Children’s Mental Health Matters
DYK: The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association declared a national emergency in October for child and adolescent mental health?
Join the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Mental Health Association of Maryland, Maryland Coalition of Families, Maryland Department of Health, Behavioral Health, the Institute for Innovation & Implementation at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and schools and programs nationwide to raise public awareness about the importance of children’s mental health.
May 1-7 is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week!
The MSDE Maryland Family Engagement Program (MFE) has committed to supporting the 2022 Children’s Mental Health Matters! Campaign as a Community Champion annually and dedicated various resources to encouraging positive mental health conversations between educators and families. This statewide campaign collaborates with the Mental Health Association of Maryland and the Maryland Coalition of Families, with support from the Maryland Department of Health, Behavioral Health Administration. For more than 20 years, the Campaign has brought together partners, schools, non-profits and other agencies with the following goals:
- Increasing public awareness of the importance of children’s mental health & substance use.
- Reducing stigma surrounding mental health.
- Connecting children & families with resources for prevention and support of mental health disorders.
- Highlighting creative & innovative efforts of local communities in Maryland.
- Providing opportunities for all Campaign partners & Champions to be a role model.
May 7 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day!
On Saturday, May 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will highlight the importance of caring for every child’s mental health while reinforcing the message that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development.
The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Consultation Project
DYK: During the pandemic, parents with children ages 5-12 reported their children showed elevated symptoms of depression (4%), anxiety (6%) and psychological stress (9%); and experienced overall worsened mental or emotional health (22%), according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey.
The MSDE Division of Early Childhood also offers various resources and programs to support children’s healthy social and emotional development with the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Consultation Project and Maryland’s SEFEL Pyramid Model. The IECMH program improves staff, programs and families’ ability to prevent, identify, treat and reduce the impact of social, emotional and other mental health problems among children from birth through 5 years old. SEFEL offers an evidence-based, comprehensive approach to supporting the early childhood workforce in promoting the healthy social and emotional development of young children.
Mental Health: Coping and Resilience
MFE Presents: The Resilience Collection! From stress management videos to coping skill activities and ways to identify emotions, check out the MFE Resilience Collection. Discover helpful resources to support positive mental health conversations between families and educators. Visit this collection often as we add new resources every month.
