Equity is part of all our work
This collection holds the equity toolkit, our equity webinar seasons, and resources on bias and on Tribal Nations. Culturally responsive consultation is competent consultation.
What's in this collection
Equity is a central component of infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC). Every individual who is part of the IECMHC system has an important role to play in promoting fair, positive, and equitable learning experiences for all children and families.
Program planning
Program Planning and Reflection Tool (PPRT): An entire domain is devoted to equity and covers: developing a program-wide strategic plan; staff training; service population & service delivery; reflective supervision; and data collection.
Online trainings and webinars
Equity in IECMHC Webinar Series (2023 to 2024): This series of webinars introduces a set of resources to support infant and early childhood mental health consultants and supervisors to strengthen cultural responsiveness in IECMHC for children and families in Tribal, African American, Latin American, and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities (AANHPI).
Toolkits and resource collections
IECMHC Racial Equity Toolkit: The CoE’s IECMHC Racial Equity Toolkit is a collection of videos, tools, and resources that can help consultation systems leaders and all IECMHC practitioners build capacity in understanding race and systemic racism, bias, and culturally responsive practice and meaningfully embed equity in their programs and practice.
Resource briefs
Promoting Black Joy and Countering Bias through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: This is a companion resource to the 2023 webinar, “Countering Bias and Promoting Black Joy in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation,” which is part of the CoE’s Equity in IECMHC Webinar series.
Assessments
Cultural and Linguistic Competence Self-Assessment Checklists: These tools are designed to assist managers and administrators in assessing the extent to which they demonstrate integration of cultural and linguistic competence into values, attitudes, communication styles, and the physical environment.
National reports and position statements
Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children, and Families: The Diversity-Informed Tenets are guiding principles created to encourage the infant mental health field to intentionally and mindfully engage in standards of practice that promote and strive for a just and equitable society.
Working with Tribal communities and Nations
IECMHC Resources for Tribal Nations: This webpage provides a collection of resources to support programs, local governments and tribal nations in creating better services and systems for infants, toddlers and young children and their families through an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program.
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Webinars and eventsDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Heart of the Consultative StanceInfant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is founded on the "Consultative Stance" which is centered on building, nourishing, and maintaining positive and responsive relationships with the adults we are directly working with and those (adults and children) who are indirectly impacted by our work. Participants will learn that by implementing all components of the Consultative Stance, you will be providing culturally responsive supports to better serve our families as outlined in the Diversity Informed Tenets. Webinars and eventsEquity in IECMHC: Lessons Learned, What’s Working, & Holding Hope for Providers, Children, & FamiliesIn 2020, the COE launched a Five-Part Webinar Series on Equity in IECMHC: How Did We Get Here? A panel of IECMHC leaders will engage in a cross-cultural dialogue that will look back on the 2020 series and examine equity in IECMHC in our nation's current context. The conversation will focus on lessons learned, what's working, and perspectives on holding hope for providers, and children and families from communities that have been historically and contemporarily marginalized. ReportExploring Culture, Race, and Ethnicity in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: The Role of the Consultative AlliancePeer-reviewed article ReportExpulsion and Suspension in ECE as Matters of Social Justice and Health EquityThis discussion paper explores how inequities in early childhood systems lead to the “preschool to prison pipeline,” and provides food for thought regarding how IECMHC can disrupt this trend. ReportExpulsion prevention: Framework for the role of infant and early childhood mental health consultation in addressing implicit biasesPeer-reviewed article abstract Webinars and eventsFrom Conception to Birth: TN’s IECMHC Development"When you have the right people at the right time doing the right thing, magic happens.” The story of Tennessee’s IECMHC work is one of relationships. Though our state’s IECMHC work is still in its infancy, TN’s Infant Mental Health community has long been laying the foundation for what we are doing today. This workshop is for those involved in building systems and programs, those preparing to implement or in initial stages of program implementation, and IECMH or Early Childhood service providers. This workshop will detail: The history of TN’s Infant Mental Health work and explore the relationships, opportunities, and