Early Childhood Mental Health Toolkit Home > What Do I Need To Know
How can initiatives be funded?
Not every type of early childhood mental health best practice requires funding (see the How do I make changes? section of this toolkit for how to advocate for policy changes), but when trying to initiate or enhance prevention, wellness, and mental health services and supports for young children and their caregivers, knowing how to access and leverage funding can be important.
Here you’ll find strategies for early childhood mental health funding.
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Funding Tip: Leverage funds from other programs that have intersecting missions
![icon-white-hand-150x150 (1)](https://www.mentalhealthcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/icon-white-hand-150x150-1.png)
Funding Tip: Watch this video for tips on funding early childhood mental health consultation
Depending on the size and scope of your project or initiative, you might pursue funding avenues such as:
- Funding via national, state, and local public grants or from the state legislature
- Local mill levies to increase property taxes
- Other ballot measures such as sales or marijuana taxes
- Philanthropic funding
- Re-prioritizing use of existing budgets for early childhood mental health
![icon-white-hand-150x150 (1)](https://www.mentalhealthcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/icon-white-hand-150x150-1.png)
Funding Tip: When considering which funding sources to use, use the following questions to help your planning:
- Is the funding source time-limited? For how long?
- Can the funding from this source be leveraged to bring in other funding?
- Are these funds renewable or one-time?
- Is the funding source stable?
Funding strategies can be about dollars but they can also be about getting a needed service or support in ways that use other community resources “in-kind,” such as clinical services from a partner organization or sharing staff or administrative time. In this section we address funding as well as saving on costs through shared resources.
Let’s look at some of the funding strategies that are currently used for the best practices and some opportunities that exist. What you’ll find next are multiple types of funding and some ways that the best practices have been supported in Colorado or in other states. Additionally, we’ve included ideas for using funding that might not be currently in practice.
Best practice #1 – Screening of the child and screening for pregnancy-related depression and anxiety for the mother are included as essential parts of assessment in child development.
Best practice #2 – Early education quality improvement strategies consider caregiver support for children’s social emotional development and mental health.
Best practice #3 – Consultation is available in early care and education and home visiting.
Best practice #4 – Mental health and primary health prevention and treatment is covered through publicly funded and private health plans.
Best practice #5 – Caregiver wellness is supported.
Best practice #6 – Programs create a trauma-sensitive climate and culture.
Best practice #7 – Early education settings create environments for mental health, positive behavior, and social emotional learning.
Best practice #8 – Well-supported workforce is available with specific expertise in infant and early childhood mental health.
Best practice #9 – The DC:0-5™ is used and recognized as the system for diagnosing mental health and developmental disorders in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers within their caregiving relationships.
Best practice #10 – Program suspension and expulsion rates are quantified, and these practices are mitigated.
Funding strategy
Local mill levies
What is it?
The mill levy sets the rate that is charged for property taxes. Communities that want to raise property taxes to collect more money must ask voters for approval first. The money generated from this tax stays in the community and could go directly to a specified purpose.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
In 2017 the San Miguel County Board of Commissioners approved the language for the Early Childhood Initiative, which voters then passed in the fall of 2017. Ballot Issue 1A, increased property taxes by .75 of a mill, or an estimated $5.40 for every $100,000 of assessed residential property value.
Funding strategy
Ballot measure related to other taxes (sales, marijuana)
What is it?
A ballot measure puts a proposal in front of voters to empower citizens to approve or reject the proposal.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
In 2017, Eagle County passed a ballot issue to tax recreational marijuana sales in the county. This could generate up to $1.2 million annually that will be specifically dedicated to mental health and substance use programs.
Funding strategy
Foundation funding
What is it?
Philanthropic funders want to fund high-impact initiatives in communities of interest to them; early childhood mental health research and evidence can be valuable to inform their decision-making.
Foundation funding could include private, community, or corporate foundations.
The Funders Learning Network on Early Childhood Mental Health is a diverse group of Colorado grantmaking organizations that fund many areas and have a shared interest in children’s mental health.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
A collaborative group of Colorado funders spanning health and early childhood disciplines convened in 2013 to form the Funders Learning Network on Early Childhood Mental Health. In 2015, the network’s collaborative partners pooled $11 million to create a five-year initiative called LAUNCH Together, modeled after the federal Project LAUNCH initiative, from which Colorado receives funding.
The Buell Foundation’s $75,000 early childhood mental health consultation grant to Alliance for Kids serving Park, Teller, and rural El Paso Counties supports rural early learning providers through on-site mental health consultation.
The Advancing Colorado’s Mental Health Care project, which ended in 2011, was a joint effort that provided support to human services agencies, mental health care providers, and others to improve the integration and coordination of mental health services.
Funding strategy
Health insurance
What is it?
Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) and private health insurance plans should cover health care visits including those for mental health for children and primary caregivers. Services include:
- Wellness and disease management
- Prescription drugs
- Hospitalization
- Laboratory services
- Emergency services
- Maternity and maternal care into the first year of delivery
- Children’s care, dental and vision
- Rehabilitation and habilitation
- Mental, behavioral health, and substance use care
- Outpatient clinic services
The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit is the comprehensive health care coverage for children under the age of 21 enrolled in Medicaid.
Best practice that could be supported
#1
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Example
At Mountainland Pediatrics, maternal screening done in the pediatric practice is billed under the child’s Medicaid or the mother’s Medicaid under a Z code if the child doesn’t yet have Medicaid.
It is possible to pair a diagnosis in the DC:0-5TM with a parallel diagnosis in a diagnostic manual that is billable. This strategy is called “crosswalking.” ZERO TO THREE has created a sample crosswalk from the DC:0-5 to the DSM-5 and the ICD-10.
Funding strategy
School and early learning program funding through dedicated use of budgets
What is it?
Current organizational budgets could undergo a strategic review to identify early childhood mental health investments that might result in cost savings in another program spending area.
School and early learning funding at the individual school or program level is usually a coveted resource but can be used for things such as teacher trainings, wellness programs, school-based mental health supports, and special programs. While many young children are in private early learning programs, many public schools provide preschool services through the Colorado Preschool Program and Preschool Special Education.
Use this link to better understand how early childhood educational funding flows into programs.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
Bal Swan Children’s Center in Broomfield committed to funding training for
their staff and providing ongoing supports to implement the Pyramid Plus Model of social emotional competence and inclusion program-wide. They knew that funding was crucial, so chose to use all their training budget for four years to implement this model with fidelity. Bal Swan has received funds from grantors in part due to their success with the Pyramid Model. Their Board of Directors and community supporters added their financial backing to sustaining the Pyramid Model at Bal Swan.
Funding strategy
School district funding
What is it?
Colorado has 178 school districts, whose funding is determined using a combination of factors, including local taxes and state funds. Funding for the Colorado Preschool Program is a part of Colorado’s public- school system.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
In the 2017 school year, Jefferson County School district was able to dedicate $750,000 to a partnership with Jefferson Center for Mental Health (JCMH). JCMH helps cover some of the cost of the counselors that the school district uses, particularly for schools with a larger population of free and reduced-lunch-qualified families.
The nine positions added were social emotional learning specialists, which differ from traditional school counselors. Thirty-three elementary schools (many of which include preschool) who have JCMH prevention specialists on campus at least one day a week are working toward equipping students with the social emotional skills to thrive.
Funding strategy
County partners such as departments of public health and departments of human services
What is it?
County health departments can support community-wide health initiatives, health education, health awareness campaigns, and improvements in community referral systems.
County departments of human services manage child care assistance programs, child welfare, public benefits, and prevention services.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
Northeast Colorado Health Department coordinated an initiative to train and support providers on screenings and treatment for pregnancy-related depression, and raise public awareness of the associated symptoms, risk factors, and stigma.
The Community Infant Program in Boulder County works with high-risk families to promote healthy attachments between parents and infants. Nurses and mental health therapists provide services in the home for parents who have trouble adjusting to a new infant or young child. Financial support and assistance for this initiative is a partnership with the community mental health center, public health, and the county department of human services.
Funding strategy
Community programs supported by state, federal, and community funding
What is it?
Through grants and partnerships with communities, state and federal funds can support new and ongoing programs or approaches such as:
The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) Office of Behavioral Health funds the 17 Community Mental Health Centers to deliver a range of prevention and treatment services for children and caregivers. Other funding for Mental Health Centers can come from Medicaid, commercial insurance, state general funds, federal block grants, and other grants.
Early Intervention Colorado, housed at CDHS, provides supports and services to children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families from birth to age 3.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
The Tony Grampsas Youth Services (TGYS) Program provides funding to local organizations for prevention, intervention, and education programs for children, youth, and their families designed to prevent youth crime and violence, youth marijuana use, and child abuse and neglect. From 2017 to 2020, TGYS is funding Healthy Steps in Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties. Healthy Steps is an evidence-based early childhood behavioral health integration model that provides enhanced primary care experiences to children from birth to 3 years old and their families.
The Office of Learning Supports at the Colorado Department of Education began a year-long training series for district-level coaches and their accompanying school-based leadership teams. Using a new training model, the goal is to scale up and rejuvenate Colorado positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS).
The Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health’s managed services organization contracts provide funding that supports caregivers with substance use disorders to access family-oriented treatment including access to parenting skills and supports that promote parent-infant bonding.
Aurora Mental Health Center’s Early Childhood and Family Center provides comprehensive mental health treatment for infants and children up to age 6. Many of these children have been victimized, traumatized, abused, abandoned, or have experienced emotional or behavioral difficulties, which interfere with learning and developing relationships. Individual, family, and group therapies are integrated to best serve the needs of each child and family, and the team offers parenting classes and support groups.
