Social-Emotional Well Being for ESIT Children and Families
Infants and toddlers grow, learn, and develop within the context of relationships. Parents and caregivers have an important role within the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) system. ESIT values and supports Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) and Early Relational Health (ERH) practices and offers a variety of training and resources available to ESIT providers to improve skills and support implementing these concepts.
Grow your capacity to support ESIT families
ESIT offers IECMH/ERH professional development opportunities.
Washington's State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) is focused on improving social-emotional outcomes using IECMH/ERH concepts for children and families. DCYF ESIT offers access to various IECMH/ERH professional development opportunities that can impact practice and support positive outcomes for children and families. DCYF ESIT has partnered with several organizations to support IECMH/ERH training opportunities.
- Visit the Professional Development and Training Catalog and Training Calendar on the ESIT Professional Development page for detailed training descriptions and registration information.
- Watch the Professional Development Opportunities for ESIT Professionals video to learn more about training opportunities and to hear directly from our partners at the University of Washington and Center for Early Relational Health (CERH) (formerly WA-AIMH).
- Promoting First Relationships (PFR) is an evidenced-based program offered through the Parent-Child Relationships programs at the Barnard Center. PFR supports ERH practices and social emotional development. View the ESIT PFR Reflective Consultation Information Document to learn more.
- DCYF ESIT supports PFR Levels 1, 2, and 3, PFR Boosters, Monthly Drop-In Sessions, and Consultation opportunities. Statewide and agency-wide/team-based PFR Level 1 and Booster training opportunities are available.
- Visit CERH for more information on the Foundations of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Foundations of Reflective Practice, or Reflective Supervision for Supervisors trainings.
- Review the ESIT IMH Endorsement Information Document to learn about Infant Mental Health Endorsement through CERH and the DCYF ESIT funded scholarships available for ESIT professionals.
- DCYF ESIT supports NeuroRelational Framework training, an advanced ERH/IECMH professional development opportunity. NRF Community of Practice Groups are also available.
- DCYF ESIT and DCYF Home Visiting programs have partnered to fund the WSCADV Domestic Violence Assessment and Response training and Safety Planning with Families training.
- Visit the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) website to learn more.
Annual SSIP Reports
View SSIP Reports submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs for each year of the project
Washington's State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP)
Washington's SSIP is a comprehensive, achievable, multi-year plan that is centered on providing high-quality training designed to promote positive social-emotional relationships and improve outcomes for enrolled children and their families. The SSIP is measured through the State-identified Measurable Results (SiMR):
There will be an increase in the percentage of infants and toddlers exiting early intervention services who demonstrate an increased rate of growth in positive social-emotional development.
Washington’s SSIP is comprised of four improvement strategy areas:
SSIP four improvement strategy areas measured through the State-identified Measurable Results (SiMR) are: Qualified Personnel, Assessment, Professional Development, and Accountability.
Provide a statewide system of professional development to support the creation of high-quality, functional IFSP outcomes and strategies related to social-emotional skills and social relationships, Early Relational Health (ERH)/Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) practices, and the implementation of evidence-based practices that address ERH/ICMH and social-emotional needs.
Strengthen the expertise of current personnel and join with partner agencies engaged in social-emotional and ERH/IECMH related statewide initiatives to increase the availability of early intervention personnel who have ERH/IECMH expertise and who are able to provide culturally appropriate services.
Assure a statewide implementation of high-quality functional assessment and Child Outcome Summary (COS) rating processes, with a focus on social emotional functioning and ERH/IECMH. Visit the DCYF ESIT COS webpage for more information.
Expand the general supervision and accountability system to support increasing data quality, assessing progress toward improving children’s social-emotional skills and social relationships, and improving ERH/IECMH results for children and families.
Additional Resources Supporting IECMH/ERH Concepts
- Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children
- Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA): Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH)
- SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach
- Zero to Three’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Guiding Principles
- Zero to Three: The Paradigm Shift to Early Relational Health: A Network Movement
- Washington State Health Care Authority: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services
- American Academy of Pediatrics Early Relational Health
