TTAC is funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene through ThriveNYC
NYC Early Childhood Mental Health Network Newsletter
The NYC Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) is pleased to release its first newsletter! TTAC provides training and technical assistance to mental health professionals serving children 0-5 and their families as well as professionals working in New York City outpatient mental health clinics, Early Intervention, Universal Pre-K and ACS Early Learn sites and other child serving systems. These periodic newsletters will highlight the accomplishments of the Early Childhood Mental Health Network and will provide ECMH policy updates, training and technical assistance opportunities, resources and more. Learn more about TTAC at ttacny.org and email us at ttac.info@nyu.edu with any questions.
TTAC Highlights
1. Early Childhood Mental Health Network Celebrates Two Years of Accomplishments: On June 13th, we hosted a celebration luncheon to acknowledge the incredible work of the Network and to thank staff for their service. The luncheon was attended by 120 dedicated staff from the Network (clinicians, mental health consultants, family peer advocates, supervisors and directors), as well as staff from City Council funded Children Under Five mental health provider agencies, NYS Office of Mental Health and City agency partners (NYC Mayor’s Office, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, NYC Department of Education). Key accomplishments were shared through data and stories from the field.
- 1,628 families with children under five were served by the seven ECTCs through provision of specialized mental health services, and 1,462 families received family peer support services.
- 2,532 early care and education staff and caregivers at 76 ACS EarlyLearn sites received mental health consultation from ECTC staff.
- 1,197 mental health staff and early childhood allied professionals were trained by TTAC.
Learn more about TTAC, the celebration luncheon, and the Network's accomplishments here!
Andrew Cleek, Evelyn Blanck, Alexis Confer, Gary Belkin, Donna Bradbury, and Shirley Berger
2. Sensory Integration and Self-Regulation: Sensory Contributions to Young Children’s Social-Emotional Development: On June 13th, over 300 educators and clinicians from various service sectors in NYC attended a three-hour training on Sensory Processing Disorders provided by national expert and registered occupational therapist, Marie Anzalone, ScD, OTR, FAOTA. Dr. Anzalone reviewed the process of sensory integration that occurs in all people, and the individual differences in people’s preference for, or tolerance of, different types (and intensities) of stimuli. Later in the day, a smaller group of clinicians participated in case-based
learning on the contributions of sensory processing issues to their clients’ emotional and behavioral challenges, and intervention strategies for the children they see in clinics and classrooms.
Dr. Marie Anzalone
Training and Technical Assistance
1. Triple P – Positive Parenting Comes to the Network and Partners: One hundred New York City based early childhood practitioners serving families with children birth to five were trained in Triple P® – Positive Parenting Program. The training was funded by the NYC DOHMH and coordinated by TTAC. Training began in April and practitioners were accredited in June. Triple P is an evidence-based parenting program that shows excellent outcomes for families by reducing challenging behaviors and supporting parent-child relationships. We are excited that NYC has this new workforce capacity to offer a model that can positively support families and help young children thrive.
2. Soon to be Released Online Training Series on Social-Emotional Development: the New York City Bureau of Early Intervention (BEI) will soon release a free professional development series - Foundations of Social-Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers. The series of 3 e-learning modules, funded by ThriveNYC, will support Early Intervention professionals in understanding and supporting social-emotional development. This knowledge can be used to inform evaluations and interventions, and to ensure that children and their families receive the supports that they need. The training content was developed by Gilbert Foley, EdD, IMH-E® IV and Susan Chinitz, PsyD, on behalf of the New York Center for Child Development which runs the TTAC. Our thanks to Rochelle Macer, LCSW, IMH-E® (IV-P), Mental Health Liaison to Early Intervention within the Bureau of Children, Youth, and Families for her expertise and dedication to the development and production of the modules.
TTAC will send out an announcement as soon as the modules are released. Stay tuned for more information!
