The Early Childhood Consultation Partnership
The Burlington Academy works with the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) to provide screening, support, recommendations for parents and teachers regarding our children. Parents have greatly benefitted from the feedback, education, support and direction the ECCP offers at no charge, regarding children with exceptional abilities, speech needs, occupational and physical therapy needs, and/or special challenges.
The Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) is a mental health consultation program, designed to meet the social/emotional needs of children birth to five by offering support, education, and consultation to those who care for them.
Funding
While the majority of funding is provided by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), DCF has also entered into a partnership with the State Department of Education to fund a smaller sub-component of the program.
The Department of Children and Families provides: $2,200,000 Program Funding $ 140,000 Independent Evaluation.
Program Management
Advanced Behavioral Health, a nonprofit behavioral health management organization, provides statewide oversight for program operations through the following:
a.Statewide Program and Assistant Program Manager
b.Centralized Data collection and Reporting
c. Sub Contracts with 10 Non Profit Behavioral Health Agencies located throughout Connecticut
b. Trains and supervises 20 ECCP Master’s Level Early Childhood Consultants
Mission
Program Goals
1.Reduce the risk factors associated with Early Childhood Suspension/Expulsion
2.Build the capacity of early childcare providers and families to understand and promote healthy social emotional development and to more effectively address the social and emotional needs of children ages’ birth to five.
3.Engage in and/or develop community, regional, and statewide partnerships on an ongoing basis to support capacity building in the area of healthy social and emotional development for young children.
Program Overview
1.Referrals come from a variety of sources including Families, Educators, and Directors. Referrals can be made through Help Me Grow, or by calling the ECCP Program.
2.ECCP consultants provide mental health consultation to caregivers of young children.
3.ECCP is an active partner in a variety of Early Childhood Community and Statewide Collaborative:
4.Provides Social Emotional Trainings at community, regional and statewide levels and across various Early Childhood disciplines.
5.Coordinates services with Early Childhood Providers
6.Provide linkages to community based education, social and mental health services.
7.Provides an array of services that are easily accessible and Culturally Competent.
Services
Services range from Brief Phone consultation to Child Specific, to Core Classroom, to Intensive Center Based Services.
Provide mental health prevention and early intervention services
Build capacity of parents, teachers, and caregivers
Support and enhance relationship building
Promote enduring and optimal mental health outcomes for young
Services include Pre and Post Assessment, In Home and Classroom Observations, Action Planning that involves Parents, Teachers, Directors, and other Early Childhood Providers, Consultation and Support, trainings, referrals and recommendations, and Policy/Director support.
Outcomes
• Overall, ECCP demonstrated statistically significant decreases in teacher-rated externalizing or acting-out behavior problems in the classroom, relative to the control group. The effects generally were consistent across the two measures employed, and were of a meaningful magnitude. Effect sizes were greatest in the area of oppositional behaviors and hyperactivity.