In this issue:

• Check Your Email (Conference)
• 2027 Membership is Open
• Voices From the Field
• In Case You Missed It
• Endorsement® News
• HMHC News
• Pyramid Model News
• WI-AIMH Celebrates...
• Community News & Events

If you registered for conference, you should've received an email titled "Get Ready for Conference!" (pictured below.) The conference emails will include everything you need to prepare for conference from check-in times & location, session handouts, passwords and more! So, check your email, and make sure you don't miss a thing! There will be a final email a week before conference.

IMPORTANT NOTICES INCLUDE:

1. Early Conference Check-in:

Monday October 26th, 5:00-6:30 PM

2. Check-in on Tuesday, October 27th 

8:00-9:30 AM

3. Photo Notice: Pictures/videos will be taken throughout conference please notify staff at check-in if you DO NOT want to be recorded.

Find general updates and details about conference at wiaimh.org/conference.

For conference registrants, sign into the Conference Connection page using the password received in your confirmation email, or the "Get Ready for Conference" email.

Attending conference? Scan the QR code to register for the Policy Breakfast.

If you're not attending, but are interested in being part of the policy conversation, please
sign up for the interest form here!

Share Memories, Well Wishes

for WI-AIMH's 25th Anniversary!

Click this link, and wish WI-AIMH a "Happy 25th Anniversary!"

Say it with pictures, words, a GIF, video or voice note. Get as creative as you like!

New to WI-AIMH, or ready to reconnect with our community? We're glad to welcome you!

If you're not a current 2026 WI-AIMH member, you can join now to jumpstart your 2027 membership, and receive the remainder of this year for FREE! Your membership will begin when you register and continue through December 31, 2027. (Already have a current 2026 membership? You’re all set! You won’t need to renew until 2027.)

We're still offering traditional membership registrations:

• Individual Membership – $60
• Group Membership – $45 per person
  Available to groups of four or more registering together.

We've also added more flexible membership options for 2027:

• Reduced-Cost Membership – $30
  Available to full-time students and anyone for whom the standard membership fee would create a financial barrier. No documentation is required.
• Sustaining Membership – $100 
  Includes the same benefits as an Individual Membership, with an additional contribution that helps WI-AIMH keep membership accessible, offer reduced-cost memberships and create opportunities for connection across Wisconsin.

WI-AIMH membership connects you with a statewide community of professionals committed to infants, young children and families. Members also receive reduced registration rates for our highly-rated annual conference, professional development and other events throughout the year. Your WI-AIMH membership also fulfills a requirement for IECMH Endorsement®. In 2026, WI-AIMH members had the opportunity to save up to $205 on registration fees for WI-AIMH events and offerings. Join today and save!

Community Health Worker, Certified Peer Specialist, Certified Parent Peer Specialist, Certified Recovery Coach

What led you to this field? I didn't choose this field, it chose me. Years of navigating broken systems as a parent, a person with lived experience, and someone who kept being told "that's just how it works" turned into a calling. I became a Community Health Worker, Peer Specialist, and Recovery Coach because I know what it feels like to need a bridge that doesn't exist. So I started building one.

What is something meaningful you are working on right now? I'm developing "Lessons Through Laundry," a presentation series that uses laundry as a metaphor for systemic failure and resilience. I've brought it to physicians, social workers, housing professionals, and most recently co-presented at the Wisconsin Autism Society Conference with an autistic adult advocate. I'm also founding Building Bridges Over Broken Systems, turning lived experience into systemic change.

What does being part of WI-AIMH mean to you? It means being in a space where infant and early childhood mental health is taken seriously, where the relational foundation of wellbeing is centered, not an afterthought. As someone who works at the intersection of peer support, advocacy, and family systems, WI-AIMH represents the kind of cross-disciplinary community that actually takes action.

We’re excited to highlight the diverse and impactful work of WI-AIMH members across the state. If you’d like to be featured in a future newsletter, please share a bit about your work here.

Final 2026 Deadline

Healthy Minds Healthy Children

WI-AIMH’s Consultant Institute: Reflection, Relationships and Rejuvenation, held virtually on August 4th was a big success! Forty-five IECMH consultants and clinicians came together for a day of reflection, rejuvenation and connection! We are grateful to our keynote speaker, Aditi Subramaniam, who guided the group in exploring somatic awareness and embodiment practices in our work.

Check out the infographic for more data about who attended, what participants found most useful and what strategies participants plan to use in their work moving forward!

Holding the People Who Hold the Baby

Every baby deserves steady, responsive relationships, including babies and toddlers whose families are involved with child welfare. This free national webinar looks at what infant and early childhood mental health consultation looks like inside child welfare, and how it supports the people who hold the baby. Read more...

Speakers include former WI-AIMH staff member and 2026 conference presenter Golshan Motamedi of Children's Wisconsin, in addition to Monica McDonough of Arizona's Department of Child Safety, Molly Murphy Garwood and Neal Horen.