cross-sector partnerships that paved the way for IECMHC The role of the ZTT IECMH Financing Policy initiative in our IECMH work, state collaborative councils, and current partnerships at work in IECMH Consultation Coordinating Council The funding streams used Current IECMHC initiatives at the state and local level Program scale up and expansion as well as workforce recruitment and preparation How equity may be embedded in IECMHC, with an in-depth focus on family engagement, exclusionary discipline practices, and mitigating disproportionality What is on the horizon for IECMHC in Tennessee and lessons learned along the way Webinars and eventsGoing Deeper to Increase Self-Awareness and Culturally Responsive ServicesThe Jump Start Early Childhood Consultation Program is currently in its 5th year of implementation. It uses the Georgetown model, adapted to the unique challenges, population, and landscape of the Miami-Dade community. The goal of the program is to improve the capacity of childcare providers to address the social-emotional needs of young children in their care and, in turn, reduce the number of young children expelled from their centers. Empirical research demonstrates that children of color face disproportionate risks starting as early as preschool that can perpetuate a cycle of harmful long-term effects. For this reason, and the fact that the Miami-Dade community is very diverse, with non-Hispanic whites comprising only 11.5 % of the population (72.5 % Hispanic, 16% African American, Haitians and other groups), an important goal of the Jump Start Program is to embed equity, inclusion and cultural humility into all aspects of the work. The large Jump Start team includes 27 consultants who are culturally and linguistically representative of the population they serve. From the start increasing consultants’ awareness and ability to promote social and racial equity was a priority. Initially, didactic trainings from national experts were provided. However, it became clear that real impact needed deeper work. For the past 9 months, our team has partnered with the Indigo Cultural Center, having monthly dialogues around these important topics. Dr. Shivers and Ms. Johnston lead these monthly groups with Jump Start Supervisors and Equity Champions. The Champions, in turn, lead monthly groups with the rest of the consultants. In this presentation, the Jump Start Program’s model to increase staff’s awareness and ability to provide culturally responsive services will be discussed, including the process of selecting equity champions, their roles, and the parallel process as far as the impact this work has on teachers and children. The target audience for this presentation is all IECMH consultants and supervisors. It is our hope that this model can be replicated to propagate equity and inclusion across childcare centers and other early childhood programs. Webinars and eventsGrounding IECMHC in Early Relational Health to Create a Shared Purpose Webinars and eventsHand in Hand’s Parenting and Teaching for Social Justice A Model Learning CollaborativePlease join us for an experiential session where you will have the opportunity to try out a unique self-reflective practice tool that you can bring to your work with peers and mentors. We will also share our experience designing and leading a new equity-focused professional development curriculum: Hand in Hand Parenting’s Parenting and Teaching for Social Justice Learning Collaborative. Participants use this self-reflective practice tool to focus on healing from the impact of systemic oppression. Hand in Hand’s Learning Collaborative was organized to support our 250+ Certified Instructors who work with parents and early care and education professionals. The Learning Collaborative is focused on changing our own attitudes and tackling the emotional hurdles we face while working for justice. We work to heal from internalized oppression, so we can continue to reclaim confidence and power and enjoy our children and advocate for them, and we work to undo attitudes that fuel oppressive systems, so we can take intentional action and support the leadership of those who have been marginalized. Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants and others working with parents and early care and education professionals (Home Visitors, Head Start/Early Head Start educators, and Early Intervention providers) may be especially interested in this session. HandoutHow to Support a Mental Health Consultant Who Is New to Your Tribal CommunityThis resource provides strategies for tribal communities and/or programs that are starting work with a mental health consultant who is new to the community. GuideIECMHC Resources for Tribal Children & Families Webinars and eventsImpacts of Equitable Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health ConsultationThis presentation examines the disproportionate rate of African American boys and other children of color represented in Pre-K suspensions, expulsions and discrimination throughout the nation. We break down our specific approach to mental-health consultation for these populations in Texas. We show the common barriers our centers face and how we use social-emotional skills to connect with and support all staff and families at these centers. Our presentation shows a typical day in our role, what we have found most effective in helping teachers to understand biases and prejudices and how we measure these outcomes.