mother kissing child, two little girls playing with blocks, young soccer players cheering

Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Grant Program

Infant and Early Childhood Mental grants are authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act, Section 10006 which added Section 399Z-2 to the Public Health Service Act (PDF | 966 KB).

The purpose of this program is to improve outcomes for children, from birth up to 12 years of age, by developing, maintaining, or enhancing infant and early childhood mental health promotion, intervention, and treatment services.

Project Goals

  • Develop sustainable programs serving children at significant risk of developing, showing early signs of, or having been diagnosed with a mental illness, including serious emotional disturbance (SED) and/or symptoms that may be indicative of developing SED in children
  • Provide multigenerational therapy and other services that strengthen positive caregiving relationships
  • Provide access to a full range of infant and early childhood services
  • Build workforce capacity for individuals serving children from birth to age 12 years
  • Fill service gaps in systems of early childhood mental health care by providing evidence-based mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment interventions

Successes of IECMH 2019-2021

  • Trained 9,991 members of the mental health workforce
  • 17,346 young children and caregivers screened for mental health or related interventions
  • 7,399 young children and caregivers referred for mental health and related services
  • 9,457 young children and caregivers provided evidence-based mental health and related services

Current and Prior Grantees

Program Staff

Brooke Sims, M.S., Public Health Advisor
Nancy Kelly, M.S. Ed., Branch Chief, Mental Health Promotion
Captain Maryann Robinson as Acting Division Director

Last Updated: 03/19/2023