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 eventsPreschool Expulsions and the Role of Implicit Bias: Part 1Preschoolers are expelled at more than 3 times the rate of children in kindergarten through 12th grade. There is racial disproportionality in these exclusionary discipline practices. One of the factors that contribute to the disparities is implicit bias. Webinars and eventsPreschool Expulsions and the Role of Implicit Bias: Part 2Preschoolers are expelled at more than 3 times the rate of children in kindergarten through 12th grade. There is racial disproportionality in these exclusionary discipline practices. One of the factors that contribute to the disparities is implicit bias. GuideProfessional Development Framework for Promoting Anti-bias ConsultationThis resource is designed to support reflective supervisors, as well as professional development and technical assistance providers, in creating professional development opportunities that take place within a learning community (ex., CoPs, ECHOS, and workgroups). This framework goes beyond surface-level content by challenging participants’ assumptions, addressing difficult topics, and providing opportunities for practice and reflection. GuidePromoting Black Joy and Countering Bias Through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health ConsultationThis resource offers strength-based strategies to support IECMH consultants and programs to create space for Black families to reclaim a sense of joy amid racial uprisings, a global pandemic, and increasing socioeconomic challenges. Black children and families need more opportunities to experience and cultivate joy. Explore this resource to learn promising practices aligned with the Revised IECMHC Competencies to disrupt bias and foster joy specifically for Black children to reduce disparities and improve child outcomes. GuideRace Matters Toolkit User’s Guide Webinars and eventsRaising Awareness in IECMHC with an Equity LensThe presentations foundation is derived from Dr. Katherine M. Zinsser’s' research on Illinois preschool suspension and expulsion. In the research, of the Early Childhood professionals and providers that have expelled young children, "Nearly 40% had never heard of IECMHC and made at least one expulsion during that same year". The Illinois Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development used Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds to create content for a multimedia, multilingual awareness campaign. This raising awareness campaign efforts focused on the diverse audiences including, Family Child Care Homes, program leaders, Head Start/Early Head start, administrators, parents/families/caregivers, state leaders, higher education and IECMH consultants. This raising awareness campaign consist of new resources that provide key information for Consultation in Infant and Early Childhood Education and Care programs. These concise and informative one-pagers (16 in total) and videos are available in multiple languages and tailored for specific audiences. Whether you are a leader or administrator of home visiting, preschool, and center-based child care programs, the parent or a family member of children in need of services, a stakeholder in childhood education and care, or someone who is looking to begin a fulfilling new career. This session will describe efforts to engage cross-system partners such as Early Intervention, Head Start/Early Head Start, Home visitors, child care, and our state board of education programs-prevention initiatives, preschool for all and preschool for all expansion. Equity is at the forefront of project from the multilingual and diverse audiences which considers multiple perspectives. Intentional efforts and cross-sector stakeholders were used to design and develop the one-pagers and videos, which takes into consideration provider representation, diverse family structures and how providers saw themselves in the videos. We were able to partner with families, providers, etc. to ensure their voices and experiences informed the design and implementation of the Raising awareness materials. Ensured equitable access and distribution of resources. GuideReflection Guide for Empirical Articles about IECMHCThrough a series of checklist-style reflection questions, this brief resource guides readers in best practices for interpreting research studies about IECMHC. You'll learn to judge the strengths, weaknesses, main points, and implications of empirical articles, and apply the findings to your own work. VideoSchool Suspensions are an Adult Behavior: A TEDx TalkThere is an epidemic of school suspensions in the U.S. and the downstream consequences are severe. Adults suspend students, and while that may sound obvious, Rosemarie Allen realized that the problem might be the solution. When dealing with the difficult behaviors of children, what if we turned our focus inward? This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Webinars and eventsThe Consultative Stance As Portal: Co-creating transformation and advancing equityExperience and empirical evidence is identifying Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation’s potential to be a potent promoter of equity. Specifically, the mental health consultant’s comportment and ways of relating are influential in catalyzing change. The elements of this growth promoting posture are articulated in the Consultative Stance. Guided by the plenary panel members, participants will be introduced to the Consultative Stance as originally envisioned and ways it continues to evolve. Together we will consider how the Consultative Stance can open up a process of expanding perspectives and creating authentic connections. The conditions that contribute to, and examples of ways that the Consultative Stance is being employed in advancing equity will be offered in hopes of all of us seeing, being and doing our part as proponents of social justice. Webinars and eventsThe Differences are Between and AroundSomeone once said, “When racism fell, we were all outside.” This quote speaks to challenges from “-isms” that plague society and influence each of us differently. What we cannot deny is that we are all influenced. Thankfully, there are many who refuse to tire in the fight for equity. Join us as we explore Bronfrenbrenner’s Ecological Model. We will look at this framework as a lens for understanding IECMH. We hope that this will eliminate the bias we have in our understanding of everyday interactions. Individuals who participate in this session will walk away with a new way to "question" what they are seeing and activate their wonderings. ReportThe Evidence Base for How and Why Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation WorksThis article reviews the evidence base for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) and organizes the literature based on alignment with the CoE’s theory of change. The authors describe the current state of evidence for IECMHC, identify gaps in the literature, outline future research directions, and provide a call to action. Webinars and eventsTracing three parallel histories of IECMHC in SF and their impact on equity todaySan Francisco’s IECMHC (SF-ECMHC) Initiative is recognized for its grounding in cultural practice and cultural communities and for holding lasting consultation relationships. We present data for how equity from the start of an initiative can impact the development of a diverse IECMHC workforce. We illustrate the initiative’s maintained dedication to cultural communities by employing consultants who mirror those communities and share the impact of consultant-consultee match on IECMHC outcomes. We acknowledge the ‘Sankofa Effect’: looking back to move forward. We look back on the distinct, parallel histories of the SF-ECMHC Initiative, which are deeply connected to equity and cultural communities. We highlight the history of Instituto Familiar de la Raza’s (Instituto) and the establishment of the Proveedora Program in 1986 to meet the needs of the Chicano/Latino community, many of whom experienced traumas from immigrating amid Central America’s civil war and were not accustomed to child care provided by "strangers." Finally, we explain why the consultant-consultee match builds stronger, more effective consultation, drawing on concepts like power, lived experience, and collectivism.