3. TTAC Trainings to Support Foster Parents and Agencies Serving Children Separated from Their Parents at the Border: On behalf of DOHMH and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, TTAC is providing ongoing training and support to the foster parents and agencies serving children separated from their parents at the border. Over 300 children were placed in New York City under the jurisdiction of the federal government, which contracts with nonprofit agencies to provide them with care. The separated children were placed in foster homes around New York City, and received education, recreation, and health care services in the daytime at the nonprofit agencies. While most of the children have been reunited with their parents, the need for staff trainings has continued. Trainings have focused on addressing trauma in young children, the impact of disrupted attachment on young children, strategies for addressing challenging behaviors, and self-care for staff who are working with the separated children as well as other unaccompanied minors. View the press release here.
4. TTAC Presents at the ACS Trauma Smart Family Child Care Conference: TTAC was pleased to present at the ACS Trauma Smart Family Child Care Conference on March 20th and June 18th on “Red Flags: What to Look for, When to be Concerned about a Child’s Social-Emotional Development, and How to Refer.” The workshops were conducted in English and Spanish by Dr. Ana M. Rodriguez, Dr. Rosa Vazquez and Dr. Elaine Liebman and attended by family child care providers. They focused on helping family child care providers recognize the signs and symptoms which may indicate red flags in social-emotional development and functioning as well as indications of trauma. The presenters highlighted how to address concerns with parents or caregivers and how and
where to make a referral to connect children and families to the services they need.
5. DOE Preschool Summit: "Positive Supports and Holistic Practices": On May 31, 2018, Dr. Ana M. Rodriguez conducted a workshop on Strategies for Recognizing and Supporting Young Children Impacted by Trauma at DOE’s 2018 Preschool Summit: Positive Supports and Holistic Practices. The session provided an introduction to trauma and its impact on young children's social-emotional development and attachment relationships. Participants discussed practical strategies for supporting children in the classroom who are struggling with the effects of trauma.
Policy Updates
1. First 1000 Days on Medicaid: New York State Medicaid launched a new initiative in 2017 to develop recommendations for how Medicaid could improve outcomes for the youngest New Yorkers, aged 0-3 years, sixty percent of whom are covered by Medicaid. A workgroup made up of pediatricians, early childhood experts, educators, and advocates focused on all aspects of children’s well-being, including health and development; parents and caregivers; housing; early education; child welfare; and
behavioral health. The workgroup developed a 10-point plan of actions that Medicaid should undertake to improve outcomes. The final Executive Budget approved a $1.45 million investment for 2018-2019, increasing to $5.8 Million for 2019-2020. Click here for more information.
2. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Convening: Exploring State Strategies to Finance Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment: New York State was selected as one of 10 states to participate in a 1-year ZERO TO THREE (ZTT) technical assistance opportunity. The NYS team attended a ZTT Policy Center convening in Minneapolis to help improve the mental health assessment and treatment of infants and toddlers, with an emphasis on strategies to finance these services in New York State. The NYS team is chaired by Donna Bradbury, MA, LMHC, Associate Commissioner, Division of Integrated Community Services for Children and Families, NYS OMH, and includes Kalin Scott, Director, Medicaid Redesign Team Project Management Office, NYS DOH, Office of Health Insurance Programs; Kate Breslin, MPH, MCRP, President & CEO Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy; Sarah Fitzgibbons, LMHC, MT-BC, IMH-E®, (Mentor-Clinical), Clinical Director, The Society for the Protection and Care of Children (SPCC); and Evelyn Blanck, LCSW, Associate Executive Director, NY Center for Child Development (NYCCD) (who is also the Director of the TTAC). The NYS team is developing an action plan and will work with a ZTT technical assistance specialist to advance key goals in NYS.
3. Advancing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) Across New York State: In 2017, the New York State Council on Children and Families, was awarded a technical assistance opportunity through the SAMHSA’s IECMHC Center of Excellence to advance IECMHC systems and policies in the State. The focus is on IECMHC in early care and education. Evelyn Blanck, Director of the TTAC and Dr. Shirley Berger from the Bureau of Children, Youth, and Families at DOHMH are on this
workgroup. Dr. Amy Hunter from Georgetown University is our TA Specialist.
