When most of us consider infant and toddler healthcare, we think of pediatrician check-ups, immunizations, and vision and hearing screenings. But mental health for infants and toddlers is a foreign concept for many caretakers, educators, and even clinicians. Yet a growing body of research indicates that babies do have mental health—and it’s a critical springboard into a life of well-being. That’s why GEEARS has spent the last three years advocating for mental health supports for every baby in Georgia. We’ve seen significant results.
Watch this video to learn about IECMH. Hear about the policy advances that GEEARS and its partners have achieved on behalf of Georgia’s youngest children. And learn what you can do to help launch the next generation of babies into a healthy and successful future.
RESOURCES
- The Georgia Association for Infant Mental Health: Birth to Five (GA-AIMH) serves as a resource hub for early childhood professionals and parents.
- DECAL and Georgia State University’s Center of Excellence for Children’s Behavioral Health’s research brief, Prioritizing the Mental Health of Infants & Toddlers in Georgia: Why It’s Important and What Comes Next
- DECAL’s IECMH page has resources for child care providers, families, and policymakers.
- Georgia State University’s Center of Excellence for Children’s Behavioral Health’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Systems and Supports Developing the Workforce addresses the state of the IECMH workforce in the southeast region and the need for additional workforce development in Georgia.
- Basics of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Briefing Paper from ZERO TO THREE reviews how positive experiences and relationships can make a lifelong difference for young children and provides recommendations to policymakers to improve IECMH.
- SAMHSA’s Center for Excellence on IECMH Consulting provides evidence-based resources and research for implementing a systems-wide approach to infant and early childhood mental health services.
- Developed by ZERO TO THREE, DC: 0-5 Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood was created, so medical professionals have the ability to provide early interventions and treatment specific to disorders and social-emotional challenges experienced during children’s earliest years.
- GEEARS has recommendations for how DC:0-5 can be integrated into policy and practice.
- Using Medicaid to Ensure the Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers from the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University gives a background on Medicaid’s role in IECMH.