Community Solutions for Early Childhood Mental Health
The report co-authored by Dr. King describes the current landscape for early childhood mental health in California and offers recommendations for how to promote protective factors for children and families.
Early childhood mental health is essential to setting the trajectory for a healthy adulthood. Community-based programs in turn play an important role in meeting children and families where they are at and providing support in accessible and culturally-appropriate ways.
PHS is proud to have co-authored with The Children’s Partnership and First 5 Center for Children’s Policy a report and policy brief describing the array of community-based programs in California that support the social and emotional health of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
As the authors write, “California’s children and families are under significant and escalating toxic stress, from both the COVID-19 pandemic and longstanding historical and systemic issues such as poverty, racism, and other forms of community and individual trauma.”
The report describes community-based promotion, prevention, and early identification and intervention programs that exist in California. This information was gathered from program data, interviews with state leaders and program administrators, and a review of the literature.
The authors recommend a multilayered approach to promote protective factors to reduce the effects of toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences that were exacerbated by the pandemic.
“This moment in history could be pivotal in the landscape of California’s early childhood mental health. Conditions created by the pandemic, such as isolation, economic stress, and community trauma, are all proven to negatively impact a child’s ability to thrive. It is vitally important that young children and their parents and caregivers receive the interventions necessary to support their mental health during this critical time.”