Learn more about motivational interviewing and how it can benefit Head Start programs.

Find resources that help programs make the most of their infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) services.

While roughly 15% of new mothers suffer from maternal depression, the rates are much higher in families with lower incomes. In fact, 52% of mothers in an Early Head Start research study reported high levels of depressive symptoms.

Head Start programs are increasingly involved in efforts to assist adult family members in gaining parenting skills that can both promote positive social-emotional development and prevent challenging behaviors. In recent years, a number of formal parenting curricula have been developed and researched. We have identified five such programs with promising effects.

Ongoing research continues to show us how adversity and toxic stress in early childhood can have a negative impact throughout a person's life. These videos are designed to help them understand what toxic stress is, what it does to a person, and easy things to do to help prevent it.

These short videos provide examples of how to use MI strategies in everyday conversations between staff and families. Staff can use these videos to identify skills to enhance their relationships with families.

Head Start program staff are required to work in partnership with families to ensure they have access to any needed mental health services. This brief is designed to: (1) provide guidance for Head Start program staff to identify mental health providers who best meet a family's needs, culture, and personality, and (2) offer ideas to overcome access barriers.