The Howard County Office of Children and Families’ Family Institute and CARE Center have partnered with 35 early childhood education programs to support the 2019 Children’s Mental Health Matters! Campaign.

The programs include: Head Starts, Judy Centers, preschools, child care centers, and family child care providers.

Mental health is a person’s overall emotional, behavioral, and psychological well-being. It impacts how we think, feel, and act. This includes how a child feels about himself or herself, relates to other children and adults, and handles change, stress, and other life situations.

Early awareness highlights the importance of caring for every child’s mental health and reinforces that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development. Participation in this campaign helps to develop a stigma-free environment, which can empower families to feel comfortable accessing help they may need.

Program partners received a packet of information and resources that they can use and display as well as five days of activities to do in their programs, with complementary activities and resources for parents to do at home.

Additional resources are also available here.