Minnesota Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (MAIECMH) Announces New Advisory Board and Committees

On September 18, the Minnesota Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (MAIECMH) installed 31 statewide representatives to form the new Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Advisory Board.  Members and elected officer (see below) conducted this first meeting at CentraCare Health Plaza in St. Cloud, following a panel presentation on assessment. 

L. Read Sulik, M.D., Medical Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of St. Cloud Hospital Behavioral Health Services and MACMH Board member, welcomed guests and participated on the panel.  Four other panelists joined the discussion, including Glenace Edwall, Children’s Mental Health Director at the Minnesota Department of Human Services; Marti Erickson, Director of the Harris Programs (CEED-Center for Early Education & Development) and Co-Chair of the President's Academic Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families at the University of Minnesota; and Lissa Jones, Executive Director of African American Family Services (AAFS). 

The advisory board business meeting, which followed the panel discussion, included the election of officers, formation of committees, and prioritizing of an action plan for the new association.  The five committees that are launching the work of MAIECMH are 1) Membership/Outreach, 2) Diversity 3) Endorsement 4) Public Policy, and 5) Training.

Priorities for the committees and staff are to:
•  Organize a mechanism for outreach to greater Minnesota;
•  Promote mandated universal mental health screening for children birth-five;
•  Broaden and integrate the magnitude of cultural approaches of educators;
•  Partner with Interagency Early Intervention Committees to create a road map to help families navigate all early childhood mental health services;
•  Implement a competency-based endorsement system for the variety of professionals who offer mental health services to infants and young children;
•  Forge linkages with national and international organizations to share resources, information, models, and best practices;
•  Accelerate mental health assessment and intervention competencies for professionals who work infants and young children; and
•  Promote adequate reimbursement for early childhood mental health services.

Anyone interested in learning more about MAIECMH membership and committees is encouraged to contact Candy Kragthorpe (ckragthorpe@macmh.org), Director of MAIECMH, with any questions.

Reflective Practice: Essential for
Professional Growth and Discovery

Reflective supervision and reflective consultation are terms used to describe an essential component of professional development for those working with infants, very young children, their families, and professionals in the areas of social and emotional development and mental health.  MAIECMH promotes this kind of reflective practice as one of several core competencies for professionals working in this area. 

Toward this end, MAIECMH has purchased from the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health, and will implement in 2008, the professional endorsement program, Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Based Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health.  The program promotes and documents the professional development of infant, early childhood, family service, health, and mental health professionals.  Four levels of endorsement are available to providers and clinicians who work in a range of settings.  For details about the levels of endorsement, go to http://mi-aimh.msu.edu/aboutus/EndorsementFlyerrevised.pdf.

One requirement for endorsement at three of the four levels is evidence of reflective supervision or consultation specific to relationship-based practice.  This differs from administrative super-vision and other kinds of consultation in a number of ways.  A document describing the unique aspects of reflective practice and its significance to professionals working with young families is available at http://mi-aimh.msu.edu/aboutus/29-RecommendedReferencesforPreparingforEndorsement/09-GuidelinesforReflectiveSupervisionandConsultation.pdf.
For more information about Minnesota’s endorsement program, e-mail Candy Kragthorpe at ckragthorpe@macmh.org.

About the Minnesota Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health • MAIECMH

MAIECMH is a division of the Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health (MACMH).  This new statewide association, funded in part through a generous grant from the Bush Foundation, promotes the healthy social and emotional development of infants and young children, providing an early start toward optimal mental health outcomes. 

At the heart of these efforts is the relationship between an infant/child and their parents/caregivers, the primary context within which mental health promotion, screening, assessment, and interventions are provided.

Minnesota Association for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health
2007-2008 Advisory Board

Advisory Board Officers
• Chairperson, Sara Carlson, Southwest Initiative Foundation, Hutchinson
•  Vice-chair, Mary Ann Marchel, University of Minnesota Duluth
•  Secretary, Junie Svenson, Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul

Advisory Board Members
•  Sue Benolken, Liaison, Part C Minnesota Department of Human Services
•  Inez Bersie-Mize, MACMH Board of Directors, Mid West Center for Personal and Family Development, St. Paul
•  Jodi Boerger, Northwestern Mental Health Center, Crookston, Membership and Outreach Committee Co-chair
•  Cathy Carter, Early Head Start Home Visiting, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties
•  Glenace Edwall, Liaison, Children’s Mental Health Division Director, Minnesota Department of Human Services
•  Jane Ellison, University of Minnesota Center for Early Education and Development Field Faculty, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, St. Cloud
•  Alice Englin, Freeborn County Family Services Collaborative, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, Albert Lea
•  Marti Erickson, Harris Programs Director (CEED-Center for Early Education & Development) and Co-Chair, President's Academic Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families, University of Minnesota
•  Patty Griffith, Mental Health Consultant, PICA Head Start, Minneapolis
•  Terry Hallfin, Early Childhood Family Education, Fridley, Membership & Outreach Committee Co-chair
•  Troy Hanson, Student Representative, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate Program, New Prague
•  Lynn Herrick, Western Community Action, Marshall
•  Michele Fallon, Circle of Women/Baby’s Space, Minneapolis
•  Marlys Johnson, Head Start Mental Health Consultant, Duluth, Minnesota Thrive Initiative
•  Nancy Jost, Early Childhood Initiative, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, Fergus Falls
•  Linda Kaufmann, Children, Youth & Families Program, Initiative Foundation, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, Little Falls
•  Cindy Kellett, Carlton County Public Health, Cloquet
•  Danielle Le Bon Gort, Fond du Lac Human Services Division, Center for American Indian Resources, Duluth, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, Diversity Committee Chair 
•  Cheryl Letson, Little Steps Early Head Start, Upper Midwest American Indian Center, Minneapolis
•  Molly Minkkinen, Northland Foundation, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, Duluth
•  Jessica Croatt Niemi, Stellher Human Services, Bemidji, Minnesota Thrive Initiative, Training Committee Co-chair
•  JoAnn O’Leary, School of Nursing & Center for Early Education and Development Field Faculty, University of Minnesota, Training Committee Co-chair
•  Nancy Reed, Healthy Start, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Minneapolis
•  Susan Schultz, Center for Early Education and Development Field Faculty, University of Minnesota
•  Norma Taylor, Center for Psychological Services, St. Cloud, Minnesota Thrive Initiative
•  Megan Waltz, Ready 4 K, Public Policy Committee Chair
•  Antonia Wilcoxon, Children’s Mental Health Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Board of Social Work
•  Chris Wing, University of Minnesota, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota