early intervention

Hundreds of New York state toddlers whose early intervention services were threatened by the possibility of missing a June 30 deadline because of COVID-19 precautions got a reprieve on Monday when the state moved the deadline back.

Hundreds of New York toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities may lose access to in-home speech, behavioral, occupational and other therapies next week – because the coronavirus pandemic has prevented them from getting the services approved by their local school district. 

Dr. Jonathan Sherin, director of the Department of Mental Health (DMH) for Los Angeles County, is thinking outside the box about ways to optimize mental health by preventing trauma. He sees working closely with the foster care system as critical, and he’s proposing to invest millions of DMH dollars to prove it.

Earlier this month, the federal Family First Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456) was finally introduced after more than a year of hearings and behind-the-scenes work by Congressional staff. The bill has two main purposes: to bolster federal investments to prevent entries into foster care, and to reduce the number of children and youth who are placed in congregate care settings.

A new report from the Center for Youth Wellness outlines policy ideas and recommendations for creating momentum around addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) across California. A primary-care pediatric clinic in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco, the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) has taken a leading role in exploring the way early adversity can negatively impact the developing brains and bodies of children, both at its clinic and as a state-wide advocate.

The number of youth in foster care nationally has declined over the past decade, however, similar declines have not occurred for children under six years of age.The brief, “Making the Case for Early Childhood Intervention in Child Welfare,” describes a national scan of interventions targeting families with young children and makes several recommendations to safely reduce the number of young children in foster care.