Find the tool for your IECMHC needs

• 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.Evidence & ResearchEquity
• GuideThe Georgetown Manual for School-Based Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation ServicesThis manual describes a framework to the provision of ECMHC in school settings. Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development articulated this framework for ECMHC as implemented in a pilot program in a DC charter school for Pre-K 3- and 4-year-old classrooms. ECMHC services are organized into phases and described at multiple levels: child-/family-focused, classroom-focused, and programmatic consultation. The Appendix contains foundational materials describing the GU practice-based principles for ECMHC as well as tools to gather ECMHC data on children and classrooms. This document is intended as a resource that could aid other programs in the development of their manuals, though program manuals go beyond this content to also include site-specific implementation details.Program StructureConsultation Practice
• GuideThe Georgetown Model of Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation for School-Based SettingsProgram StructureConsultation Practice
• 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.Evidence & Research
• ReportThe Implementation of a Statewide Reflective Supervision Consultation Model for Infant-Early Childhood Program Professionals, Supervisors and Program Managers: Pilot Evaluation ReportEvidence & ResearchWorkforce
• ReportThe San Francisco Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Initiative (ECMHCI) Evaluation: Community Experiences (2021-2022)Evidence & ResearchProgram Structure
• 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.Equity
• BriefTraining and Workforce Development Activities that Prepare and Support IECMH ConsultantsDescribes a range of opportunities and approaches to MHC training, broken down by practice environments and targeted to different levels of MHC experienceWorkforceProgram Structure
• Webinars and eventsTransforming Narratives: Storytelling for Equity, Reflection, and EmpowermentStorytelling can transform IECMH Consultation by deepening reflective capacity, connections, and resilience. Each of us is full of stories worth telling. What, when and how we choose to tell stories matters. Join us to experience claiming and sharing your own story as a reflective and connective practice.Equity
• Webinars and eventsUnlocking Our Implicit Biases Regarding Parenting Practices to Deepen Relations With FamiliesExplore parenting practices from cultures worldwide and which of these practices triggers implicit biases. Develop a deeper understanding of the “why” behind various parenting practices and the diverse families entering your program. Learn strategies to build relationships with families while embracing cultural differences and helping families better understand your program. All too often, implicit bias is at the root of issues for Black and Brown children and their families. The immediate assumptions that are made regarding intelligence or ability simply from initial impressions have a far-reaching negative reach. As we have seen in higher maternal death rates for Black and Brown women and higher rates of expulsions/ special education referrals for Black and Brown boys, the White professionals working with a BIPOC population are still needing additional education surrounding their ability to identify their own implicit biases in order to ensure these biases do not play a role in their work. In this presentation, I challenge participants to examine their implicit biases surrounding parenting practices. When educators, especially caregivers working with very young children, bring in their set of beliefs as the “right” way to do something, it results in negating the cultural preferences or beliefs of the family they are working with. My goal is to have participants see color, see the unique differences between families’ parenting practices, and value these practices, especially when they differ from what the participants believe. I want participants to leave this session with a greater understanding and respect for parenting practices that are widely accepted in other social settings so that participants can better understand and guide conversations with families from a different culture in the future. Ultimately, this partnership based on understanding and acceptance will lead to the best understanding of what the child needs in order to reach their full potential.Consultation Practice
• Webinars and eventsUnveiling the Essential IECMHC Activities for Promoting Equity and RelationshipsThis workshop showcases the results of a consensus-building study that defined the core IECMHC activities, emphasizing relationships and equity. Using the Delphi method, experts reached a consensus on essential elements and activities of IECMHC, yielding a list of five essential elements and 27 activities. Panelists rated them, achieving an 80% consensus for all elements and most activities. The resulting Essential IECMHC Activities list guides practitioners, integrating consultation's "what" and "how" with a consultative stance. This list promotes equity and clarity in services. The workshop will present findings and encourage attendees to implement equity-promoting actions in their practices, supporting diverse infants and children's social-emotional well-being. Overall, it offers a deep dive into IECMHC activities and their role in equity.Equity
• Webinars and eventsUsing Qualitative Data to Elevate Stakeholder Voices in Virginia’s ECMHC PilotThis workshop explores how qualitative research and evaluation can promote equity in early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC). Often when programs and services are designed, they do not draw on lived experiences of the communities they serve which continues to promote deficit ideas about children, families, and their communities, particularly for children and families of color (O'Cathain et al., 2019). This workshop will show how qualitative research can strengthen programs and services by incorporating the voices of the communities that they are designed for. VDOE allocated federal relief dollars to fund an ECMHC pilot in early care and education (ECE) classrooms during the 2022-2023 school year in Virginia with three key objectives. The pilot was to aid ECE teachers in supporting children’s social-emotional needs in response to COVID-19, prevent suspensions and expulsions, and explore the feasibility of expanding the pilot to an eventual statewide ECMHC model (Partee et al, 2023). To understand implementation of the Virginia ECMHC pilot, we collected data using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In this presentation we will share findings and experiences from the qualitative strand of the study, specifically focusing on the insights gathered through video-cued focus groups and interviews with teachers, program directors, and families of children who received ECMHC services.Evidence & ResearchEquity

• Programs and ModelsThe nuts and bolts of IECMHC service delivery and IECMHC program infrastructure: what you provide, to whom, where, and how, and how to pull it all together.
• WorkforceThe competencies, training, supervision, mentoring, and quality assurance systems needed to build a strong IECMHC workforce.
• EquityStrategies and information to help IECMHC programs and consultants reduce disparities and promote effective, nurturing caregiving for all children.
• Research and EvaluationThe research base for IECMHC and guidance on developing and effectively utilizing theories of change, logic models, evaluation plans, and other research tools to measure IECMHC program fidelity and impact.
• Policy and FinancingTools and knowledge to support financing and sustaining IECMHC efforts, including key policies/initiatives, creative funding streams, and tips for strategic communication.

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  Early Care and Education

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  Home Visiting

  See the evidence
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  Early Intervention

  See the evidence
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  Child Welfare

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  Pediatric Primary Care

  See the evidence

See all five settings

• Classroom ideas that hold big feelingsTeachers can use these classroom ideas right away. They cover emotions, friendship, problem solving, and handling disappointment.
• The IMH specialist suiteWhat infant mental health work is, what an IMH specialist does, and where to find specialized training.
• Five actions on maternal depressionFive actions for programs: identify families, train staff, use reflective supervision, connect families to care, and reduce stigma. Take them in order. The sequence is the intervention.