IECMHC is an evidence-informed prevention intervention that develops and strengthens the skills and abilities of caregivers to promote and improve young children’s social and emotional well-being in the context of safe, secure and healthy relationships. Over 3 years, the workgroup will shape New York State’s IECMHC vision, goals and plan. An important source of information is the experience of the NYC ECMH Network in providing mental health consultation at EarlyLearn sites. A particular interest of the group is to learn innovative ways of funding IECMHC in early care settings. There are important synergies between this work and the 1,000 Days on Medicaid proposal to explore opportunities to use braided funding to support IECMHC.
4. Maternal Mental Health Matters: Perinatal depression is a term for range of depressive conditions experienced by a pregnant woman or mother with a young child. Eleven percent of infants living in poverty have a mother suffering from severe depression. [i] The evidence is clear that depression among pregnant women and mothers of young children has significant negative consequences for infants and young children and their families.
The state is well-positioned to advance maternal depression screening, referral, and treatment with many policies and initiatives already in place. In January 2018, Governor Cuomo released his Report on the Status of New York Women and Girls, which included recommendations to improve screening and treatment for maternal depression. That report was followed by the launch of a plan to combat maternal depression that includes investments by many state agencies. Other initiatives include work by the Early Childhood Advisory Council and the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Impact Initiative (ECCS) being undertaken by the Council on Children and Families. New York State Senator Liz Krueger has made maternal depression a signature issue, championing legislation to improve access to treatment. NYS Medicaid’s First 1,000 Days initiative and movement to value-based payment for children and adolescents’ services include opportunities to strengthen maternal depression identification and treatment. Health systems, provider groups and community
[i] Tracy Veriker, Jennifer Macomber, and Olivia Golden, Infants of Depressed Mothers Living in Poverty: Opportunities to Identify and Serve, The Urban Institute, 2010, http://www.urban.org.
Network News
1. From OHEL Children's Home and Family Services:
- New OHEL Jaffa Family Campus in Flatbush: OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services has moved into the expansive new OHEL Jaffa
Family Campus in Flatbush on Avenue M and East 14thStreet after 48 years of being based in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
- Deborah Fung, OHEL ECMH consultant, has been invited to present at the American Art Therapy Association’s Annual Conference, which will take place in November in Miami, Florida. She is presenting on the topic of “Satellite Children,” children who are raised in their formative years apart from their parents, as is a common custom in many immigrant communities. Deborah has a lot of experience working with this population in the Chinese community through her work as a mental health consultant in many of our early learn sites. The long term consequences of this practice are not yet fully known, but many of these children have trauma symptoms and
attachment issues. Deborah will talk about the art therapy based interventions she has done with these children, and how she has used a data from the DECA to measure outcomes. For more information, visit the conference web page here.
2. Early Childhood Mental Health Clinics Selected to Receive Support Towards Endorsement: New York State is addressing the need for more specialist Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (I-ECMH) professionals. Recently the Office of Mental Health (OMH) funded the New York State Association for Infant Mental Health (NYS-AIMH) to provide two-year organizational membership for 50 licensed Article 31 mental health clinics in all regions of the state. NYC is fortunate to have 20 Article 31 mental health clinics that serve young children selected to receive these memberships!
NYS-AIMH offers an Endorsement in Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Infant Mental Health® to professionals whose work enhances the relational, emotional and cognitive development of 0-5 year olds in their family context. This process uses a nationally recognized set of standards and competencies that define best practice and guide professional development across disciplines.
Information about the NYS-AIMH Endorsement® and competencies can be found here.
Resources
Resources from the Center for Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: The Center of Excellence has recently developed a variety of new resources to support Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, including resources related to maternal depression and supporting home visiting programs. Highlights include:
Visit our website, TTACNY.org, for more resources including presentation slides from past events! Please email us at ttac.info@nyu.edu with any questions.