More than two decades of research has established a compelling link between children’s social and emotional development and their readiness to succeed in school (e.g. mashburn, Pianta, hamre, Downer, Barbarin, Bryant et al., 2008). Smart Support is arizona’s infant and early childhood mental health consultation system, an essential element of the state’s concerted effort to enhance the quality of young children’s care and education. Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (I/ECmhC) is quickly gaining momentum throughout the country as an effective and efficient intervention for the prevention of expulsions and suspensions from early care and education settings, now known to be a national problem (gilliam, 2005; hepburn, Perry, Shivers & gilliam, 2013). there is additional evidence that I/ECmhC promotes a healthy social and emotional environment for all children in an early childhood setting, not just those identified or perceived as struggling (Brennan, Bradley, Dallas, allen, & Perry, 2008).
From the very inception of Smart Support and throughout its first four years, a rigorous and comprehensive external evaluation was integrated into the program. By establishing a close partnership and following Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles, Smart Support program leaders and the Indigo Cultural Center evaluation team pursued the following evaluation goals: 1. to determine whether Smart Support is meeting its stated objective; 2. to inform the program’s ongoing design and implementation; 3. to contribute to the literature on effective strategies for infant and early childhood mental health consultation; and 4. to provide findings that could guide arizona and national efforts to build a comprehensive system of quality enhancement initiatives for the entire continuum of child care providers.
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