New York Awards Funds to Expand Mental Health Services for Young Children

HealthySteps sites embed a child development professional into primary care practices to support healthy early childhood development and parenting for children aged birth to five and their families. During regular well-child visits, specialists offer screening and information to the family related to common and complex concerns that physicians often lack time to address, such as feeding, behavior, sleep, maternal depression, attachment, social determinants of health, and adapting to life with a baby or young child. They also connect families to community resources when additional services are necessary. The health centers receiving funding under this award include hospital-based clinics, federally qualified health centers, community health centers, and private practices that serve high-need communities in rural and urban areas of the state. Over the next three years, it is estimated that they will engage approximately 6,000 families in HealthySteps. Read the governor’s press release here.