FSU Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy

Pathways to Prevention: EHS IMH Initiative

Overall Purpose of Project

The Pathways to Prevention Infant Mental Health Initiative was funded through a partnership between the Head Start Bureau and the Early Head Start National Resource Center at Zero to Three. Twenty four Early Head Start programs from across the country were chosen to participate in this intensive training program. The goal of the program is to provide Early Head Start and Migrant Head Start programs with materials, resources, and professional development opportunities to guide their work in meeting comprehensive mental health needs of infants and toddlers within the context of their families, particularly in rural settings.

Project Description

Each program developed interdisciplinary teams, including parents, to participate in an intensive training seminar in Washington where teams developed action plans to implement when they returned home to their programs. Each program received 14 months of on-site follow-up and technical assistance by an Infant Mental Health Specialist to build the program's knowledge and expertise in the early emotional needs of infants and toddlers. The EHS National Resource Center worked with an evaluation consultant to evaluate the progress made by the programs.

Current Status of Project

An action plan was developed with the goals of:

increasing skill and knowledge of staff;

strengthening critical program supports;

enhancing screening and assessment of social/emotional development; and

increasing community awareness and advocacy for mental health services for very young children.

Strategies Used by the Project

intensive training for staff, parents and community members;

use of reflective supervisory practice

parent and staff focus groups to review/adopt available social emotional assessment tools best suited for our program;

presentations at state and national conferences on our infant mental health initiative; and

participation in the local community infant mental health task force.