Early Childhood Consultation Partnership Program
The Maine Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP®) is an infant and early childhood mental health consultation program that addresses the social-emotional needs of children birth to age eight (0-8) by offering support, education, and consultation to the adults who provide care for them.
ECCP® provides strategies, support, and training to improve the capacity of early childhood education and childcare providers as they work with children who have challenging behaviors or social-emotional concerns. ECCP® also incorporates brief consultation to families (including resource families) of children referred for support through the child’s early childhood education setting.
Services Offered:
ECCP® is a time-limited, intensive service that helps providers, educators, and caregivers of young children build understanding and skills to respond to the social-emotional needs of children. Experienced mental health consultants work directly with caregivers and educators to identify and implement strategies to support children’s emotional wellbeing and effectively manage challenging behavior that may jeopardize a child’s ability to attend an early childhood program or educational setting.
Services may last anywhere from 6 weeks (child specific) to 14 weeks (core classroom). Specific consultation topics may include:
- Managing aggressive behavior in children
- Creating age-appropriate behavioral expectations
- Creating a positive classroom or program culture
- Improving responsiveness of adults to meet the needs of children
- Supporting staff to build effective partnerships with families
Eligibility:
Children ages birth-8 years old who are at risk of suspension or expulsion from their daycare or educational setting are eligible for this service.
Referrals: Referrals for Core Classroom Services may be made by the center/program director, manager, owner, or teacher. Referrals for Child-Specific Services can be made by parents, providers, teachers, or program directors. The Child-Specific Service is completely voluntary, and the child’s family must provide consent for the service. Referrals can be made by calling Community Care at 945-4240.