IECMH Consultation
The Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee (AIMHiTN) is championing the development of a comprehensive, aligned, and sustainable strategy that promotes the social and emotional health of young children across Tennessee through the support of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC).
In 2021, AIMHiTN, in partnership with the TNIECMH Financing Policy Team and Consilience Group LLC, supported the development of an advisory document identifying key strategies and recommendations for developing a sustainable statewide framework for IECMHC.
In January 2022, AIMHiTN convened the IEMCHC Coordinating Council, a cross-sector collaborative group that is working to advance the identified recommendations and build a statewide IECMHC framework.
What Is Infant And Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation?
According to the Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation:
IECMHC is a prevention-based approach that pairs a mental health consultant with adults who work with infants and young children in the different settings where they learn and grow, such as child care, preschool, home visiting, early intervention, and their home. Mental health consultation is not about “fixing kids.” Nor is it therapy. Mental health consultation equips caregivers to facilitate children’s healthy social and emotional development.
IECMHC services are offered through a comprehensive approach that spans the continuum of promotion, prevention, intervention services that target all areas, including:
Promoting strong relationships and supportive environments
Partnering with families and caregivers to understand children’s behavior and working together to create solutions
Equipping caregivers with training, tools, and insights to nurture social-emotional development and healthy behaviors in our children
Ensuring ongoing developmental screening and early identification of needs
Referring to more appropriate specialty services
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TN IECMH ECHO
The TN IECMH ECHO for Home Visiting is a collaborative learning community for home-visiting professionals focused on building best practices in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health topics, including collaborative case consultations.
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TN IECMH WARMLINE
The TN IECMH Consultation Warmline offers support to professionals seeking assistance for working with infants, young children, and their families, who present with behavioral or mental health challenges.
Why Is IECMHC A Critical Support For Tennessee’s Children?
It’s Effective
IECMHC has been shown to:
improve children’s social skills and emotional functioning,
promote healthy relationships,
reduce challenging behaviors,
improve classroom quality
and reduce provider stress, burnout, and turnover.
It Makes Financial Sense
Caring for our families with young children isn’t just the right thing, but it also makes good financial sense. Strategic investments in IECMHC can lead to a significant reduction in public costs. For example, the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs has found that high-quality early childhood programs can yield a $4 – 9 dollar return per $1 invested ((https://www.impact.upenn.edu/early-childhoodtoolkit/why-invest/what-is-the-return-on-investment) due to early investments in mental health and wellbeing that over time can save public systems millions of dollars in downstream interventions. Some economists believe that investments at the earliest stages of a child’s life, including prenatally, can yield the greatest return.
How Does AIMHiTN Propose Moving IECMHC Forward In TN?
Recognizing the opportunity to enhance how Tennessee supports its young children while at the same time creating long-term cost savings, AIMHiTN directed a comprehensive research effort in FY 2021 that led to the formation of an IECMHC advisory board. This group will begin working in 2022 toward systems alignment, public awareness and education, workforce development, and financial sustainability for a cross-sector, cross-disciplinary framework of IECMHC in Tennessee.
What Can You Do?
To learn more about IECMHC in Tennessee and how you can become a champion for this service, or to view the complete IECMHC Advisory Document, contact kellic@aimhitn.org