your own consultation program manual.
Meet families where they already are
Three ways in
- Train your own staff: build consultation capacity inside your program with the Practical Certificate.See the Practical Certificate
- Get consultation now: Georgetown consultants work with your staff virtually, starting within days.See Virtual Consultation
- Design your system: we help you plan and build a system of consultation support.See Technical Assistance