The Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego (RCHSD) is proposing the PATT project, which will improve the outcomes for children ages 0-5 and their families and expectant mothers using a trauma-informed, multi-tiered approach that includes the provision of direct clinical services while also improving the capacity of the infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) workforce through specialized and general training and consultation to child and family serving professionals across San Diego County. The PATT project will coordinate closely across service systems to serve children ages 0-5 and their families and expectant mothers from a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds who have been exposed to traumatic events, such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, exposure to domestic violence, and medical trauma. Specifically, treatment services will target children under age 5 with needs at the moderate to severe end of the mental health (MH) spectrum. Beyond direct clinical services, the PATT Project will support the building of work force knowledge, capability, and capacity in infant and early childhood MH throughout San Diego County.
The PATT Project will accomplish the following six goals: (1) Provide specialized training for therapists on evidence-based practices specifically designed to support the social-emotional and trauma-related needs of infants and children ages 0-5 and perinatal mental health across San Diego County; (2) Provide specialized training for clinicians and supervisors on infant and early childhood mental health competencies; (3) Incorporate screening, assessment, and intervention practices designed to identify and support young children ages 0-5 and their caregivers in accessing the identified evidence-based practices with the priority age group of infants ages 0-2; (4) Create opportunities for infant & early childhood and education (ECE) providers, such as early intervention specialists & primary care providers, to develop greater expertise and knowledge in infant & early childhood MH that will result in increased screening & referrals from Primary Care Clinicians; (5) Implement a programmatic mental health consultation model to build capacities of ECE providers to improve their ability to identify, treat, and mitigate the impact of mental health problems among young children who have experienced trauma, and; (6) Develop and implement a strategic plan to sustain PATT program services beyond the funding period, ensuring that the training and services continue long into the future.
A total of 90 unduplicated children and caregivers will be served through grant funds during the first year of the project, with that number increasing to 120 annually for a total of 570 children and caregivers receiving clinical services throughout the duration of the project. A total of 25 individuals will be trained during the first year of the project, with that number increasing up to 250 individuals annually, for a total of 1075 individuals receiving training throughout the duration of the project.