A Focus on Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health

September 2024

Establishing & Supporting Adult Relationships at the Start of the School Year 

This newsletter focuses on sharing information on infant/early childhood mental health and the importance of relationship-based approaches and supports that help infants and young children feel safe, supported, and valued by the adults around them. The newsletter, and the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) program, is made possible by a partnership between the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Key.

Welcome

Welcome to a new school year! September brings the excitement of new beginnings as children enter new classrooms, with new teachers, new peers, and new experiences. These new experiences bring new relationships with colleagues, families, and children.

This edition emphasizes the importance of fostering new relationships, particularly focusing on significant partnerships that support and benefit young children’s learning. It aligns with Dr. James Comer’s statement that “no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship”. The collaborative relationships between the important adults in a child’s life allows for children to learn how to interact with peers and adults, how to communicate effectively to have needs met, how to problem solve, and much more!  In early childhood, learning is more than academics.

We wish you a great start to a new school year and lots of fun as you build those long-lasting relationships!

Coming in October: Establishing and Supporting Teacher

and Child Relationships & Peer to Peer Relationships

Did You Know?

As mentioned in last month’s edition, secondary traumatic stress or in other words compassion fatigue can impact those who work with traumatized children and their families. Learn more here on the potential impact it has on you as a caring and dedicated child-serving professional.

Secondary Traumatic Stress-A Fact Sheet for Child-Serving Professionals (NCTSN)

Assisting Parents/Caregivers in Coping with Collective Traumas. Many have experienced a multitude of collective traumas and stressors that may feel overwhelming. Here are some strategies to help you cope.

Your mental health matters and it is a fundamental part of your overall health and well-being. Taking steps to improve mental health can look different for everyone. There are options to help you. You are not alone.

Supports and referral helplines in Pennsylvania:

• PA Support & Referral Helpline: Call 1-855-284-2494, or TTY 724-631-5600
• 988: Call, text, or chat with 988 for free, 24/7/mental health crisis support. 988 counselors can provide therapeutic interventions, make referrals , and activate mobile mental health teams.
• Crisis Text Line: Text PA to 741-741 for mental health crisis support.
• Contact Helpline: Call 88-932-4616 for free , anonymous, confidential listening services.

Your Relationship With Yourself

Taking Care of Yourself. Nurture the most important bond, your relationship with yourself. Schedule time for self-care each day, even if just for a couple of minutes!

Pause- Reset-Nourish to Promote Wellbeing. Just like you would take a medication PRN, or as needed, to address unwanted symptoms, you can Pause-Reset- Nourish to help replenish yourself when needed. These practices can help to reset and rebalance your nervous systems and can be done frequently throughout each day in just a few minutes.

Nefertiti’s tips to nurture your own resilience. Watch inspirational and educational videos from Devereux Center for Resilient Children Early Childhood Specialist and National Trainer Nefertiti B. Poyner, Ed.D.

June 2021 Self-Care for Teachers (Past Newsletter).

Teacher-to-Teacher Relationships

Guide to Improving Teacher-to-Teacher Consistency. When children hear and see the same expectations from all adults, they are better prepared to engage in learning. When adults work as a team to coordinate tasks, interact respectfully, and solve problems, children learn by example. Supportive partnerships also help to reduce teacher stress and increase job satisfaction.

Classroom Collaboration Workstyle Discussion Guide. This tool is for practitioners working in a classroom to begin to open communication about how they are best able to work as a collaborative team. Differences in responses provide an opportunity to communicate and identify the best way to ensure classroom staff are working collaboratively so that classroom practices are implemented effectively and reliably (French, 2002).

Zoning to Maximize Learning 3:41. Zoning is an effective practice to help teachers manage staff. This practice can also be used to create well-organized classrooms. Learn how zoning can increase children’s engagement and Learning.

September 2021 Effective Leadership and Workforce (Past newsletter)

ECE Staff and Family Relationships

Communicating with Families: Helpful Suggestions. It’s important for early childhood personnel to use a variety of strategies to communicate with families and to offer opportunities for families to share information about themselves and the child.

Culturally Responsive Practices to Collaborate with Families. Family-teacher collaboration is an essential element in providing high-quality early childhood education. This brief provides professionals with practical strategies for building relationships and collaborating with families from racially and ethnically diverse cultural backgrounds.

20 Tips for Developing Positive Relationships with Parents. Twenty tips to help teachers better connect with parents and families.

November 2021 Newsletter - Promoting Positive Family Partnerships. (Past Newsletter) 

Bridging School to Home

Teacher's Guide: Relationship-Building with Families. This resource describes how family-teacher partnerships can benefit children and provides tips for building relationships with families including the use of handouts to learn about each other - “All about Myself” and All about My Family”.

Family/child conferences: Connecting with Families. Family/child conferences are a time to connect with families to discuss children’s overall progress and well being.

“It allows time to celebrate how truly special the child is!”

The Backpack Connection Series. Family Engagement. These one-page hand-outs, available in a multiple of languages, provide a way for teachers and parents/caregivers to work together to help young children develop social emotional skills and reduce challenging behavior.

Checklist of Effective Family Partnership Practices. The checklist can help programs reflect on the classroom team’s relationships and communication with the families that they are working with.

Office Hours

IECMH Consultation helps adults strengthen their relationships with young children and build capacity to respond to children’s social-emotional needs. IECMHC can help reduce caregiver stress, as well as increase caregivers’ reflective practice skills.

IECMH Consultants are available by appointment to provide IECMHC Virtual Office Hours consultation via telephone or video conference. IECMHC Virtual Office Hours is a short-term, collaborative, problem-solving conversation to help you find next steps for: Child Social-Emotional Concerns | Child Behavioral or Developmental Concerns Emotional Well-being of Teachers and Caregivers | Partnering with Families.

Appointments are held on the first and third Fridays of the month, or other days/times by request. Get more info.

Accessing IECMHC Services

The Pennsylvania Key has streamlined the process for Keystone STARS programs to request Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC). Child care providers can request services by using the Request for Service Form (PDF). Completed forms can be submitted via email PAIECMH@pakeys.org or faxed to 717-213-3749.

Programs and families can contact the program leadership directly at PAIECMH@pakeys.org with questions or concerns.

Accessing SACCMHC Services

With the generous support of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) the Pennsylvania Key IECMH Consultation team has expanded to include four mental Health consultants to support School Age Child Care (SACC) programs participating in Keystone STARS.  This service is primarily tele-consultation support. Click here to request support.  

Share your feedback! We'd like to hear what you think about infant early childhood mental health.

Are there resources you'd like to see? Questions you have? Tell us! Send your feedback to PAIECMH@pakeys.org.