Early Childhood Mental Health Systems Group

Introduction: On behalf of our infants and young children, the Alameda County Early Childhood Mental Health Systems Group will advocate for, develop and facilitate the implementation of a community-based, county-wide system of preventive mental health and treatment services for all young children and their families (prenatal to five) within the home, child care and the community. This group is comprised of the Policy Collaborative and the Community Services Collaborative. The goal of the Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Collaborative is to promote systems change in the field of ECMH by working with policy makers and decision makers. The goal of the Community Services Collaborative is to create a consistent and open forum for a partnership between various levels of direct service providers and administrators in early childhood education, mental health, related training programs and other community service agencies. For the Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Collaborative, please contact Sue Greenwald at sue.greenwald@acgov.org or at (510) 875-2422. For the Community Services Collaborative, please contact Margie Gutierrez-Padilla at Padilla@bhcs.mail.co.alameda.ca.us or at (510) 777-2103.

Committee Members:

Projects:

Standards of Practice for Mental Health Services in Partnership with Early Care and Education in Alameda County. (628Kb) - Created by the Alameda County Early Childhood Mental Health Systems Group with support from Safe Passages, this document identifies and illustrates seven excellent standards of practice for all mental health services practitioners in Alameda County.

Policy Collaborative:

Development of an annual early childhood mental health symposium
Development of recommendations related to ECMH, including those generated by the symposium
Prioritization of recommendations and development of strategies for implementation
Development of a community report based on progress to date and next steps for implementation of strategies.

Community Services Collaborative:

Networking, collaboration and resource sharing
Outreach and recruitment: Inclusion of community service providers and agencies interested in early mental health needs of young children
Producing documents to aid service delivery efforts
Serving as a resource for training and technical assistance to build the ECMH system
Serving as an ad-hoc community advisory group impacting the lives of young children in Alameda County.
Serving as an advisory group to the Policy Collaborative (and vice versa).
Planning and adhering to policy consistent with the mission statement
Promote understanding and acceptance of mental health to promote overall well-being of young children.

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