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Legislation as a Strategy to Advance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: An Exploration of the Current Landscape
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) is a preventative and collaboration-based approach that focuses on building the capacity of caregivers, early childhood providers, and programs to support the social-emotional development of young children. Research has documented positive effects of IECMHC services on a number of child, provider, and program outcomes. For example, evaluations of statewide IECMHC programs have found gains in children's social-emotional skills and reductions in behaviors adults identify as challenging. Further, IECMHC has been associated with lower rates of suspension and expulsion.
During the past 10 to 15 years, many states have engaged in efforts to expand IECMHC services; however, most experience challenges in identifying sufficient and sustainable funding. With recent threats to many federal funding streams, particularly those addressing early childhood mental health, states are being called upon to play an even bigger role in supporting access to care, including IECMHC services. In this context, it is important to illustrate different pathways to finance and sustain services at state and local levels. This brief highlights one particular strategy: enacting legislation to develop, expand, and fund high quality and accessible IECMHC.
This brief provides an overview of the IECMHC legislation landscape, including examples of the types of bills that states have passed, and common themes and trends. The brief includes selected state profiles and detailed summaries of all bills. For those exploring legislation as an avenue for advancing IECMHC efforts, we share some of the potential benefits and challenges associated with IECMHC legislation and a worksheet for collaborative action planning. Data in this brief was obtained through a national scan and informant interviews.
Suggested citation:
Oppenheim, J., Palomino, C., & Meek, S. (2025, October). Legislation as a Strategy to Advance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: An Exploration of the Current Landscape. The Children’s Equity Project. Arizona State University. https://cep.asu.edu/resources/LegislationasaStrategytoAdvanceIECMHC.