Comprehensive Statewide System of
Mental Health Supports for Children & Families
Mental Health Consultation Grant (Fund Code 700)
Mental Health Services Procurement – Discussion and Vote
EEC Board Meeting - October 16, 2012
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Comprehensive Statewide System of
Mental Health Supports
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The statewide system of mental health supports for children
and their families include a variety initiatives that are aligned
with several of the goals and priorities of EEC’s Indicators of
Success under the Quality, Family Support, Workforce,
Communications and Infrastructure sections of the EEC
Strategic Plan.
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In addition, there are many key provisions under M.G.L
Chapter 15D specific to supporting children’s healthy social
emotional development, the availability of mental health
consultation services designed to prevent expulsions and
suspensions of preschool-age children in Massachusetts.
Additional Details offered in Appendix
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VISION AND FUTURE:
Massachusetts Early Childhood Mental Health System of
Supports For Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
(ECMHC)
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Vision and Future:
Massachusetts Early Childhood Mental Health System of Supports For
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC)
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System of mental health supports, strategies, and services which addresses the
developmental, emotional, and behavioral challenges of infants, young children
and their families complementing the CSFEL Pyramid Model promoting school
readiness and healthy social-emotional development
 Part of a larger, community-based system of metal health services and supports
for young children and their families based in early education and care settings
with connections and referrals for consultation, screening, assessment, and
treatment made within the mental health systems and services.
 System of collaborative, developmentally based strategies, attentive to the
needs and effective care of culturally and linguistically diverse populations
within early childhood programs, staff, families, and communities
 collaborative effort of EEC, DMH, and ECMHC providers increasing access to
consultation through a centralized intake system and brief intervention model.
 Competent mental health consultants whose knowledge, skills, and
interventions are informed by evidenced-based and emerging practices and
who are provided professional development opportunities, support, guidance,
and technical assistance.
 Evaluation and monitoring to promote continuous quality improvement,
sustainability, and progress in reducing expulsion rates
Vision and Future:
Massachusetts Early Childhood Mental Health System of Supports For
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC)
Family centered, interdisciplinary, collaborative, high quality service
for infants, young children, and their families provided across
educational, health, mental health, child welfare, and other
community-based services.
Strategies committed to family engagement within EEC programs and its
network of community and family supports.
 Individualized services and strategies for the program, staff and families.
 Programs and staff function with new perspectives, confidence,
knowledge, skills and strategies to promote infant and early childhood
mental health, address current problems and prevent future concerns that
might arise.
 Receive the ongoing support and technical assistance needed to succeed
in their work with children and families.
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PROCUREMENT:
Mental Health Consultation Services Grant
(Fund Code 700)
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FY14 Mental Health Consultation Grant
Proposed Purpose
The objectives of the model remain as follows:
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Promote the healthy social and emotional development of all children,
particularly those children whose emotional development is compromised
by poverty, biological or family risk factors, or other circumstances which
may contribute to toxic levels of stress;
Build the capacity of early education and care program staff to enhance
children’s learning through positive, nurturing interactions with children
and with their families and to address the needs of children who exhibit
behavioral challenges;
Attend to social-emotional needs of children so they are ready to learn
and be successful in their early education;
Reduce the number of children who are suspended or expelled from
EEC-funded programs;
Promote collaboration for better access to services for children and their
families; and
Maximize resources by ensuring that certain mental health interventions
are funded, when appropriate, through insurance payments.
