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KAIMH Connections
Resources for Early Childhood Mental Health Advocates
Updates | July 2024
Highlights in this newsletter include information about the KDHE Newborn Screening and Surveillance program, KanCare updates, new endorsees, Words Matter campaign, professional development to support your IMH-Endorsement and more!
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Newborn Screening and Surveillance program aims to identify at-risk infants through newborn screening and monitoring. Early detection is important for treating these conditions, preventing health complications from developing, and improving the lives of children. Screening is free and available to all families and infants in Kansas to improve equitable access to information, services, and support for newborns, mothers, and families. The newborn screening system relies on health care professionals and educators to inform parents about newborn screening and its benefits. KDHE has developed Parent Conversation Talking Points to help guide these discussions with parents.
CLASS® and Conscious Discipline
When Head Start reopened classrooms in 2023, Office of Head Start announced the reinstitution of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) reporting tool in all Head Start agencies. CLASS is a teaching quality assessment tool that places emphasis on relationship building between teacher and student. The health of these relationships is commonly understood to be an indicator of a solid foundation for learning. An article published by Teachstone looked at the compatibility of CLASS with other curricula. Conscious Discipline was the only SEL-centered approach mentioned in Teachstone’s list.
Conscious Discipline is a trauma-informed, adult-first practice that embraces the brain science knowledge that children can only regulate if the adults with them are regulated. Conscious Discipline in early childhood fosters connection and co-regulation between teacher and student, and strategies to access the executive brain state from which higher-order skills, such as learning, are accessible.
Conscious Discipline Resources for Early Education
Implementation Tools
KanCare Updates
Kansas Action for Children has been keeping a close eye on the unwinding process for KanCare and the impact on Kansas children and families. In a recent update they shared that 196,153 Kansas children have had their KanCare coverage renewed; 35,305 have been determined to be no longer eligible for coverage; and 7,021 children have had their coverage discontinued because paperwork didn’t make it back to the state in time. The good news is that there is still time for the renewal form to be submitted without needing to reapply for coverage.
KAC states, “It is unacceptable that it should be this hard to access coverage, especially for children. This unwinding process has shown there is much work the state must do to ensure every eligible child can get — and keep — the health care coverage they need to grow up healthy.” One solution they are suggesting would be to implement a multi-year continuous eligibility for young children.
Professionals working in the early care and education field can help during this transition by reaching out to parents/guardians and reminding them to look for and return the renewal forms. Health insurance coverage is critical for the mental and physical well-being of our Kansas children!
Congratulations to our newest Infant Mental Health Endorsees!
Jeanette Schwartz, IMH-E®
Jeanette says, "I have been working as an early interventionist over the span of 28 years and now coach parents, and especially mothers, of young children in nurturing secure attachments with their little ones. I developed a special interest in infant and early childhood mental health during my graduate studies under Ann D. Murray at Kansas State University. In my work as an occupational therapist with Infant Toddler Services, I took special delight in supporting and nurturing joyful interactions and relationships between caregivers and their children. Because this became my greatest interest, I ended up working in a family counseling practice and finally developing my own private coaching practice where I have the privilege of nurturing the social, emotional and mental health of parents and the children in their care. Being endorsed as an Infant Family Specialist reflects my past, present and future commitment to learn and grow in knowledge and expertise in the area of supporting healthy connection between caregivers and children."
Ingrid Pohl, IMH-E®
Ingrid says, "The more we learn about the mind-body connection and what some refer to as stored trauma, the more evident it becomes we need to pay attention to mental health as early as possible. Finding ways to help children grow into adults with competent coping skills and high social-emotional intelligence is one way to improve the social fabric. The endorsement process was an opportunity to reflect on my values, experiences, and training, highlighting my commitment to continue promoting and advocating for young children, families, and early educators to have opportunities to build strong foundations."
Christy Randall, IMH-E®
Christy says, "I am a mother of two grown children and have been doing family childcare for over 24 years.Obtaining my KAIMH Endorsement is a significant milestone in my career, allowing me to deepen my understanding of mental health and its impact on young children’s well-being, while equipping me with the tools and knowledge to make a positive impact on the lives of infants and young children. I believe it’s essential to prioritize nurturing healthy relationships and emotional development starting from infancy.
Parents As Teachers Benefits Family Child Care
For decades home visitation programs have served families and empowered them with knowledge on how to engage their children with high-quality, developmentally appropriate activities. However many children also receive care and education through licensed programs or informal arrangements. In response to this, Parents as Teachers developed the curriculum, “Supporting Care Providers Through Person Visits” in the early 1990's, which is currently being used in 12 states. Home visitors use this curriculum to serve a mix of licensed home-based child care providers and unlicensed family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregivers. Included in their work with providers is assistance with learning how to do ASQ (Ages and Stages Questionnaire) screenings and evaluations of the children in their care. This helps in identifying children for services that would otherwise get missed. To read more about this program and work happening in the Kansas City metro area
The Association for Early Learning Leaders is committed to excellence in the field of early childhood care and education by promoting leadership development and enhancing program quality. They are working on reshaping perspectives & honoring roles in early education through the Words Matter campaign, because the words we use matter to both early educators and those who rely on them to provide children with a great start in life. Using the term “daycare” may imply their role is solely to provide supervision and custodial care rather than education. Using terms like “early childhood education” and “early learning” emphasizes the education also being provided and its critical importance in supporting learning and development for young children. The term “daycare” carries a stigma that downplays the significance of the work done by educators in these settings and adds to the difficulty in attracting quality talent to fill vacancies in early education classrooms. We can all use terms that acknowledge the work and give credit to the true impact early education services provide to families of young children. When we encounter “daycare” references, we can respectfully and consistently share the story of what early educators do, and why it matters. Click below to learn more about this campaign and what you can do...
Co-regulation is a term used frequently in early education, but what does it mean, exactly? It is a process where two people exchange feelings of calm. But when an adult and child co-regulate, this means helping a child learn how to regulate their own emotions by showing empathy and modeling calmness. In order for an adult to be able to do this effectively, they must first know how to self-calm. Co-regulation does not mean trying to exist in a state of calm all the time or never feeling upset. It just simply means actively managing your own emotions to help teach children how to manage theirs.
Co-regulation is a process that involves an active decision as well as a biological process. Research shows that we can directly influence certain processes in one another, such as breathing rates and the production of the stress hormone, cortisol. The distress of others can cause us to feel similar distress, but when we actively calm, we can influence the production of hormones in others to help them calm, too.
Click here to learn more about co-regulation strategies.
July - August Professional Development
Check out these upcoming professional development opportunities that support your Infant Mental Health Endorsement® from the Early Childhood Investigations Webinars, Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities, Kansas Children's Service League, and Child Care Aware network.
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