Board of Early Education and Care Motion 2008-
Approval of Funding for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services Expansion
Grants in Fiscal Year 2009
Line item 3000-6075 of the Commonwealth’s Fiscal Year 2009 Budget provides $2.9 million in funding for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services in early education and care programs in the Commonwealth, which represents a $500,000 increase in funding from Fiscal Year 2008. Legislative language requires EEC to give preference to services designed to limit the number of expulsions and suspensions from early education and care programs.
Current EEC mental health initiatives include:
1. Mental Health Consultation Services (MHCS) Grants
· EEC currently funds 10 grantees in 70 cities/towns, providing on-site mental health consultation to program staff and parents, observation and assessment of children’s social/emotional and behavioral skills, individualized behavior plans for children, case management, and crisis intervention support. Goals of the program include the following:
o eliminating and/or reducing the number of suspensions and expulsions of children from EEC funded programs;
o enhancing staff competencies to work with behaviorally challenged children, thereby benefitting all children enrolled in the program;
o strengthening parenting skills and parent involvement; and
o promoting collaboration for better access to services for children and families.
2. Comprehensive Mental Health in Child Care (CMHCC) Program
· The CMHCC program is a collaboration between MassHealth/Mass. Behavioral Health Partnership and EEC. The program partners early education and care providers with mental health clinics to place clinicians on-site at centers with Supportive Child Care contracts[1].
· Mental health clinicians in 14 programs provide on-site behavioral heath services to children, support and training to program staff and link families with needed clinical services through the partnering clinic. Goals of the program include the following:
o reducing expulsions or suspensions of children due to behavioral issues;
o preventing repeat psychiatric hospitalizations of children;
o improving the quality of child, parent, and family relationships; and
o reducing the risk factors that impact children’s emotional development and the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for success in school.
Recommendations
EEC proposes that $300,000 of the additional FY09 funds [2] be used to expand and enhance EEC’s current Mental Health Services through a competitive RFR which will require the integration of the following mental health service delivery models currently funded by EEC: 1) the on-site clinician model “embedded” in programs with higher concentrations of children and families with behavioral health needs (EEC’s CMHCC program); and 2) the on-call consultation services model for smaller programs or those that have occasional needs for classroom observation, consultation, and supports for individual children (EEC’s MHCS program). EEC further proposes the RFR criteria emphasize and/or prioritize the need to:
· serve children birth through 14, with a focus on infant/toddler capacity; address the cultural and linguistic needs of children and their families;
· coordinate with Early Intervention and Public School Special Education programs;
· partner with a mental health clinic;
· demonstrate the capacity to administer 3rd party billing;
· provide referral options for children with intensive mental health needs; and
· target funding to meet the needs of children served through the Supportive Child Care program.
MOVED: subject to the continued availability of funding in the Department’s FY2009 budget, that the Board of Early Education and Care hereby approves the Department’s recommendation to expend up to $300,000 for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services through a competitive RFR in accordance with the Department’s recommended criteria, as described above.
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[1] Supportive Child Care Services consist of comprehensive educational and care services at an EEC licensed program, augmented by health and nutritional services, case management, social services, and transportation between child care and home or school. The Department of Children and Families refers children living at home or in foster care – who have been the subject of a supported 51A report – for Supportive Child Care to support their growth and development and to protect their health and well-being.
[2] Because grants will be awarded in January 2009, midway through the fiscal year, this amount includes $250,000 that will annualize to the $500,000 funding increase. The remaining $50,000 will provide one-time start-up support for new grantees and expansion support for existing programs that are awarded this grant.