Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project
ZERO TO THREE launched the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project (IECMH-FPP) in 2016 with support from the Irving Harris Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Alliance for Early Success, and University of Minnesota.
The purpose of this project is to support states’ advancement of IECMH policies that will contribute to the healthy development of young children. The first cohort of states participating in the IECMH-FPP include Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Virginia. The second cohort was launched in May 2018. States participating include Alabama, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Over the span of the project, Cohorts 1 and 2, along with mentor state Minnesota, have grown into an engaged learning collaborative which ZERO TO THREE continues to host and facilitate.
ZERO TO THREE Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Vignettes
Alabama, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington, DC are just a sample of the Cohort 2 states (and 1 district) that have designed and successfully moved IECMH policy.
- Alabama: Harnessing Every Opportunity to Expand Critical Components of the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health System of Care
- New Mexico: A Steady Drumbeat Provides a Perfect Overture to Advance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
- South Carolina: Workforce Awareness and Development are Necessary First Steps Toward Growing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services
- Tennessee: Dozens of Stakeholders Work Together to Bring Attention to Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing
- Washington, DC: A Methodological Approach to Assessing Opportunities and Gaps Provides a Baseline for Next Steps
Cohort 1 states have also made great progress in advancing IECMH policy. Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Oregon are just a handful of the Cohort 1 states that have advanced IECMH assessment, diagnosis, and treatment policies.
- Alaska: Statewide Economic Challenges and High ACEs Rates Open the Door for Consideration of IECMH Coverage in the State’s Medicaid Waiver Application
- Colorado: Capitated Financing Allows for More Flexibility to Focus on Mental Health Prevention
- Massachusetts: An Inside-Outside Strategy to Put Early Childhood Mental Health First
- Minnesota: A Commitment to Both Strategic and Serendipitous Opportunities to Build an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health System of Care
- Oregon: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health is Recognized as a Reimbursable Treatment
Additional IECMH-FPP Resources
Advancing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy in States: Stories from the Field
ZERO TO THREE Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Convening Report
