Foundational Knowledge

2A Understands the Multidisciplinary Body of Knowledge that Informs Consultation

Core Skills

2A.1

Appreciates and embraces multidisciplinary approaches to working with infants, young children, families, caregivers, and staff who work in programs or other settings serving infants, young children, and families, drawing on areas of study that include: professional consultation, mental health, early education, early childhood development, infant and early childhood mental health, family and/or systems functioning, culture, race and equity and anti-racism approaches.

2A.2

Understands that an infant’s or young child’s physical environment, experience of attachment, social relationships, race/ethnicity, primary language, culture, abilities, disposition, and life circumstances all impact behavior and social and emotional well-being. Uses this knowledge to support change in one or more of these realms to improve infant and young child outcomes.

2A.3

Understands mental health concepts and psychological processes related to adults and adult functioning, including how caregivers’ current and historical access to opportunities and resources and their experiences with discrimination impact mental health. Understands parallel process (i.e., how relationships between an IECMH consultant and staff or caregivers impacts relationships between staff or caregivers and infants, young children, and families), the ways in which a caregiver’s experiences can affect their interpretation of an infant’s or young child’s behavior, and experiences with or responses to trauma.

2A.4

Understands the impact of trauma (including racialized, historical trauma and family violence) on infant/young child and family development and can educate others about trauma-informed approaches as needed.

2A.5

Understands the impact of systemic racism, discrimination, and individual prejudices and microaggressions on infants’, young children’s, and families’ experiences, and can educate others about anti-racism approaches.

2A.6

Understands how caregiver attitudes and behaviors influence infants and young children, and works to ensure that caregivers understand the potential consequences of their attitudes and behaviors.

2A.7

Understands the root causes of the disparities in the ways that infants and young children are disciplined. Understands how bias and applying a deficit-based perspective influence perceptions of infant and young child behavior; disciplinary decisions; and infant, child, and family well-being.

2A.8

Has broad knowledge of culturally responsive social and emotional curricula, screening tools, frameworks, and resources, and understands equitable implementation of such curricula and tools.

2A.9

Understands adult learning theory (i.e., concepts related to how adults learn best) as it relates to families and staff.

2A.10

Understands basic principles of organizational or systems psychology as they relate to the programs or other settings in which consultation takes place.

2A.11

Recognizes and respects child and family culture, families’ knowledge, sources of strength and resilience, and routes to healing within diverse families and communities.^{Note 5}

2B Understands the Nature of and Influences on Development

Core Skills

2B.1

Understands the importance of developing self-regulation, social relationships, communication, representational thinking, and executive function abilities for school readiness.

2B.2

Understands the interplay of genes and experiences on development: that both the infant’s or young child’s constitutional nature (including temperament) and aspects of the environment (e.g., the functioning of caregivers, the presence of risk and protective factors) play a role in determining the course of development. Understands the impact of experiences of prejudice or discrimination.

2B.3

Understands that development is a transactional phenomenon, within which infants and young children experience attachment relationships with primary caregivers that play a critical foundational role in development. Understands the potential negative impact of caregiver history, multiple separations, relational disruptions, caregiver depression, and loss.

2B.4

Understands the potentially positive and protective role of grandparents and extended family, siblings, peers, and group interactions on early development and emotional well-being.

2B.5

Understands typical and atypical growth and development of infants and young children. Has an in-depth knowledge of the general sequence of developmental milestones in all domains, including those connected to cognitive and social and emotional development, communication, sensory-motor processing, self-regulation, physical development, and play.

2B.6

Recognizes risk factors associated with trauma as they relate to environmental, situational, and interpersonal contexts and understands the role of protective factors in ameliorating impacts on infant and early childhood development.

2B.7

Understands the many ways in which current and historical inequities (racism, homophobia, sexism, able-ism, and other forms of systemic oppression) can negatively impact families’ access to resources, adult-infant/young child relationships, and infant and early childhood development.

2C Understands the Importance and Power of Culture

Core Skills

2C.1

Understands and supports cultural variations in development, child-rearing practices, and caregiver expectations.

2C.2

Recognizes the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual context of culture and its influence on values, beliefs, child-rearing practices, infant and early childhood development, and social and emotional health and well-being.

2D Understands the Importance of Self-Awareness and the Nature of Reflective Practice

Core Skills

2D.1

Understands the importance of examining values, beliefs, privilege, biases, assumptions, and experiences to ensure that misinterpretation or judgment is not imposed on others’ intentions and actions.

2D.2

Understands the impact of unconscious bias on interpersonal interactions and decision-making.

2D.3

Understands the importance of assisting others in reflecting on and examining their own values, beliefs, privileges, biases, assumptions, and experiences; supporting them in regulating their emotions; and helping them accurately perceive the meaning of others’ behavior (specifically, the behavior of infants, young children, families, and co-workers).

2D.4

Recognizes the value of using self-reflection to maintain awareness of thoughts, emotions, and visceral reactions in responses to consultees and families and the importance of understanding these thoughts, emotions, and reactions as personal information to be processed and explored.

2D.5

Embraces the importance of seeking to understand the perspectives and experiences of others in the context of consultation.

2D.6

Understands the importance of clinical supervision, consultation, and reflective supervision and values them as critical components that support the provision of effective consultation.

2E Understands the Functioning of and Relationships Between Families, Caregivers, IECMH Consultants, and Systems

Core Skills

2E.1

Understands the value of support networks. Recognizes barriers and challenges to service acquisition for families, especially those who are isolated or face discriminatory practices due to race/ethnicity, disability, language, or immigration status.

2E.2

Understands parallel process (i.e., how the relationship between an IECMH consultant and staff or caregivers impacts relationships between staff or caregivers and infants or young children and families).

2E.3

Understands that the quality of relationships among adults (between staff members and/or between staff members and families) influences infants’ and young children’s experiences.

2E.4

Understands the importance of self-care and the value of offering information to families and staff on the connection between self-care and the ability to build successful relationships with others.

Notes to the 2020 edition

1. 5. Irving Harris Foundation. 2018. Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families. (opens in a new tab) Chicago, IL: Irving Harris Foundation.