Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health

with Children's Service Society of Wisconsin

Our Mission

WI-AIMH has developed a mission that involves three related but separate activities:

• Disseminate information regarding the social and emotional development of infants and young children to health professionals, human service providers, families, and other stakeholders and the general public emphasizing the importance of early nurturing and consistent relationships for infants and families and the value of therapeutic interventions when appropriate.

• Promote collaboration among service providers, families, and others concerned with the mental health of infants, young children, and their families to build a seamless and full spectrum service delivery system.

• Influence public policy at the local, state, and national levels that supports the social and emotional developmental needs of infants, young children, and their families.

An optimal system of care supporting healthy social and emotional development incorporates the following:

1. Provision of services through activities promoting healthy social and emotional development as well as a system of care that encompasses prevention, early intervention, and targeted development.

2. Infant and early childhood mental health services focus on the parent-child relationship.

3. Interventions are designed to strengthen the optimal development of the infant and young child, as well as to enhance the emotional well being of the individual family members and the family as a whole.

4. Parents are full and meaningful partners in the delivery of infant and early childhood mental health services. Effective services assure that parents' voices are heard and respected.

5. Services need to be accessible to the family in the most natural practicable environment.

6. All infancy and early childhood professionals recognize that the promotion of healthy social and emotional development requires respect for the differences in cultures, communities, family structures, languages, and individual differences.  These differences are honored throughout systems of care and not misunderstood as symptoms or manifestations of problems.

7. Infant mental health services will be based on a multidisciplinary perspective and practice that utilizes the expertise of many disciplines combined with principles of infant mental health.

8. Service providers need to be supported and nurtured to effectively support and nurture children and families.  Effective supervision offers a safe and nurturing environment for reflection upon the work with the children and families and the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

9. The message of hope, strengths, and recovery is integrated within all service interactions.

Wisconsin ALLIANCE FOR infant Mental Health

133 south butler street, Suite 340 • madison, wisconsin  53703

Last Updated July 17, 2008