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KAIMH Connections
Resources for Early Childhood Mental Health Advocates
Updates | October 2025
Read below for updates on The Growing Brain in Wichita, guidelines on mental health screenings for children, Endorsement® renewal updates, free resources, upcoming professional development, and more!
Important Update: Endorsement Renewal Process Is Changing
We want to inform you that Endorsement Renewal will look different moving forward. While the requirements remain the same, the process itself has changed in accordance with the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health policy.
What’s Changing?
Endorsement Renewal will now be completed via attestation every three years.
The next renewal period will be December 31, 2027.
At that time, your EASy application will prompt you to:
Attest that you have met the yearly requirements for your Endorsement category.
Pay the renewal fee (this will be invoiced via QuickBooks if you have not paid via neonone, EASy will not have a place to enter payment).
Once the attestation window closes, a percentage of applications will be randomly selected for audit, at which point applicants will be required to submit documentation of trainings.
What This Means for You:
You may continue updating your trainings in your EASy application yearly, but this is not required for the attestation process.
Because this is now a three-year renewal cycle, you will need to complete a total of 45 training hours (15 per year) for the attestation period.
If you have not been Endorsed for the full three years by the attestation date, your requirements will be pro-rated.
Your renewal requirements will always be visible at the top of your Training or Reflective Supervision tab in EASy.
Fee Options: You have two options for paying your Endorsement renewal fee: 1. Spread the cost over three years: Pay $75.00 annually ($40.00 for KAIMH membership + $35.00 toward Endorsement renewal). 2. Pay in full at attestation: Pay the $105 Endorsement renewal fee in one lump sum on or before December 31, 2027.
Video Tutorial: Check out this video for an example of what the attestation process will look like.
Don't Forget Your KAIMH Membership: KAIMH Membership continues to renew annually. Memberships expire Dec 31 of each year. Renew your membership here: www.kaimh.org/membership
Fee Updates: Fee Prices will be updated in accordance to guidance from the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. The overall total cost of Endorsement has not changed!
Family Associate
Family Specialist
Mental Health Specialist
Mental Health Mentor
Endorsed Reflective Supervisor
Registration Fee
25.00
25.00
25.00
25.00
25.00
Processing Fee
25.00
$50.00
250.00
300.00
15.00
Annual Renewal
35.00
35.00
35.00
35.00
35.00
Membership
40.00
40.00
40.00
40.00
NA
Congratulations to Our Newest Endorsees!
Virginia Schwiethale, MSW, IMH-E®
Virginia says, "Obtaining my Infant Family Specialist Endorsement is such an honor. I have spent more than 20 years working with children and families—the last 14.5 of those years with Kansas Children’s Service League in the Healthy Families program. Through my work in child abuse prevention, I have seen firsthand the power of changing a family’s trajectory by supporting mental health from birth. Focusing on parent–child relationships and emotional attachment create a truly holistic approach, laying the foundation for a child’s healthy mental, social, emotional, and physical development."
Tracy Schmidt, IECHMH - E®
Tracy says, "The Early Childhood Family Associate Endorsement shows my families that I am committed to all of the children birth to five and ensuring that the environment I provide is developmentally appropriate, and supports all their needs physically and emotionally. It gives me access to great resources and a way to promote children’s wellbeing outside my program."
New Guidelines on Children's Mental Health Screenings
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new guidelines calling for doctors to screen children for mental, emotional, and behavioral issues as early as infancy. Children's mental health is at a crisis level, with projected statistics showing that 40% of children will have mental or behavioral issues by age 16. During infancy, this refers to screening the mother for postpartum depression. To learn more, check out the video below.
The Kids Mental Health Foundation has information, free activities and printables caregivers can use to help children learn seven ways to cultivate happiness. Beyond mental health, happiness is connected to a strengthened immune system, Improved educational outcomes and improved sleep. To learn more about the seven strategies and activities that support them go here.
The Growing Brain - Wichita
Join KAIMH on Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 8:45 am to 12:00 pm for this FREE class as we learn about brain anatomy and the connection to behavior, root causes of challenging behavior, and effective strategies for responding to challenging behavior. This course is KDHE approved for 3 hours. Participants will receive Zero to Three manuals and learning materials that support children's healthy brain development. Click the button below to register. For questions, please contact Marie Treichel at marie@kaimh.org.
Kansas is in the process of creating a new cabinet-level Office of Early Childhood. The agency will officially open in mid-2026, consolidating nearly 20 existing state programs that are currently spread across multiple departments. The new office will absorb programs from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), and the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). This includes child care licensing and subsidies, home visitation programs and the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund.
In August 2025, Gov. Kelly appointed Zach Vincent as the transition director to lead the year-long process. The governor's office is also searching for a permanent director for the new agency, with an appointee expected by January 2026, subject to Senate confirmation. To track updates from the Kansas Office of Early Childhood, subscribe to the All In For Kansas Kids e-newsletter and visit their website at allinforkansaskids.org. You can also monitor the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund website kschildrenscabinet.gov and the Kansas Department of Education's KSDE (.gov) Early Childhood section, which publishes updates in its weekly KSDEweekly newsletter.
October-November 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 LEND, Kansas Children's Service League, and Child Care Aware network.
