Early Childhood Mental Health in a System of Care

What we do?

What is Early Childhood Mental Health?

Early childhood mental health is the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of children birth through five and their families, including the developing capacity to:

• Experience, regulate, and express emotion;
• Form close, secure relationships; and
• Explore the environment and learn.

Early childhood mental health is influenced by:

• The physical characteristics of the young child;
• The quality of the adult relationships in the child's life;
• The care-giving environments the child is in; and
• The community context in which the child and family lives.

What is an Early Childhood Mental Health System of Care?

An early childhood mental health system of care builds, in part, on the two decades of system of care efforts in states and communities focusing on older children and youth with serious emotional disorders.  For children birth through five, the system of care is  built upon a set of values that includes family and child-centered practice and policy, cultural and linguistic competence, and grounding in developmental knowledge.  The system of care provides a cross-system, cross-agency infrastructure that sustains services and supports that:

• Promote positive mental health;
• Prevent mental health problems in children and families; and
• Intervene for children and families impacted by mental health disorders.

The diagram below captures the comprehensive and interconnected building blocks, services, and supports that can address promotion, prevention and intervention and the social and emotional health of young children and their families within a system of care. 

The Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Team and Technical Assistance

The Early Childhood Mental Health policy team of the National Technical Assistance Center is dedicated to helping states and communities develop Early Childhood Mental Health systems of care in states and communities through:

• Training and technical assistance;
• Presentations at the national, state, and local level;
• Development of articles, chapters, and issue briefs; and an
• Early Childhood Mental Health Academy.