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Welcome to the California Center for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health at WestEd

…your virtual forum for best practice, evidence-based information and resources that support the healthy social and emotional development of children under the age of 5 and professional development of practitioners in the field of infant-family and early childhood mental health. Here you’ll find (read more)

Understanding the Endorsement Process

We created some short recordings about each area of endorsement (Transdisciplinary IFECMH Practitioners; Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists; Reflective Practice Facilitators & Mentors) and our International Certificate of Core Competency in Reflective Practice and Supervision. Each recording can be viewed separately for specific information about that topic, and the recordings range from 11 to 19 minutes each. There is also a longer (37 minute) overview recording about the endorsement system in California. That recording includes the purpose of the Guidelines, mission and values of the California Center, background and history of the development of the California competencies, and an in-depth examination of the requirements for endorsement of transdisciplinary practitioners, mental health specialists, and reflective practice facilitators.

Our intent is to provide an easier way to build understanding about the California endorsement and competency system. We hope that the recordings and Information sheets for Programs and for Providers will aid infant/toddler/early childhood service systems in building and maintaining a high-quality workforce. After viewing the recordings, we invite you to review the in-depth materials contained in the California Compendium of Training Guidelines for IFECMH and throughout this website. Do not hesitate to send us your questions and let us know how we may provide additional information and support. Read more here.

International Certificate of Core Competency in Reflective Practice & Supervision (IC³RPS)

Would you like professional recognition for the reflective practice and supervision that you already provide? 

The California Center for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health is pleased to announce the launch of the International Certificate of Core Competency in Reflective Practice & Supervision (IC3-RPS).

This is not meant for individuals who are endorsed but rather for multidisciplinary practitioners, supervisors, and trainers who have demonstrated a foundational level of experience in reflective practice and supervision and already use or are interested in expanding reflective practice and supervision in their community, agency, and program roles, but do not meet the endorsement criteria.

We encourage you to share this opportunity with your fellow early childhood service providers. The eligibility and application requirements for the IC³RPS can be found here.

Launching an Endorsement Candidate Status

Overwhelmed by the thought of completing the endorsement process?  Enroll as a candidate to initiate your endorsement application while continuing to accumulate training and direct service hours to meet the full endorsement criteria.

Endorsement candidates will receive extra application support, connections to training and reflective practice resources and the option to participate with others in group application web calls during their preliminary application phase.

The candidate status will be valid for a period of 5 years. Click here to find out more!

Guidelines for IFECMH Training Programs

The California Center has developed a guideline checklist for training programs that align the content of their classes to the key concepts and competencies of the California Compendium of Training Guidelines, Personnel Competencies, and Professional Endorsement Criteria for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health.