Indiana Association for Infant and Toddler Mental Health (IAITMH)

Summer 2004 Update

Interest in Infant Mental Health is growing at the state level as evidence by several activities. IAITMH Board members are collaborating with participants from Head Start, FSSA, medical personnel, community mental health centers, Healthy Families, and others who support young children in the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Project. The ECCS Project is funded through a grant obtained by the Indiana State Department of Health through the Maternal Child Health Bureau. The grant provides funding to plan and implement a more comprehensive and coordinated system of services for young children. The grant has five components, which include medical home, early care and education, mental health, family support, and parent education. IAITMH Chair person Angela Tomlin, Ph.D. is serving as the chair of the Mental Health Committee. Board members Lynne Sturm, Ph.D., Azar Hadadian, Ph.D., and Darlene Logan are also committee members. Former chair person Steve Viehweg, ACSW, LCSW is involved in the project as a staff person. The Mental Health Committee has been working to identify key indicators of early childhood mental health along with issues of concerns. This information will be used to formulate the plan of action, which will be implemented in 2008 at the county level.

Early Intervention service coordinators will benefit from the work of the Infant Mental Health Task Force through training opportunities later this summer. Task Force members have been invited to participate in required training for service coordinators at 6 regional sites across the state. The training will help service coordinators understand infant mental health, recognize red flags for families in need of help, and know how to make referrals to mental health professionals.