Five substance use treatment programs—Addiction Research and Treatment Services, Centennial Mental Health Center, Crossroads Turning Point, Mile High Behavioral Healthcare, and North Range Behavioral Health—trauma-informed treatment and support services specifically designed for women who are parenting and their children. Services include assistance with transportation, child care, mother-child bonding activities, and health education. Services are funded through the Office of Behavioral Health and Health First Colorado.
Funding strategy
Legislative funding requests
What is it?
State funding can support larger-scale adoption of new programs and approaches, statewide initiatives, and services such as preschool, kindergarten and quality improvement.
Best practice that could be supported
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Example
The Colorado Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist program was approved by the Colorado General Assembly and is funded through state general funds and federal funds, with a total of almost $3 million dedicated to the specialists in 2017. This program is a free resource that helps adults support children’s social emotional development and identify concerns early in a child’s life that could lead to greater challenges.
How to find grant funding
Grant opportunities can be found through state departments, philanthropic organizations, and national sources. For example:
State Grants:
The Colorado Department of Education offers competitive grants and awards to enhance educational improvement, which include issues such as workforce development, bullying, and social emotional health.
The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment offers funding opportunities related to health and environmental issues, such as health disparities, school-based health centers, and maternal wellness.
The Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health provides a variety of competitive grants to prevent and treat mental health and substance use disorders in local communities that can be accessed by signing up for their monthly newsletter.
Foundation Grants:
There are Colorado-based foundations that are active in funding early childhood mental health initiatives, including the Buell Foundation, Caring for Colorado, Colorado Health Foundation, Community First Foundation, the Piton Foundation at Gary Community Investments, and Rose Community Foundation.
Federal Grants:
These sites track potential federal grant opportunities: Colorado GrantWatch and the U.S. Department of Education.
Federal agencies also offer grant and co-operative agreement funding opportunities such as the Administration on Children and Families and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Is there any other funding I can pursue?
Determined advocates can find other sources of funding, from local philanthropic groups like the Rotary Club, local businesses and charities, and Chambers of Commerce.
As you identify community partners, ask whether they can fund early childhood programs and services in the community to support early childhood mental health. If so, arrange a meeting among you, the potential funder, and your early childhood champion(s) to discuss next steps for crafting a proposal. You can build relationships with community funders before a funding request is made to better understand their priorities. You can also help potential funders understand how the best practices in this toolkit connect to their priorities.
Now that you know a bit more about how funding for school-based mental health services can work, revisit the Six-steps-to-change tool. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the What works? and How do I make changes? sections of this toolkit to learn about programs and strategies for success.
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Messaging
We embedded messaging into this toolkit from the early childhood shared message bank—a collection of well-researched and tested messages and metaphors. You can go here to find all their messages in one place, even ones crafted for specific audiences.
The Colorado Office of Early Childhood, a branch of the Colorado Department of Human Services, has just launched a brand new website that provides:
- Videos to build your knowledge
- Communication tools and messages, including ready-to-post social media materials
- Outreach tools to raise awareness on social media and in person
The Big Picture
The Early Childhood Colorado Framework is a document to promote the shared vision that all children in Colorado can reach their developmental potential. We encourage you to download the framework and its corresponding Communications Toolkit.
- Colorado’s Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) is Colorado’s state advisory council for early childhood. Their website provides a collection of resources, including; the 2017-2019 Strategic Plan and a summary of their communication efforts.
- Colorado’s Early Childhood Mental Health Strategic Plan provides a current vision for Colorado’s early childhood mental health system.
Data
The Early Childhood Colorado Partnership has produced a 2018 Shared Data Agenda Report that is intended to prompt new and progressive conversations about early childhood data.
The Data Subcommittee is one of three content subcommittees of the Early Childhood Leadership Commission. The purpose of the Data Subcommittee is to promote the sharing and use of common data for planning and accountability by state programs and agencies that support young children. This ensures the interagency data system infrastructure allows for statewide needs assessments concerning the quality and availability of early childhood services.
Mental Health Colorado’s Data Dashboard provides a one-stop shop for data on mental health and substance use at the county level. Although currently there are few county-level data sources for early childhood mental health, we are working on changing that and making the availability of data on young children’s mental health more robust in this state.
Workforce Development
The Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health (CoAIMH) strives to advocate for the use of scientifically based programs of care, intervention, and prevention in infant mental health and support local and state policies that promote family and infant mental health. The organization provides opportunities to apply for the Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health (IMH-E ®). In addition, CoAIMH provides a course called Colorado Foundations of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health for Early Childhood Professionals and Partners (Colorado Foundations). This 9-module training is provided locally for infant and early childhood professionals. Through this and other trainings, supervision, consultation, and conferences, CoAIMH is supporting the professional development of Colorado’s early childhood education workforce.