Step 1 of 5
Define what you’ll fund
Funders want to see that you’re prepared and that your request is well informed. Start with the need in your community and then name the service that meets it.
What you’ll do in this step
- Run a needs assessment.
- Choose the type of consultation you’ll offer.
- Spell out what you will and won’t provide.
Find the need
A needs assessment is a systematic way to find the gaps between current conditions and the conditions you want. Those gaps drive your request. Without one, you might move in the wrong direction or duplicate existing services.
Use our Needs Assessment Surveys to run one. You can also start from the Sample Needs Assessment (opens in a new tab).
How Michigan used a needs assessment
As part of Project LAUNCH, Michigan ran an environmental scan of early childhood services in one community. It learned that there was a lack of awareness of which mental health services were available. Families also reported that waiting lists, lack of transportation, and excessive paperwork kept them from services. When Michigan created its consultation services, those findings shaped outreach, evaluation, and workforce development.
Name the service
Consultation improves child well-being by building the ability of staff, parents, and caregivers to meet the social and emotional needs of infants and young children. It comes in three types.
- Child- and family-focused
When a specific child’s behavior concerns parents or staff, the consultant helps those adults understand, assess, and address the child’s needs through an individualized plan.
- Classroom- and group-focused
The consultant works with staff to improve the care offered to all children in the classroom. Together they identify and address attitudes, beliefs, practices, and conditions that may be undermining relationships between adults and children.
- Programmatic
The consultant supports administrators, directors, and other program leaders as they change care practices or policies to benefit all children and adults in the setting.
Tell the funder which types you’ll offer and what you won’t provide. That keeps you from duplicating other providers. The funder also knows exactly what the money pays for.
For program design documents, logic models, and the program manual, see Structure the service.
How Illinois defined its home visiting model
The Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership developed a model for consultation in home visiting programs that ran for at least two years. It included training for home visitors on mental health topics, group reflective supervision, case consultation, referral to outside mental health services, joint home visits, and support to administrators on policy and practice.
Check your readiness
1 of 3: Organizational readiness
Can you identify your main objectives and population served?
