Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Competencies

Download the entire ECFMH Competencies document here

1. Overview and Use of the Early Childhood Family Mental Health Core Competencies
2. Competencies by Domain (PDF)
3. Competencies by Level (PDF)
4. NEW! ECFMH Self-Assessment/Action Planning Tool
5. NEW! ECFMH Competencies Curriculum Matrix Tool

*Permission is granted to copy and share these documents with others as long as you include the following acknowledgement: "Developed by the Vermont Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Competencies Practice Group with support from the federal IDEA Technical Assistance Partnership through Shared Agenda, Community of Practice, and other 'Seed' Grants.

The Vermont Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Practice Group is pleased to provide the following professional competencies related to early childhood and family mental health. These professional competencies are intended to guide the preparation and ongoing professional development of service providers in various fields who have a role in supporting families with young children. The skills and knowledge necessary for promoting the social and emotional development of children and for recognizing and addressing mental health issues are not the purview of any one discipline. For instance, educators, therapists, childcare providers, pediatricians, home health care providers, early interventionists, social workers, and child welfare workers all need to be cognizant of these competencies and demonstrate the level of knowledge and skills commensurate with their roles.

Our plan is for these competencies to become embedded in the coursework required by current personnel preparation and licensing systems. (The Master’s Program in Community Mental Health [created in Vermont by Trinity College with the support of the VT Division of Mental Health, the VT Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, and the van Ameringen Foundation and now administered by Southern New Hampshire University] has already adjusted its required coursework to include a class on early childhood mental health, based on the these competencies.) We anticipate that endorsements or certificates will be created for those competencies that are beyond current licensing and certification systems and/or reflect more specialized knowledge and skills, so providers with these skills in early childhood and family mental health can be identified.

We believe that if these competencies are used throughout the service delivery system, children and their families will not have to reach a point of near-crisis to receive the social and emotional support and services they need to effectively cope in our communities. It is our sincere hope that by embedding these competencies within various and multiple personnel preparation programs and ongoing in-service opportunities, children and families will have their needs for early childhood and family mental health recognized and addressed wherever they go by thoroughly trained and informed caregivers.