Early connections: expanding infant and early childhood mental health in the lowcountry and beyond - early connections will expand access to infant and early childhood mental health (iecmh) services…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded South Carolina Infant Mental Health Association (SCIMHA) $477,860 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.532) to expand infant and early childhood mental health services across South Carolina's Lowcountry.

SCIMHA will increase workforce capacity through training programs including the IECMH Foundations Certificate, IECMH Clinical Certificate, DC:0-5 training, and Child-Parent Psychotherapy. The recipient will conduct screening and assessment activities, provide direct treatment services to children and families, and deliver warmline consultation and workforce development activities statewide. Over the five-year project period, SCIMHA expects to serve approximately 2,529 unduplicated individuals, including children ages 0–5 and their caregivers, with approximately 440 professionals participating in workforce development, 1,661 children receiving screening and assessment services, 68 children and families receiving direct treatment, and 360 caregivers and professionals receiving consultation services.

The project targets Berkeley, Beaufort, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, with warmline consultation and workforce development available statewide. Beneficiaries include children with developmental, behavioral, social-emotional, or relationship issues and families experiencing poverty, adverse childhood experiences, child welfare involvement, behavioral health problems, limited service access, Medicaid enrollment, underinsurance, rural residence, or underserved status. Place of performance is Charleston, South Carolina. The period of performance runs through September 29, 2031.

Early connections: expanding infant and early childhood mental health in the lowcountry and beyond - early connections will expand access to infant and early childhood mental health (iecmh) services across south carolina's lowcountry by increasing screening, assessment, treatment, consultation, and workforce training. Through integrated training, clinical services, consultation, and coordinated referrals, early connections will improve outcomes for young children and families while advancing samhsa priorities in prevention, workforce development, access to care, and resilience. Over the five-year project period, scimha expects to serve approximately 2,529 unduplicated individuals, specifically children ages 0-5 and their caregivers across berkeley, beaufort, charleston, and dorchester counties in south carolina. IT will offer warmline consultation and workforce development activities statewide. The focus is on children with developmental, behavioral, social-emotional, or relationship issues; families facing poverty, adverse childhood experiences (aces), involvement with child welfare, behavioral health problems, or limited service access; and families who are medicaid-enrolled, underinsured, rural, or underserved. Over the five-year project period, scimha expects to serve approximately 2,529 unduplicated individuals through workforce development, screening and assessment, treatment, and consultation activities. This includes approximately 440 professionals participating in workforce development activities, 1,661 children receiving screening and assessment services, 68 children and families receiving direct iecmh treatment, and 360 caregivers and professionals receiving consultation services. The project will focus on four main activities. First, scimha will increase workforce capacity by providing training through the iecmh foundations certificate, iecmh clinical certificate, DC:0-5 training, and child-parent psychotherapy (CPP). Second, help me grow south carolina (HMG) will be enhanced as the primary resource for developmental and social-emotional screening, care coordination, referrals, and service navigation. Third, scimha will broaden direct clinical services by adding an iecmh clinician to conduct assessments, dyadic treatment, caregiver support, and behavioral interventions. Finally, scimha will introduce a statewide warmline consultation service to offer prompt support to caregivers and professionals caring for young children. Project goals are to: (1) strengthen workforce capacity to implement iecmh best practices; (2) expand access to screening, assessment, and referral services; (3) expand mental health treatment and consultation services; and (4) improve child and family outcomes through coordinated, sustainable supports. Key objectives include training 75 grant-supported professionals through the iecmh foundations certificate, training 100 professionals through the iecmh clinical certificate, providing DC:0-5 training to approximately 250 additional professionals, increasing developmental and social-emotional screening by 20% annually, expanding assessment capacity to 50 assessments annually by year 4, serving at least 100 children and families through treatment services, and providing statewide warmline consultation. Outcomes will include improved child social-emotional functioning, decreased caregiver stress, increased caregiver confidence, and strengthened access to infant and early childhood mental health supports.