Prove that consultation works
Here are the evidence syntheses, evaluation designs, and outcome measures you need to document impact and keep consultation funded.
What's in this collection
Research and evaluation are essential to continue expanding the reach and impact of infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC). By gathering, analyzing, and reporting data, programs can learn about what they have been doing well, as well as what can be improved or made more efficient.
Advancing the evidence base for IECMHC: guidance for evaluators and program partners
Advancing the Evidence Base for IECMHC: This guide is intended to help programs design and implement an approach to evaluation that is intentional, realistic, and driven by their priorities.
Also check out the accompanying Interactive Evaluation Plan Worksheet.
Program evaluation tools
Program Planning and Reflection Tool (PPRT): An entire domain is devoted to program evaluation and covers: creating an evaluation team; identifying research questions; designing the evaluation; data collection & analysis; and communicating results.
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: An Evaluation Tool Kit: This tool kit provides guidance, tools, and resources that will assist in designing and implementing program evaluations.
Step-by-step program evaluation design guidance
Five Steps for Evaluating IECMHC: This comprehensive, step-by-step guidance helps programs design and build upon their IECMHC program evaluations.
Additional evaluation resources
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ReportArizona’s Smart Support Evaluation Report: The First Four YearsExecutive Summary ReportArkansas Project PLAY Evaluation Update 2014 Webinars and eventsBuilding a theory-driven evaluation of IECMHC: CoE Tips and ToolsThis workshop presentation will feature research and evaluation resources from the Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (CoE for IECMHC), covering topics such as writing an IECMHC evaluation plan and measuring IECMHC. The workshop will show how a theory-driven evaluation can strengthen the existing evidence base and help shape future research and evaluation questions. BriefCreating Practice-Based Principles for Effective Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation ServicesThrough a collaborative, consensus-building effort called a Delphi process, IECMHC expert stakeholders refined a set of ten practice-based principles for IECMHC, in addition to a definition for IECMHC and list of its primary goals. In lieu of a manualized approach, these ten principles are offered as an alternative measure of program fidelity to the essential elements of IECMHC, while also allowing for individualization across settings and communities. ReportEarly Childhood Consultation Partnership: Results across Three Statewide Random-Controlled EvaluationsExecutive Summary ToolkitEarly Childhood Mental Health Consultation: An Evaluation Tool Kit ReportEvaluation of Alameda County Behavioral Health Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Standards of Practice Training and Technical Assistance PilotAlameda County piloted standards of practice for its early childhood mental health consultants from 2016 to 2018. Within 6 months, classroom climate and children's self-regulation improved, and children's risk of expulsion went down. Consultants grew more confident over the year. ReportEvaluation of the Illinois Model of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation PilotExecutive Summary ReportHealthy Futures: Evaluation of Early Childhood Mental Health ConsultationThis report presents evaluation findings from the fifth year of D.C.’s IECMHC program, Healthy Futures, in which IECMHC Consultants were embedded in child development centers, primarily in low-income neighborhoods.Executive Summary: Year 5 ReportHealthy Futures: Year Four Evaluation of Early Childhood Mental Health ConsultationThis report presents evaluation findings from the fourth year of D.C.’s IECMHC program, Healthy Futures, in which IECMHC Consultants were embedded in child development centers, primarily in low-income neighborhoods.Executive Summary: Year 4 ReportHolding Hope (Washington) IECMHC Formative Evaluation Final Report TemplateIECMHC Evaluation Plan WorksheetThis document outlines the elements of a complete IECMHC evaluation plan. Teams may write an evaluation plan as they design their own evaluations and seek funding for it, or they may request written evaluation plans if employing an external evaluator. This outline is intended to be used as a resource for teams seeking to understand what to include in a written evaluation plan. It is not strict guidance; rather it provides a starting point that teams may adapt to suit their goals. Ultimately, the goal is to gain clarity and group agreement on the key questions to be answered, the methods to be used to answer them, and the resources that will be dedicated to the undertaking.