Grant: T. Gr:Men. Hlth Early Yrs Impl. Sc.-Trans. Men. health early yrs-integrated care

There is currently no Canadian system of support for infant and early mental health (IEMH, or Socio-emotional development). This leaves Canadian children birth to 6 years of age (the period when the brain is most malleable) at risk of unnoticed or untreated developmental delays. These become more difficult to treat later on and often snowball into less-than-optimal, costly lifelong outcomes such as poorer mental and physical health. For years, the authors of this proposal have worked with communities to bridge the gaps in IEMH services. A recent example is the creation of Infant and Early Mental Health Care Pathways that guide children and families to, through, and out of services so they get the right support at the right time, and in the right format for them. Based on these experiences and under guidance of experts including implementation scientists, IEMHP researched and developed a model to guide communities as they strive to better support IEMH. This model, the IEMH Core Component Framework, includes an assessment tool intended for organizational leaders to assess the strengths of their organization, suggest priority areas to refine and monitor the success of their efforts, as they relate to improving families' access to appropriate and timely IEMH support in their community. But does this framework really improve the impact of IEMH-related community efforts? Is it useful and meaningful to communities? This proposal offers to validate the IEMH Core Component Framework and its assessment tool while Pathways of Care in IEMH Interventions are being implemented in multiple Western and Indigenous communities. Ultimately, we will create a streamlined, effective method that more Canadian communities can follow to develop their own systems of IEMH care pathways, ensuring that Canadian children at risk of poor mental health outcomes are identified, guided and supported as early and effectively as possible.