Summary:
Proposed enhancements for FY14 Grant Priorities
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Benefit the greatest number of at-risk children and children and
families identified as “high needs” (Expanded);
Address cultural and linguistic needs of children, families, and
educators, programs and communities; and measure effectiveness of
interventions (Expanded);
Work in partnership with programs, educators, families, and other
community supports using collaborative approaches (Expanded);
Provide referral options for children and families with behavioral,
emotional, developmental, and /or neurodevelopment difficulties,
(refined);
Build program capacity through training and coaching on models that
promote positive social emotional development and prevent
challenging behaviors (e.g. the Center on Social Emotional
Foundations for Early Learning’s (CSEFEL) Pyramid Model,
Strengthening Families, etc.) in the context of the provision of specific
on-site consultation service (Amended for clarification);
Summary:
Proposed enhancements for FY14 Grant Priorities (cont)
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Build linkages to other available and appropriate community resources, social
services, and mental health agencies including Mass 211, pediatricians,
pediatric medical home, MCPAP, referrals to Early Intervention programs,
public school Special Education, and other family support programs and
services in order to promote the coordination and continuation of mental
health services for children and families (Expanded);
Make referrals for screening, assessment, diagnosis, and mental health
services for children and families including services provided for MassHealth
eligible children through the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI), and
other appropriate third party billing sources (Expanded);
Notify EEC/DMH of areas of the state where third party mental health
services are not available in a community or for a specific family (Expanded);
Utilize a centralize program referral/intake system (New), and
Improve the integration of ECMHC services with other systems of support
though the participate in on-going technical assistance opportunities and
work collaboratively with community partners to strengthen the infrastructure
of the statewide system of mental health supports and further enhance the
quality of ECMHC services (DMH Technical Assistance) (New).
Summary
Proposed enhancements for FY14 Required Services
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Use centralize intake system to manage and track success of ECMHC
outreach, programs requests for consultation, presenting concerns,
and utilization for program-level and classroom level mental health
services, (i.e. purpose, program characteristics, frequency, duration,
and intensity) (Expanded);
Manage referrals, and track utilization of clinical and social services
or on-site therapeutic interventions and the 3rd party billing source
(Access, Availability, and Utilization) (Expanded);
Use of a standard measurement tool to gather and analyze
information about the effectiveness of the mental health
consultation services used statewide that will provide demographic,
process, and outcome data and provide pre- and post assessment
information to EEC and DMH (Expanded);
 Program-level and classroom-level to measure changes in the
program/classroom environment,
 Program administrators, educators and families
Summary
Proposed enhancements for FY14 Required Services
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Complete required documentation and reporting requirements
monthly, and as requested by EEC/DMH (Expanded/ Refine to align with
required services and additional data collection elements)
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Provide focused training to programs to build self-sufficiency of staff
to respond to the social-emotional needs of children. Also,
incorporate training and resources to allow programs to create and
build their own relationships with local mental health providers.
Training should be provided only in the context of a specific program
level consultation services (Amended for clarification);
 Provide on-site, clinical mental health interventions (including
diagnostic evaluation; individual, group and family counseling;
family and case consultations; collateral contacts) utilizing 3rd
party billing for services, when available. Also, maintain a wait list
of children, families, and/or programs waiting more than 3 days to
receive consultation services; and provide notification to
EEC/DMH of areas of the state where third party mental health
services are not available in a community or for a specific family
(Expanded).
Summary
Proposed enhancements for FY14 Required Services
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Conduct outreach to programs/ providers and expanded network of
community supports included Mass 211, and elicit request for ECMH
consultation services from EEC-funded programs/providers located
within the service using a centralized intake system (Expanded);
Participate in meetings as scheduled by EEC/DMH to offer feedback to
support the enhancement of the early childhood mental service
delivery model and structure (New);
Participate in on-going technical assistance opportunities and working
collaboratively with community partners to strengthen the
infrastructure of the statewide system of mental health supports and
to further enhance the quality of ECMHC services (DMH Technical
Assistance) (New).
FY14 Mental Health Consultation Grant
Next Steps
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EEC and DMH will continue to meet to:
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Design & develop a centralized intake system, technical
assistance protocols and stream-line ECMHC program
evaluation tools for FY13 to inform the development of
anticipated FY14 grant opportunities.
Proposed Procurement
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EEC will develop and issue a Request for Responses (RFR) for the
FY14 Mental Health Consultation Services Grant as a Competitive
Procurement in November 2012 with a start date effective, July 1,
2013
FY14 Anticipated Appropriation $1.25 M
DISCUSSION & VOTE:
PROCUREMENT MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATION SERVICES GRANT
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