VISION:

Our vision is for all of Georgia’s infants and young children to be safe and nurtured through consistent, caregiving relationships in order to reach their fullest potential.

MISSION:

Our mission is to promote family, infant, and early childhood mental health as foundational to development by

• Raising awareness of young children’s social and emotional needs,
• Building culturally-responsive preventive and therapeutic professional capacities,
• Fostering interdisciplinary and cross-system collaboration by supporting professionals working with and on behalf of infants, young children, and their families, and
• Advocating for and supporting policies in the best interest of infants, young children, families, and communities.

GOALS:

1. To promote throughout Georgia, the healthy social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of young children through supportive and nurturing relationships from conception through five years of age;
2. To facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration among individuals concerned with promoting conditions that will bring about the optimal development of young children and child-caregiver and child-parent relationships;
3. To  encourage the understanding that early childhood is a sensitive period in the psychosocial development of individuals;
4. To promote education, research, and study on social-emotional development during early childhood.
5. To increase the integration/inclusion of I-ECMH content in pre-service training programs that prepare students who will work with young children and their families;
6. To  promote education, professional development, and expertise of diverse professionals who work with young children concerning the mental health of young children, parents, families, and other caregivers;
7. To  promote the development of scientifically-based and evidence-informed practices of care across the infant and early childhood mental health continuum of services (promotion, prevention, intervention, and treatment).
8. To integrate I-ECMH  competencies into the state, local, and regional trainings that are designed to build a more specialized workforce with experiences and learning tools that support early relational health.