One of the Connecticut’s primary goals is to improve the quality of early childhood programs and reduce the likelihood of suspensions and expulsions in child care settings. The Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) program has established quality care and improvement processes, and the program actively engages in a variety of activities designed to monitor these processes. For example, during the planning process, key stakeholders were asked to identify data to be collected on the ECCP program. Advanced Behavioral Health has developed and implemented a centralized data and reporting system that collects demographic information and pre- and post-tests results using standardized assessment tools to measure outcomes for children in child care programs they serve. ECCP has been involved in evaluations conducted by independent evaluators.

Most recently, ECCP has been evaluated in a rigorous random controlled experiment (43 treatment classes and 42 wait list control classes) conducted by Walter Gilliam and colleagues at the Yale University Child Study Center. Preliminary results indicate that children in classes receiving the ECCP services evidenced significantly greater teacher-rated improvements in oppositional behaviors, hyperactivity, and overall externalizing behavior problems relative to children in control classes. Specific pathways by which the program effects occurred were not clear. Final results are being written, and a full report is expected before 2007. The study was funded by the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut.

Initial funding for the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) came from money allocated to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) by the State of Connecticut Community Mental Health Strategy Board. ECCP has been sustained by support from the legislature, along with the governor and other state agencies.

Following the initial pilot year, funding for the program came from the Community Mental Health Strategy Board and several other sources, including two private foundations—the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI) and the Connecticut Health Foundation (CHF)—the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the state Department of Education (DOE). Private foundation funding and funds from CHDI and CHF were intended to provide temporary funding while ECCP was worked into the DCF budget as a regular line item.

In 2004 and 2005, approximately four-fifths of the funding came from the state DCF, and one-fifth came from the state DOE. As of 2006, ECCP has been fully incorporated as a line item in the DCF Budget. While the program is primarily funded by DCF, the DOE continues to fund a sub-component of the program. Recently, ECCP has been expanded by additional funding provided by DCF, doubling program capacity.

Across state departments, there has been increased support for the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) and growing recognition that socio-emotional development is key to the success of the state’s pre-kindergarten School Readiness program. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) oversees the contract with Advanced Behavioral Health (ABH) to administer the ECCP program. In addition, DCF partners with the State Department of Education (DOE) to provide ECCP services to children with special needs in community-based child care centers. DOE funding can be used to address mental health issues and coordinate planning across settings when children with special needs are in multiple early care settings.

Head Start stakeholders were part of the initial ECCP planning process, and trainings provided by ECCP mental health professionals are open to Head Start staff. ABH collaborates with local Head Start programs, which are already required to provide mental health screenings and referrals to children in their program.

ABH also coordinates with a state-funded toll-free hotline that connects providers and parents with early childhood resources (Help Me Grow). The hotline is sponsored by the state resource and referral network.

At the state level, there is an Early Childhood Partners Group that advises the state planning process for early care and education. Although ABH does not participate directly in this group, it does provide data and reports on early childhood mental health to several state policy committees that are focused on preschool quality and expansion. In September 2005, the governor initiated an Early Childhood cabinet, which is focused specifically on these concerns. There is a growing recognition among policy makers in many areas of the importance of social and emotional readiness for K-12.

Connecticut has the potential to expand initiatives to better serve infants and toddlers, primarily because there is broad-based support from key state leaders, including members of the legislature and the governor. A pilot project, through the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, (CHDI) is supporting a group of individuals’ efforts to develop an interdisciplinary consultation model that includes infants and toddlers.

Procuring funding for the infant and toddler focus is a challenge. Current funding levels limit the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership program (ECCP) to serve children associated with child care and early education centers. In addition, coordinating funding to create a seamless system of care in the K-12 system remains a challenge for early childhood stakeholders in Connecticut.

• Encourage collaboration and coordination among all the relevant state agencies and early childhood stakeholders throughout the state.
• Seek support from foundations and state legislators who will champion the initiative.
• Centralized program management, data collection, and standardized outcomes are necessary components to reporting that can be used to inform policy makers.
• It is important to remember the child behind the data and to use anecdotal evidence to win support from stakeholders and lawmakers.

Interview with Liz Bicio, LCSW, Early Childhood Consultation Partnership Program Manager at Advanced Behavioral Health, on November 15, 2005 and updated November 30, 2006.