Statements
Mission
Our Mission
AIMHiTN supports professionals through training, resources, and advocacy to foster the early relational health of infants, young children, and families.
Background
AIMHiTN was born out of the Tennessee Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative (TEICMH). TEICMH brought together individuals and agencies committed to infant and early childhood mental health to develop relationships across departments and agencies, identify existing resources and opportunities, and begin to identify what is needed to address the mental health needs of infants, young children, their families and communities. AIMHITN is a multidisciplinary non-profit organization for all professionals who support the development of children birth to age To enhance the capacity of the early childhood workforce, AIMHiTN offers: Infant Mental Health Endorsement (IMH-E?) - a credential for professionals working with children birth to age 3 and their families; Developing professional capacities within the early childhood workforce utilizing evidence-based best practices in supporting infants and young children; Training and Outreach; Increasing public awareness of how early experiences influence early relationships and impact development; Technical Assistance; Fostering partnerships, policies and best practices to better support healthy development in infants, young children and their families. AIMHiTN seeks to create: Strong Foundations. The research in child development shows that the foundation for sound mental health is built early in life. Just like building a house begins with a strong foundation, a strong foundation in children's early years increases the probability of lifelong positive outcomes. Healthy Relationships. Healthy child development is dependent on safe and stable relationships with sensitive and responsive adults. When children have healthy relationships, they are better able to express and manage their emotions, form relationships with peers and other adults, and explore their environment and learn. Bright Futures. Early investments reap dividends as child development translates into economic development later on. A child with a solid foundation becomes part of a solid community and contributes to our society.
Impact
Top Accomplishments for 2022:
* AIMHiTN had an intentional focus on ensuring, a sense of belonging within our agency's culture and in our relationships with the IECMH Community. In support of this effort, AIMHiTN established the Equity Impact Team and added 12 new members. These individuals help create policies and procedures that are equitable and inclusive.
* In 2022, over 150 Home Visiting and CCR&R professionals participated in reflective supervision/consultation groups for 2 hours each month. A reflective practice program was developed allowing Early Childhood Systems Leaders the opportunity to take part in a training series before joining these reflective practice spaces. A total of 1,525 Reflective Practice hours were provided in total in 2022.
*AIMHITN held a Reflective Supervision Symposium that offered 16 hours of training and 150 professional attended.
* Throughout 2022, AIMHiTN provided 48 trainings to 1,899 individuals in the Tennessee IECMH workforce. AIMHiTN responded to 2,378 technical assistance requests.
* In 2022, we also launched the "Belonging Awards" to promote Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Partner resources that support high-quality inclusion and encourage early educators to seek out technical assistance. This award will be bestowed upon a licensed childcare agency that best exemplifies high-quality inclusion program design based on access, participation, and supports.
* Our AIMHiTN Membership exists to help people working with infants, young children, and their families to stay connected. Membership currently sits at 409 professionals.
* In 2022, AIMHiTN experienced a 66% growth in Infant Mental Health Endorsement. TN ended the year with 1,154 applicants, including 652 endorsed professionals. AIMHiTN continues to be a leader throughout the world in expanding endorsement. We kicked off the Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement. Since September, 90 professionals have applied for Ealy Childhood Endorsement, and 18 of those have already earned their ECMH Endorsement.
* AIMHiTN expanded our Community Engagement Team to include Community Liaisons that cover all of TN. They have increased our outreach by participating, presenting, partnering, and supporting AIMHiTN awareness campaigns across the state.
* AIMHiTN continues to increase engagement reach through social media and in 2022 redesign the website which is user friendly, accessible, and streamline many of our agency processes.
* Continued to Co-lead the TN IECMH Financing Policy Team to continue making progress on goals to expand IECMH programs and services, and create more concise messaging, and initiatives to engage state leaders and policymakers in the IECMH movement.
* Held the AIMHiTN conference which had 468 people registered and over 300 people in attendance who received professional development offerings in a variety of IECMH topics.
* Through collaboration with our CCR&R Partners we updated the AIMHiTN Resource Map into a clickable map that is now held on both the AIMHiTN website and the CCR&R website. By clicking the map, you can find resources specific to the county where services are needed. You can find resources along the continuum of Promotion, Screening/Assessment, Prevention, Consultation, Intervention, and Treatment.
*Staff growth was a great success in 2022. We grew from 9b staff to 19 by the end of December 2022.
Needs
Top 5 most pressing needs:
* Operational Reserve funds of at least $300,000.00
* Additional staff to support program expansion
* Reflective Supervision additional Capacity
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Children's and Youth Services |
| Secondary Category: | Education - |
| Tertiary Category: | Community Improvement, Capacity Building - |
Areas Served
AIMHiTN supports the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health workforce across the state of Tennessee and in turn supports the healthy development of infants and young children within the context of their families, cultures, and communities.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN |
