Niagara Countys
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
(IECMHC)
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Who we are:
Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is an early intervention that benefits children from birth to five years old by pairing a mental health professional with an early childhood educator (provider) to work towards improving both the provider’s and child’s social, emotional, and behavioral health. The overall goals of this service are aimed at reducing challenging behaviors, improving social-emotional skills, promoting healthy relationships, and decreasing stress and burnout in early childhood educators (providers). ITMHC is designed to focus on children from birth to five years old. This is a free service to Family Day Care, Group Family Day Care, and Day Care Centers across New York State.
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What is Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation?
The Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation strives to improve children’s social and emotional functioning, reduce challenging behaviors, and address the prevalence of suspensions and expulsions.
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Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) is a service that partners mental health professionals with early childhood educators to support the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of infants and toddlers from birth to 5 years old. This FREE service is available to Day Care Centers, School Age Programs, Family Day Care Programs, and Group Family Day Care Programs within Niagara County.
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What does an Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant do?
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Mental health consultation aims to improve “the ability of staff, families, programs, and systems to prevent, identify, treat, and reduce the impact of mental health problems” among young children (Cohen and Kaufmann, 2005), and follows principles of mental health consultation identified by Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. These principles are:
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Grounded in developmental knowledge
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Integrated with community supports
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Culturally and linguistically responsive
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Collaborative and relationship-based
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Technology Solutions
The Central New York Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant team provides a broad range of services (free of charge) that focus on supporting the relationship between children, ages 0-5 years, and the caregivers in their lives, such as:
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Assessment of the strengths and challenges within the infant and young children setting/environment, as well as teacher/child care professional practice
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Consultation that reflects and respects the philosophy of early childhood mental health consultation practices, that is culturally responsive to the child, caregiver, and the early care and education..
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Connection to resources for social and emotional learning in early care and education environments
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Guidance on the use of developmental, social, and emotional screening tools
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How to begin the process and what to expect when you call:
Get in Touch:
Call Us
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The consultant will complete an intake form and discuss specific needs and concerns
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The consultant will set up an appointment to meet and review the agreement forms
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The consultant consultation will begin with an overall classroom/program observation and assessment
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The consultant’s main objective is to provide early intervention by supporting the early childhood educator (provider), so your goals will be tailored to the specific needs of your classroom/program.