Thursday, October 22nd | 1 PM to 2 PM EST | Virtual/Zoom

Do you provide infant and early childhood mental health consultation or clinical services in Wisconsin? 

Apply to join the Encouraging Little Minds (ELM) Directory, Wisconsin’s public directory of IECMH consultants and clinicians. Your profile can increase the visibility of your services, help families and professionals find qualified support, and strengthen connections across Wisconsin’s IECMH workforce. 

Ready to learn more? Visit EncouragingLittleMinds.org to review eligibility and begin the application process. Review the IECMH Membership Application Guide for step-by-step support in applying for membership, including signing up for a FREE Wisconsin Registry account. 



Need help with the application process?
Contact the ELM team at support@encouraginglittleminds.org. 



Help grow the directory and make Wisconsin’s IECMH consultation and clinical expertise easier to find. 

In August, the Wisconsin Pyramid Model facilitated Leadership Team Launch Cohort 24, hosted in Northwest and Southern Wisconsin! We are so pleased and excited to welcome these six new programs to Wisconsin's Pyramid Model program-wide implementation sites.  

Congratulations and thank you for your reflective work together: 

• Waukesha County Technical College Child Development Center
• Tiny Green Trees Nature Based Child Care Center and Forest School
• Gan Ami Early Childhood Education
• Creative Learning Preschool and Child Care Center
• Western Dairyland Head Start: Eau Claire site
• Western Dairyland Head Start: Truax site

Also, welcome to 24 new practitioner coaches to Wisconsin programs after completing either TPOT or TPITOS reliability training! Practitioners in Wisconsin are lucky to have you for your collaboration, connection, and guidance in implementing Pyramid Model in your classrooms. 

Is your team feeling ready to train someone from your program or community to help develop Individualized Interventions? Let us know, and we'll try to schedule either a Fall or Spring Pyramid Model Individualized Interventions training in your area.  



Letting us know early will help us prioritize your location for training. Email pyramidmodel@wiaimh.org and we'll get back to you!  

This event will train facilitators to use the NCPMI Positive Solutions for Families content. Facilitators will use the materials with families of preschools to promote understanding and use positive behavior support that enhances social and emotional competence in their children.

WHEN: Tuesday & Wednesday, November 3rd & 4th (Both days from 8:30 AM to 3:30PM)

WHERE: Gan Hayeled Preschool, 6434 Enterprise Lane, Madison, WI

COST: $110 (see your community coordinator to learn if your community has a discount code) 

REGISTRATION:  https://form.jotform.com/232156276659162

See the website for more info: https://wiaimh.org/upcoming-training-refresher 

WI-AIMH Celebrates...

WI-AIMH is proud to participate in Celebrate Babies Week 2026, honoring babies, young children, families, caregivers and the professionals who support them. Early relationships are the foundation for lifelong social, emotional and developmental well-being, and every baby deserves the opportunity to feel safe, loved and supported. WI-AIMH has successfully requested, from Governor Tony Evers, a proclamation recognizing Celebrate Babies Week in Wisconsin and raising awareness of the importance of babies’ earliest years.

You can celebrate by sharing a baby photo or story, thanking a caregiver or early childhood professional, hosting a conversation about infant mental health, or advocating for policies that support babies and families. Together, we can help every baby get the strong start they deserve!

Learn more at celebratebabiesweek.org. You can also join WI-AIMH in celebrating next week by sharing one of the poems below any day during Celebrate Babies Week (Oct. 19-23)! Just be sure to tag us in your post!

Join us in celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month, ADHD Awareness Month and the belated Indigenous People's Day, October 12th. Click on the images below to learn more.

Community News & Events

Don't Miss the Last Two Trainings of 2026!

Join Thriving Wisconsin and the Child Care Resource and Referral Network to learn about programs, partnerships and resources that strengthen Wisconsin's early childhood system and support children, families and child care providers.

Wednesday (Today!), October 14, 2026

1:00 - 2:00 PM

Virtual

Check out the flyer (linked below) for additional details about the Wisconsin Early Childhood Partner Spotlight Series, including useful resources, registration information and the last training of the year: WI-AIMH's own Sarah Bruhn will be presenting in December on all things Endorsement®. 



Learn more: canva.link/95xfqna9ncz6zis

Ending on a whimsical note... In the season of sweater weather and longer nights, here's a bright take on autumn that has gifted us lattes, pies, soups, seeds and self-made lanterns. Discover the secret life of pumpkin and its everlasting popularity in this blog post titled, Magical Symbolism of the Pumpkin Through History and Fairy Tales: "From the life-giving sustenance it provided to ancient peoples to its role as a magical catalyst in stories like Cinderella, the pumpkin embodies transformation, protection and the beauty of fleeting moments."

Share with us YOUR favorite pumpkin or fall photos through email or tagging us on social media, and we'll feature them in our November Newsletter!

Photo Credit: sourced from The Midnight Pumpkin Blog

Connect with WI-AIMH on your favorite social media accounts!

Contact: info@wiaimh.org | (608) 563-9714 | www.wiaimh.org