Contact: Mary Stalker
Director of Communications, Research &
Development
518-690-4217 ext 22
mstalker@earlycareandlearning.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
3/19/13
Infant
Mental Health Summit spurs community work
(Albany, NY) Last month early
childhood professionals from across the state gathered in Albany at an Infant
Mental Health Summit. The event brought together a variety of
professionals who work with young children and their families. The idea was to
explore what could be done to stop children from falling into the cracks
between service systems. Conversations were had, connections were made, and now,
new partners are working together to
help young children.
The Summit, organized by Early Care
& Learning Council along with the New York State Council on Children and
Families, the New York State Office of Mental Health and the Bureau of Early
Intervention at the New York State Department of Health, brought together mental
health, early education and early intervention professionals. They were
challenged to work with colleagues from their own communities and invited to
apply for mini grants to fund implementation of their ideas.
Thirty two exceptional and innovative grant proposals were
submitted. With a funding limit of $17,000 only 13 could be selected. These
grants are funded by the NYS Council on Children and Families and managed by
the Early Care & Learning Council.
Evelyn Efinger, Infant
and Toddler Project Coordinator at the Early Care & Learning Council is
working with each of the grantees to track their work and evaluate the impact
of their projects. “This is all very exciting,” said Efinger. “The Infant Mental
Health Summit was the first step in developing a stronger network of early
childhood professionals. Participants were inspired by our presenters and went
back to their communities ready to act. Even with a small amount of seed money,
changes can be made to improve coordination among professionals and better
serve young children. We are going to able to collect and share the lessons
learned from these projects. What we learn will help us better serve all
children.”
The grant period runs through July
but the partnerships formed are sure to spur ongoing collaborative work. The
grantees are:
Westchester Community Opportunity
Program
2269 Saw Mill River Rd - Bldg #3
Elmsford, NY 12401
914-592-5600
$1500 grant
Project: Using a new screening
tool for early childhood trauma in multiple community locations
Cattaraugus Co Dept of Community
Services
1 Leo Moss Drive, Suite 4308
Olean, NY 13790
716-701-3315
$1000
grant
Project:
Form an Infancy Leadership Circle for Cattaraugus County
Summit Educational Resources
150 Stahl Rd
Getzville, NY 14610
716-629-3437
$1500
grant
Project:
Erie Co Infant Mental Health meetings/Infancy Leadership Circle
Child Care Council of Suffolk,
Inc
60 Calvert Ave
Commack, NY 11725
631-462-0303
$1500 grant
Project: Project: Form an Infancy Leadership Circle for Suffolk County
NY Center for Child Development
328 East 62nd St
New York, NY 10065
212-752-7575
$1500
grant
Project:
Engage institutions of Higher Education in the NYC area in dialogue regarding
cross disciplinary additions to standard professional preparation for the
fields of children’s health, mental health, early education, early intervention
and family support.
Bellevue Hospital/NYU School of
Medicine
462 First Ave, NB21S6
New York, NY 10016
212-562-3290
$500
grant
Project:
Expansion of mental health services and therapies in response to improved
referral mechanisms between Bellevue and All About Kids
Chemung County Child Care
Council, Inc
571 St Josephs Blvd, Suite 205
Elmira, NY 14901
607-734-3941
$1500
grant
Project:
Using Whole Child Check up (Tompkins county model) to strengthen connection
between mental health and overall health
Child Care Solutions
6724 Thompson RD
Syracuse, NY 13211
315-446-1220
$1500
grant
Project:
Create a system wide protocol for preventing expulsion from child care for
behavioral concerns including a mental health “red flags” checklist
Jewish Board of Family and Children
Services
2020 Coney Island Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11223
718-676-4310
$1500 grant
Project: Forge
an ongoing framework for collaboration between medical providers and mental
health providers in the Jewish Orthodox communities of Brooklyn
Child Care Council of Rockland, Inc
235 N Main St, Suite 11
Spring Valley, NY 10977
845-425-0009
$1500 grant
Project:
Series of training events for caregivers/ Family support providers/home
visitors and reinstitute the Rockland Better Baby care Campaign/Infancy
Leadership Circle
Thrive by 5
22 East Lake St
Skaneateles, NY 13152
315-440-5562
$500 grant
Project:
Through training, develop a closer working relationship between the major child
care programs in Cayuga county and the mental health and early intervention
systems
It’s About Childhood & Family
2610 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13205
315-807-7849
$1500 grant
Project: Train Child care providers, Early
Intervention providers and parents of Cortland county in the Nurtured Heart
Approach with the goal of bringing systems together with families
Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc
925 Hempstead Turnpike, Suite 400
Franklin Square, NY 11010
516-358-9250
Project:
Form an Infancy Leadership Circle for Nassau County
###
Early Care & Learning Council: For more than thirty-five years, the
Early Care & Learning Council has been a leading voice for early care and
education in New York State. With its statewide network of child care
resource and referral agencies, the Council has successfully fought for
increases in funding to support early childhood programs and for the reform of
child care laws, regulations and policies to improve safety and quality in
child care settings. The Council was a founder and convener of both the
Child Care that Works Campaign and Winning Beginning NY, both statewide
advocacy coalitions. The Council and partners work to increase the
quality, affordability and capacity of the early care and learning field and
does so through training and technical assistance, data management and advocacy
initiatives. For more information, please call (518) 690-4217 or visit www.earlycareandlearning.org.
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