About the Plan
Hawaii's Infant and Early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan (IECBH Plan) is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the mental health needs of our youngest keiki and their families. Recognizing the significance of early childhood experiences in shaping lifelong health and well-being, the plan focuses on prevention, early intervention and treatment strategies tailored specifically for infants and young children, and their caregivers, along with those who serve them.
Plan Timeline:
Key Plan Components:
Systems and Policy*: Develop state policies and systems to support IECBH; build and maintain a comprehensive data system; create stable and consistent funding.
Workforce Development*: Develop cross-sector workforce training and support; increase use of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants (IECMHC) and treatment providers across systems and programs, including primary care.
Marketing, Outreach & Community Education: Produce public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives to reduce stigma surrounding IECMH and to promote understanding of the importance of early intervention to improve the mental health of our youngest keiki.
Programs & Services: Ensure equitable access to all IECMH services; develop and maintain a coordinated and cohesive system for screening, referral, and use of IECMH services for young children and their families.
Partners In The Effort
Since its inception, creating this Plan has been a coordinated effort bringing together philanthropic, public and private sector leadership with a commitment to establish an early childhood mental health system of care (including prevention & consultation, assessment, diagnosis and treatment) and build out IECMH consultation services in childcare, early learning and pediatrics/primary care for our youngest children and their families statewide.
Original plan partners include: Early Childhood Action Strategy (ECAS), Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF), Department of Health (DOH), Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL), and Department of Human Services (DHS). Many more have since joined to truly make it statewide and integrated. Since then many other partners have joined.
Original Partners include:
Financial Commitment to Date
Since 2019, Hawaii Community Foundation and other philanthropic organizations have invested over $6M in IECMH, with the recent addition of over $4M in federal SAMHSA funding for Project LAUNCH. Most funding has supported early learning, childcare and primary care professional workforce development, building knowledge and skills in trauma-informed organizational capacity building, and the development of an IECMH Consultation workforce. In partnership and with strong commitment to advancing IECMH in state systems, a tremendous amount of state staff time and leadership have been invaluable to build out systems with IECMH; however, to date, there has been no dedicated state funding or positions established for this work.
Our Zero To Three Finance Policy P??? has been working on a variety of projects to help move us closer to long term financial supports for IECMH in Hawaii. These include 1) A statewide survey of providers recently completed. The goal was to obtain baseline information on the workforce available to provide IECMH services and identify ways to grow the workforce to fill identified gaps in service., 2) A bundled payment pilot project, 3) Gather and review information on Z-codes and DC:0-5 to assess potential use in Medicaid, especially for diagnosis and billing purposes. 4) Identify funding for and build IECMH expertise into the workforce service young children and families.
Progress to Date
Since the Plan’s inception, significant progress has been made in advancing the mental health and well-being of our youngest residents t within all four Components of the Plan: Systems & Policy; Marketing, Outreach & Community Education; Workforce Development; and Programs & Services. The most significant work has been directed towards workforce development, design and commitment to creating a IECMH Consultation system, and financial sustainability mapping to move the work forward. Many organizations have sent staff for training around IECMH and then incorporated policies and practices into their systems that reflect IECMH best practices to improve child and family supports.
Meet the Strategy Team
Justina Acevedo-Cross (Philanthropy), JoAnn Farnsworth (AIMHHI), Kaiulani Galon, Erin Henderson Lacerdo(AIMHHI), Christine Jackson (Community), Noreen Kohl (HCAN) Stacy Kong (Early Intervention), Cristina Vocalan (Hawaii Primary Care Association), Amanda Luning, Malia Maier (Philanthropy), Keiko Nitta (Dept. of Health), Cecilia Sakata (Community Health, Hawaii Island), Scott Shimabukuro (Children & Adolescent Mental Health), Karen Shore (Private) , Sharon Thomas (MedQuest), Kerrie Urosevich(Early Childhood Action Strategy) and Ephraim Schwab (Executive Office on Early Learning),
Recipes
Have you attended one of the IECBH meetings recently? Wonder what was on the menu? Here are a few recipes!
Basmati Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit & Almonds