South Carolina Infant Mental Health Association

South Carolina Infant Mental Health Association, a nonprofit based in Charleston, South Carolina, operates as a federal grant recipient providing infant and early childhood mental health training, clinical services, screening, assessment, consultation, and workforce development primarily through sub-award arrangements with state-level prime grantees and national intermediaries. The organization holds one prime federal grant award and eight sub-awards across a three-agency customer base within the Department of Health and Human Services.

SCIMHA's primary federal footprint flows through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The organization received a $477,860 prime grant award 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 through September 29, 2031. The five-year project, titled Early Connections: Expanding Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health in the Lowcountry and Beyond, targets children ages 0-5 and their caregivers across Berkeley, Beaufort, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, with statewide warmline consultation and workforce development. SCIMHA will deliver workforce training via the IECMH Foundations Certificate, IECMH Clinical Certificate, DC:0-5 training, and Child-Parent Psychotherapy; conduct screening and assessment activities; provide direct treatment services; and deliver consultation services. Over the project period, SCIMHA expects to serve approximately 2,529 unduplicated individuals, including 440 professionals in workforce development, 1,661 children receiving screening and assessment, 68 children and families in direct treatment, and 360 caregivers and professionals receiving consultation.

SCIMHA's secondary federal engagement sits in sub-award roles. The organization holds eight sub-awards from prime grantees including the South Carolina Department of Social Services, the South Carolina Department of Public Health, Zero To Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers & Families, and others, dating from January 2024 through June 2026. These sub-awards support Safe Babies Courts programming, Help Me Grow state infrastructure, early care and education workforce development, and child care service expansion under the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant and the Child Care and Development Fund. SCIMHA's role in these arrangements includes staff infrastructure, clinical service delivery, IECMH capacity building, continuous quality improvement coordination with Furman University's Riley Institute, and reflective supervision for community-based implementation teams.

Recent activity shows growth: two awards in 2024, three in 2025, and four in 2026. Combined dollars obligated across all nine awards total $7.1 million. The organization's customer concentration is entirely within HHS — the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Administration for Children and Families each account for four awards, with SAMHSA rounding out the third customer. SCIMHA does not carry contracts or seats on federal procurement vehicles; all work derives from federal grant programs with performance concentrated in South Carolina.