The Vendor is required to provide individual licensed mental health professionals psychologist to provide the following professional service: early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC).
- An ECMHC works to increase the capacity of early learning professionals to support social and emotional learning and address behavioral concerns of young children, birth to age 5.
- ECMHC is a prevention and multilevel early intervention service providing intensive onsite consultation, training, coaching and professional development opportunities across a variety of early learning settings including childcare centers, family-based childcare programs, pre-schools, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs.
- There continues to be growing concern among many in the mental health arena and early care and education community that increasing numbers of very young children are manifesting serious behavior problems.
- The early years of life, from birth to age 5, are critical for brain development.
- During this period, the brain undergoes rapid growth and establishes the foundation for future cognitive, emotional, and social abilities.
- These experiences promote the formation of healthy neural connections and support the development of cognitive abilities (e.g., language, problem-solving), emotional regulation, social skills and resilience.
- Early brain development is enhanced by positive early childhood education and care experiences.
- Supporting teaching professionals working in early childhood settings supports opportunities for a child’s early brain development which is a crucial period for laying the foundation for a healthy and successful life.
- By providing children with nurturing environments, stimulating experiences, and support for their overall well-being, we can help them reach their full potential.
- These conditions manifest with symptoms like excessive worry, mood swings, impulsivity, aggression, and social withdrawal, significantly impacting a child's functioning.
- These conditions can include emotional, behavioral and social problems that often interfere with a child’s ability to positively engage with their environment.
- Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is a problem-solving and capacity-building intervention implemented within a collaborative relationship between a professional consultant with mental health expertise and an early care and education provider agency and includes the classroom teacher and a child’s family members as appropriate.
- The Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) service aims to improve the quality of early childhood programs, increase the capacity and skills of program staff to work with young children who exhibit challenging behaviors and improve children’s social-emotional and behavioral health and development.
- Another component of the services is supporting program staff and families with resources and service connections for those children who may benefit from treatment to mental health treatment providers, particularly where screening indicates that there is an appropriate, evidence-based treatment available (e.g., parent-child interaction therapy, trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy, attachment bio-behavioral catch-up, early intervention).
- The system of care service delivery approach is based on the recognition that the needs of children with serious mental health issues can best be met within their home, school, and community, and that families and youth should be a driving force in making decisions about the services they receive from an array of mental health and support services that are organized on an individualized basis into a coordinated system to meet the unique clinical and functional needs of each child and family.
- Services include:
• Increase awareness of the importance of young children’s mental health;
• Use indirect approaches to foster the social and emotional well-being of children at early care and education sites, including providing program-specific consultation focusing on improving the overall quality of the program and/or assisting the program to solve a specific issue that affects more than one child, staff member or family;
• Improve children’s social and emotional well-being by building the capacity of early care and education teachers and other caregivers to promote healthy child development and manage challenging behaviors;
• Use evidence-based clinical interventions and promising practices in the overall consultation provided;
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships based on mutual respect with early care and education provider staff to enhance their provision of child care services to promote social and emotional growth, wellness and a child’s overall mental health;
• Educate, train and coach caregivers so that they develop the skills and confidence to effectively address children’s social and emotional needs – whether it is the needs of one child or a classroom of children;
• Observe children, conduct individual assessments, model effective practices and integrate results and findings into an approach that will enhance caregiver competence in promoting child mental health and managing behavior problems of children;
• Screen/identify children and parent/caregiver who may benefit from treatment to mental health treatment providers, particularly where screening indicates that there is an appropriate, evidence-based treatment available (e.g. Parent-child interaction therapy, trauma focused-cognitive behavioral therapy, attachment bio behavioral catch-up, early intervention);
• Gather, organize and report data on ECMHC services provided in the community;
• Work with department evaluators to analyze data and to help develop reports that present information about the effectiveness of the service for state children and their families and caregivers.
