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Infant & Todder Mental Health

Infant & Toddler Mental Health Consulting

“Providing social and emotional support through quality care.”

What is Infant and Toddler Mental Health Consultation

Infant & Toddler Mental Health Consultation strives to:

  • Improve children’s social and emotional functioning

  • Reduce challenging behaviors

  • Address the prevalence of suspensions and expulsions of children of color

What makes this project unique is an intentional focus on caregivers who are caring for children up to 36 months of age. This is not therapy or a direct service to the child, but rather a partnership with adult caregivers to support the mental health and development of the children they serve.

What Are Infant & Toddler Mental Health Consultants?

Infant & Toddler Mental Health Consultants (ITMHC) build a supportive partnership with adult caregivers to bolster their care of infants and toddlers. By definition, the goal of mental health consultation is to improve “the ability of staff, families, programs, and systems to prevent, identify, treat, and reduce the impact of mental health problems” among young children (Cohen and Kaufmann, 2005).

The project focuses on children 0-3 years of age and follows principles of mental health consultation identified by Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development:

  • Relationship-based

  • Collaborative

  • Culturally and linguistically responsive 

  • Individualized

  • Evidence-informed

  • Grounded in developmental knowledge

  • Data-driven

  • Delivered in natural settings

  • Spans the continuum from promotion through intervention

  • Integrated with community supports

Our Infant & Toddler Mental Health Consultants will partner with child care professionals to problem solve and enhance their skills to support the social, emotional, and behavioral health and the development of the infants and toddlers in their care.

Do You Want to Take Advantage of this Free Service?

Are you having problems or have concerns with children in your care? Would you like to have one of our Infant Toddler Mental Health Consultants visit your establishment to help with any problems or concern you may have? Fill out this form and one of our Infant Toddler Mental Health Consultants will be in contact.

Consultation Services:

The Central New York Infant & Toddler Mental Health Consultant team provides a broad range of services (free of charge) that focus on supporting the relationship between children, ages 0-36 months, and the caregivers in their lives, such as: 

  • Consultation that reflects and respects the philosophy of early childhood mental health consultation practices, that is culturally responsive to the child, caregiver, and the early care and education setting

  • Support for infant and toddler staff with classroom management strategies to promote the social-emotional development for infants and toddlers in their care

  • Guidance on the use of developmental, social, and emotional screening tools

  • Support for infant and toddler staff in creating a pro-social learning environment, that is emotionally safe, responsive, and growth-promoting by co-developing and implementing classroom plans, specially designed for each classroom

  • Assessment of the strengths and challenges within the infant and toddler setting/environment, as well as teacher/child care professional practice

  • Connection to resources for social and emotional learning in early care and education environments

Our ITMHC team is available and eager to work with you in person, online using Zoom, over the phone, or through email! 

Contact Nicole Cole at nicolec@childcaresolutionscny.org for more information.