The federal government awarded Texas through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) a Preschool Development Grant Birth through 5 (PDG B-5) to help Texas address gaps in their early childhood system that were made worse by the COVID-19 crisis.
TIEMH is partnering with TWC to analyze the landscape of infant and early childhood mental health consultant (IECMHC) work occurring in Texas and present recommendations for an IECMHC system for Texas. 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 equips professionals and caregivers with the skills and knowledge to facilitate children’s healthy social and emotional development. IECMH consultants develop relationships with the adults and caregivers in young children’s lives to build adults’ capacity and skills to strengthen and support the healthy social and emotional development of children―early and before formalized intervention is needed.
IECMHC has been shown to improve children’s social skills and emotional functioning, promote healthy relationships, reduce challenging behaviors, reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions, improve classroom quality, and reduce provider stress, burnout, and turnover.
Currently, there isn’t a shared understanding of IECMHC services in Texas, causing many providers to be offered varying services that are all labeled as IECMHC. Other states have established a universal definition of IECMHC and a system to support that work. The purpose of this Contract between TWC and UT-TIEMH is to map the existing IECMHC work in Texas, research how other states are organizing their IECMHC work, provide case studies, and present recommendations for an IECMHC system for Texas.
Texas IECMHC Outreach Video: IECMHC in Early Childhood Care and Education Settings
This resource brings to life what Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) services look like on a day-to-day basis in an early childhood care and education setting in Texas. A special thanks to our partners and colleagues at My Health My Resources Tarrant County for their time and expertise.
