FY 2018 Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Grant Program - Founded in 1977, El Centro de Amistad provides mental health care for those in the San Fernando Valley most likely to experience difficulty in accessing mental health services. This project will serve infants and children from ages 0 to 12 who are at risk for, show early signs of, or have been diagnosed with a mental illness, including a serious emotional disturbance, as well as their caregivers. Our project will focus on low-income children, particularly those from Spanish-speaking households. The project will improve outcomes fro these children by developing, maintaining, or enhancing infant and early childhood mental health promotion, intervention and treatment services; providing multi-generational services for their caregivers; and developing the workforce by training educators, clinicians, and other community agencies that serve this population.
The proposed project have two goals: 1) Improve outcomes fro low-income infants and children, particularly those who have experienced trauma, and who are at significant risk of developing, showing early signs of, or having been diagnosed with, a mental illness through screening, early intervention, and caregiver support; and 2) Increase the capacity of educators, clinicians, schools, and community agencies to understand and address early social and emotional development and trauma's impact on development,
The project's measurable objectives are:
1. By the time services are terminated, 90% of children who participate in services until a planned discharge will demonstrate an increase in verbal communication skills and a decrease in disruptive behavior.
2.By the time services are terminated, 90% of caregivers who participate in services until a planned discharge will have learned at least 3 new skills to effectively parent their child.
3. By the time services are terminated, 90% of caregivers who participate in services until a planned discharge will have identified at least 3 key ideas of positive and nurturing discipline.
4. Within 12 months of receiving the grant award, ECDA will train a minimum of 50 ECDA staff on topics related to early social and emotional development, trauma's impact on development, and early childhood social, emotional, and mental health disorders.
5. By the end of the five year project, ECDA staff will have conducted trainings for 800 early childhood and elementary educators and 800 mental health clinicians on early social and emotional development, developmental milestones, and trauma's impact on development.
6. By the end of the five year project, ECDA staff will have increased 60 consulting entities' understanding of early social and emotional development, developmental milestones, and childhood trauma's impact on development.
Unduplicated numbers served:
a. 3 Child Therapists will each serve 20 clients annually, providing services once weekly for 60 minutes, for a total of 60 clients served annually and 300 clients served over a five year period.
b. Child Therapists will also provide services to client caregivers as necessary, for a total of 40 to 80 caregivers served annually and 200 to 400 over a five year period.
c. ECDA staff will conduct 4 complete trainings for mental health clinicians annually. Trainings will be offered as a three part series one module each month. 40 clinicians will participate in each training, for a total of 160 clinicians a year and 800 over five years.
d. ECDA staff will conduct 4 complete trainings for early childhood and elementary educators per year, with 40 educators participating per training. The training component will serve 160 educators annually and 800 educators over 5 years.
e. ECDA staff will provide 60 minutes per week of consulting services for one agency per month, for a total of 12 agencies served per year and 60 agencies over 5 years.
