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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TemplateIECMHC Logic Model TemplateUse this template to map your IECMHC program's inputs, activities, and outcomes. Two filled-in samples show it for early childhood education and home visiting. TemplateIllinois Model of IECMHC: Theory of Change ReportMaryland ECMHC Evaluation: Final Report (2011)Maryland ECMHC Evaluation: Executive Summary (2011) BriefMaryland’s Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Fiscal Year 2020 Brief BriefMaryland’s Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Fiscal Year 2021 Brief ReportMental Health Consultation Evaluation: Summary of Interviews with Home Visitors, Supervisors, & Mental Health Consultants ReportPennsylvania Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Project External Evaluation ReportIn 2016, the Pennsylvania ECMH Consultation Project contracted with Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development to conduct an external review geared towards situating their program in a national perspective. By analyzing Pennsylvania’s program based on the insights from the national “What Works” (2009) study, the authors identified the strengths of the program as well as areas for continued growth, which were then pursued by program leadership.Executive Summary Webinars and eventsPresentation: Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: Advancing the Evidence BasePanel presentation at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood 2022. The presentation is moderated by Dr. Deborah Perry, Director of Research & Evaluation at GUCCHD, and features research findings from Arkansas, Louisiana, and New York City. 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. TemplateSmart Support Logic Model 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 eventsThe Impact of Teacher Stress on IECMHC Outcomes and Lessons Learned Through Program EvaluationThis presentation will describe recent program evaluation findings of the statewide TIKES IECMHC program in Louisiana. TIKES examined how teachers’ perceptions of children’s behavior and the behavior of the whole class changed after working with a TIKES consultant. After six months of participating in the TIKES IECMHC model of consultation, teachers reported increases in child protective factors, decreases in child and classroom behavioral concerns including behaviors related to increased likelihood of expulsion, and decreases in their levels of stress and hopelessness after consultation. Notably, pre-consultation teacher stress was related to their perception of child behavior, with teachers reporting moderate to high levels of stress demonstrating changes in their perception of challenging behaviors. This research highlights the importance of recognizing and responding to early childhood educators’ needs and stress levels, with particular emphasis on the impact of the identities they hold, so that they can provide high quality care for infant and young children. We will also discuss how TIKES research findings inform our work and are an integral part of our model. We will highlight earlier research on ECE educator stress, its causes, and its impact on young children, especially on teacher-child relationships and on disparities in suspension and expulsion. Importantly, the researchers will discuss lessons learned related to appropriate methods of measuring demographic variables such as race and gender in teacher-reported program evaluation to better capture the mechanism by which IECMHC impacts the diverse consultees that the TIKES program serves. We believe this presentation will be of interest to program evaluators, program directors, and mental health consultants interested in learning more about how IECMHC and IECMHC evaluation works.