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Mental Health = Social and Emotional Development

The essential foundation for early learning - in its simplest form it is the capacity to LOVE, WORK, and PLAY; the social, emotional and behavioral well-being of young children and their families.

Social development - Involves learning how to have positive relationships with other people. Learning to form and value relationships, express individual views, discuss and resolve conflict, and enjoy working and playing with others. Both children and adults need special people in their lives who they can talk to, play with, and care about.

Emotional Development - Closely related to social development and refers to children's feelings about themselves, the people in their lives, and the environment in which they live. Children with a strong sense of self and high self-esteem are likely to value relationships with others. Children who feel good about themselves tend to feel good about being with other people.

FCF Mental Health Philosophy

The FCF mental health program approach is a comprehensive, strength-based, family-centered design; mental health is a part of all program components. Mental health services are based on a holistic, wellness-focused vision that guides the day-to-day interactions with children, families and staff, while addressing the needs of young children and their families who may be at risk of emotional, behavioral or mental disorders.

This means that "Mental Health Services" include a range of activities and strategies, such as:

· Supporting all children's positive social and emotional development. We design a curriculum that fosters the social and emotional development of every child. We build relationships and set up learning environments that support each child and family to reach their individual and unique potential. We teach children social and emotional skills through daily routines, interactions, modeling and through playing and working with others.

· A focused approach of identifying and solving early problem behaviors. We assess the social and emotional strengths or Protective Factors, of each child, using multiple sources of information, and screen for behavioral or emotional problems. We use this assessment information to plan curriculum for each classroom and to individually plan for children to address individual needs. Teachers are expected to be reflective about their work with children and families and make needed changes to the environment and curriculum to support individual children.

Meeting the needs of children with more extensive or serious behavioral or emotional problems. We create Child Success Team Plans to address any identified needs. Child Success Teams are parents and staff working together, creating a well thought out plan that allows each child to find success and fulfillment in their Head Start classroom. The plan may include further assessment or evaluation, referral to community mental health professionals, and classroom and home strategies that will support the emotional and social health of the child and family.

Mental Health