Minutes and agendas for the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Roundtable meetings can be found HERE.

Sarah Patton
she/her
sarahpatton4@gmail.com

Leigh-Ellen Figueroa
she/her
lfigueroa@frcog.org
413-774-3167, ext. 107

Who We Are:

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Roundtable of Hampshire, Franklin and North Quabbin Region is a network of community organizations, providers, parents, professionals and allies representing educational, mental health, pediatric, social service, early intervention and other support services. Since starting in 2008, members have been meeting regularly to share opportunities, learn and advocate for IECMH locally and statewide.

Our Mission:

The mission of the Roundtable is to:

Support and promote mental and relational health in families of young children, birth to 8 years of age;

Improve provision of early identification, intervention and support services for young children and their families by strengthening collaborations among Roundtable participants and inviting others to join our coalition;

Provide leadership to encourage the development of supportive services that are accessible, effective and address identified gaps in resources;

Advocate for culturally competent services that are accessible to diverse families including those with limited incomes and resources and those with specific cultural linguistic needs;

Address the complexity of issues facing the field of IECMH by following the process of Collective Impact — sharing a vision for change and a common agenda, engaging in coordinated and mutually reinforcing activities, maintaining continuous and open communication;

Share opportunities for further learning and growth.

Projects:

In 2021 we received money from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Addiction Prevention, and through a careful, community driven planning process we chose to focus our efforts on bringing Touchpoints Training to our community.

The Brazelton Touchpoints Approach to family engagement, is an evidence-based professional training that assists family-facing professionals in engaging families more effectively through strengths-based, culturally responsive and reflective practices in understanding development and supporting relationships.

Since 2023 we have worked with the United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region to establish a Brazelton Touchpoints Center here, with certified trainers teaching this approach to professionals in the area.